CHERY’17 creative director shared books that shaped her worldview, taught her to endure periods of great responsibility, and help her stay connected with herself even during times of significant change.
Among the books chosen by Tetiana Parfilyeva, there are almost no stories about success in its classic sense. Instead, there are texts about the freedom to be oneself, inner strength, intuition, and honesty with one’s own desires. It is to these that the founder of the clothing brand CHER’17 returns in moments of change, great responsibility, or when she simply wants to slow down and look at familiar things from a different angle.
In our column “Bookshelf,” she talks about the books that have left the biggest mark on her life.
Do you remember a book that changed your perception of yourself or what you want to do?
Perhaps it was “The Little Prince.” One of those books that you read at different ages and discover anew each time. For me, it’s about sensitivity, love, and the ability not to lose yourself. At some point, I realized that I wanted to create not just things, but emotions and stories in which a woman could recognize herself.
What books shaped your vision of business even before CHER’17 became a major brand?
“Good to Great” had a significant impact on me. It clearly explains that a major brand is not one successful campaign or a strong idea, but long, systematic work: team, discipline, values, consistency, and the ability to maintain distance.
This is an important thought for me because CHER’17 has always developed not only as a fashion brand but as a system: product, team, stores, communication, community, client experience. Creativity in business must work in conjunction with structure.
Is there a book you return to during difficult or pivotal periods in your life?
“This Mountain Is You.” It’s a book that helps you look at yourself more honestly and understand where you are truly tired, and where you are limiting or sabotaging yourself.
During periods of great responsibility, it is important for me to return to this inner dialogue. Sometimes you need to stop to understand what truly drives you forward.
What book would you recommend to every woman who wants to start her own business?
“Women Who Run with the Wolves.” For me, it’s not a business book in the literal sense, but it speaks a lot about female nature, intuition, inner strength, and the right to be different.
I think for a woman starting her own business, it’s very important not to try to build a business “like someone else,” but to better listen to yourself, your rhythm, your strength, and your truth. This book partly shaped the DNA of CHER’17: we talk a lot about femininity not as a single ideal image, but as the freedom to be different.
What is more important to you in literature today: inspiration, emotional honesty, or practical insights?
Emotional honesty. You feel it strongly in people, in brands, and in books. Texts that leave you with many thoughts, reevaluations, and a sense of authenticity are close to me.
Does what you read influence the aesthetics of CHER’17 – its campaigns, collections, brand communication?
Yes, but not literally. It’s more of an influence on the level of mood, state, and perspective. We often start working on a campaign not with a trend, but with a question: what kind of woman do we feel now, what is happening to her, how does she want to be, how does she want to feel in her image?
For me, as an art director, it’s important that the aesthetics of CHER’17 are not only beautiful but also understandable. We create ready-made looks that help women find themselves in style more quickly, feel confident, and not think that fashion is something complex or exclusive. Literature helps to notice these states more subtly and translate them into the brand’s visual language.
What books helped you get through periods of great responsibility and public attention?
During such periods, I, on the contrary, read less about business. I more often return to books that help to slow down a bit and shift the focus inward.
Is there an author whose way of thinking is particularly close to you?
Clarissa Pinkola Estés’s way of thinking is very close to me. Her texts have depth, feminine strength, and a very subtle understanding of emotions and intuition.
What book did you discover in adulthood and regret not having read sooner?
“Pride and Prejudice.” I love this book for its strong female protagonist, irony, and subtle understanding of human characters. Despite the novel being written over 200 years ago, many themes remain very relevant today: social roles, choice, independence, strength of character, and a woman’s right to have her own position. A woman who does not just meet expectations but learns to listen to herself.
What is currently on your bedside table or in your bag?
Usually, I have a mix of several books: one fiction or emotional, another about psychology, creativity, or self-reflection. I like to read depending on my mood.
Sometimes I need a story, sometimes a text that helps structure my thoughts. It seems to me that this is similar to a wardrobe: at different periods of life, we need different things, different moods, different anchors.
What books do you give to others most often – and why those particular ones?
I have gifted “Women Who Run with the Wolves.” For me, a book is a very personal gift. It’s a way to share certain feelings and emotions.
Do you have a comfort book – a text you want to return to for a sense of stability?
Yes, it’s definitely “The Little Prince.” There are books that are perceived as a conversation with an old friend. They don’t provide ready-made answers, but they bring you back to something very simple and important.
What book best describes your current stage of life?
Probably “This Mountain Is You.” My life currently involves a lot of growth, responsibility, inner changes, and reevaluations.
This is a stage where it’s important not only to move forward but also to honestly look at what shapes, strengthens, or holds you back – as a leader, art director, mother, and person.
How has your reading taste changed over the last eight years – in parallel with the brand’s growth?
Before, I read more for inspiration and emotion. Now, it’s important for me that a book leaves not only an impression but also a new perspective on myself or life. And I probably became much more attentive to what I fill my information space with.
What book would you like to turn into a fashion campaign?
“Women Who Run with the Wolves.” This book has a lot of strength, freedom, archetypes, and feminine energy. I think it could make a very beautiful and powerful manifesto.
Blitz Questions
A book you reread:
“The Little Prince.”
A book you recommend to everyone:
“Women Who Run with the Wolves.”
A book you couldn’t finish:
There are several very “proper” business books that I put down halfway through. If a book doesn’t evoke emotion or an inner dialogue, it’s hard for me to stay with it until the end.
A book you would take to a desert island:
“One Hundred Years of Solitude.”
Дізнатися більше на: elle.ua