High School Student by Day, Top Fashion Designer by Evening

MOSCOW, Jan. 16, 2008 — -- By day, Kira Plastinina is like most 15-year-old girls. She goes to a Moscow high school, albeit an elite Anglo-American school, and she has a messy locker. During study halls she gossips with her girlfriends about boys and homework and shopping and celebrities. At lunch she picks at the food in the cafeteria, "the only thing that's edible are the potatoes," she told ABC News.

Once school is over, though, Plastinina's other life begins and it's definitely not the life of a typical teenager. She has become something of a fashion mogul, like Liz Claiborne or Tommy Hilfiger. With the help of her wealthy father, she has opened a chain of clothing stores across Russia (more than 30) and she is scheduled to launch stores in America later this year.

From school, Plastinina's chauffeur takes her to the office. Once there, Plastinina, the chief designer, and her team get to work.

"It's a lot of work and it's impossible for one person to do all of it," she said. Although she does not personally design every piece, she approves all of them. As she sifts through the racks of clothing and leafs through sheets of sketches, she is full of questions and suggestions. She knows her stuff and she knows what she wants.

From the office, it's on to one of her Kira Plastinina shops, where she conducts a tour. The store is a paradise for girls between 12 and 20. It's bright and colorful, the style is a mix of a pop and punk and the stylistic influence of her favorite fashion icon, Paris Hilton, is readily apparent. The skirts are short, the hot pants even shorter and most of the clothes are gold or pink and made from shiny fabrics.

When Plastinina held her fashion show at Moscow Fashion Week, Hilton was flown over as the guest of honor (reportedly for $2 million). Plastinina gushes when she talks about Hilton's visit.

"I really like her and I think she's an amazing person and I think she's really cool," she said. Her reason for inviting Hilton: "I really like her style and I was interested to know what's her opinion about my collection."

Plastinina has a helping hand, a fact she does not hide. Her father, Sergei Plastinina, is the millionaire co-founder of Wimm-Bill-Dann, Russia's largest dairy and juice producer. She credits him with the idea.

"The whole clothing line was his brainchild," she said. "It was my dad's idea and when he first announced it, I was so scared. He does the business side and I do the creative side." As well as clothing, Plastinina has her own perfumes and sells shoes, candles, jewelry, even lollipops!