Miroslava Duma

Miroslava Duma
Born	10 March 1985 Surgut, Siberia, Russia
Occupation	Digital entrepreneur, investor, journalist, lecturer, speaker
Known for	Founder of Buro247.com, The Tot

Miroslava Duma is a Russian digital entrepreneur and investor in the world of international fashion. She is the founder of digital company Buro 24/7 and its fashion and lifestyle platform Buro247.com. She is the co-founder of the e-commerce platform The Tot which provides curated products and advice to moms looking for healthy, safe and innovative alternatives.

Fashion world

Duma first became famous in the fashion world following the appearance of photos of her outfits in popular fashion blogs like The Sartorialist. She has been photographed by Garance Dore and Scott Schuman.

Journalistic career

Duma’s first entrance into the world of journalism began when she was appointed as Special Projects Director at Harper's Bazaar. She then moved into freelance writing and worked for magazines including: Vogue, Tatler, Forbes woman and Glamour (Russian versions). In 2011 she co-founded Buro 24/7, which is a site about art, architecture, cinema, fashion, music and style. She describes it as a “kind of a bureau of information 24 hours, seven days a week. It provides our readers with quality information 24/7, up to 25 updates a day, on cinema, music, art, culture, fashion, lifestyle, social life – everything.”^[1]

Buro 24/7

Since its launch in 2011 Buro 24/7 has expanded to Australia, Azerbaijan, Central Europe, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Middle East, Mongolia, Russia, Singapore and Ukraine.

Other business ventures

Some of the companies she invests in include revFluence (social media marketing company), Reformation (a greenfashion brand) and RewardStyle (a service for publishers and content creators).

Duma was formerly digital media director at Tsum. In addition, she worked as the face of the SS 2012 campaign at Symphony. She was an ambassador for Chanel's jewelry collection inspired by Coco's 1932 designs, and worked with Louis Vuitton for the release of an ad campaign titled ‘Small is Beautiful’ to celebrate their new line of mini bags.

Controversy

In 2014 Mira was involved in a huge controversy after Dasha Zhukova (Roman Abramovich's girlfriend) was pictured sitting on the mannequin of a half-naked black woman for a photoshoot with Buro 24/7. Labeled as racist and ignorant, the photo was removed quite soon after publication and Duma apologized for the entire episode, stating, “we are against racism or gender inequality or anything that infringes upon anyone's rights. We love, respect and look up to people regardless of their race, gender or social status.”^[2] Nonetheless, a lot of negative comments followed the event.”^[3]

Acclaim

The Financial Times described Duma as a “force of the fashion industry.” Vogue called her “a brilliant entrepreneur.”,^[4] Vogue Paris named her the "most connected digital entrepreneur in fashion", Fashion Diva Design called her “the It Girl.”^[5]

She is part of her country’s clique of fashionable "Czarinas," and is a regular in the front row at international fashion showcases. Indeed, she has become quite the global street-style icon.^[6]

Duma has been a member of #BoF 500 - The People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry, a professional index of the people shaping the global fashion industry, four years in a row: 2013 - 2016.^[7]

Philanthropy

Duma founded the culture charity fund Peace Planet which helps children in need of urgent medical assistance and supports initiatives in culture and education. The efforts of the Foundation are directed to the organization of exhibitions, conferences, theatrical and opera performances, activities in the field of artistic, literary and performing art. The fund also promotes cultural and educational projects for large families, children from children's homes, as well as leisure and excursion programs for elderly residents of Moscow and the Moscow region. ^{[8] [9]}

Personal life

Born in 1985 in Surgut (in the oil-rich Tyumen region), to a politician father Vasiliy. She is married to Aleksey Mikheev, a Russian entrepreneur. They have two children, George born in 2010 and Anna born in 2014.^[10]

Education

Duma graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), in 2008 with a Master’s degree in International Business and Business Administration.^[11]

References