Mother/daughter duo Augustina and Kristina Pokrovskaya of the brand Tess Van Ghert sound strikingly similar on the phone. “We are like soul mates,” says Augustina, the mother in the team. “We are always together.”
The London-based, Russian-born pair’s collection of jewelry, handbags and furs was launched in 2009, and caters to exclusive customers who want, as Augustina puts it, “more than another Birkin or Chanel piece.”
“I love and respect those brands, but my clientele, they have every possible color Birkin with every lock, and they have every kind of jewelry, in all rocks, all stones,” she says. With a Tess Van Ghert, they get the same high-quality materials, designed with more of an edge. Plus, their goods are only made in limited runs, so each piece is that much more special.
Before Tess Van Ghert, Augustina, 41, and her ex-husband franchised brands like Max Mara and Givenchy to a post- perestroika Russia. Kristina studied at London’s Architectural Association.
“I was getting involved more and more,” Kristina, 24, says, “so I joined the family business.”
While Augustina leads in the design aspect, Kristina creates the drawings, photography and campaigns. And the duo has recently opened a showroom in London’s tony Knightsbridge area that caters to private clients and buyers.
With a recent investment, the women are going where their clients are — opening shops in Paris, London, Monaco and St-Tropez.
While she’s hardly of the belief that money makes the woman, Augustina counts Marlene Dietrich, Hollywood royalty, as the ultimate inspiration.
“I love brave women who can do things, who dare, any age, with any amount of money,” she says. “If you have this inside, it’s unnecessary to be rich.”