40 SEP/COV 2019 MAXIM.COM
Leather shirt, PHILIPP PLEIN
Boots, GIUSEPPE ZANOTTIn an alternate universe,
Vita Sidorkina wouldn’t be
stomping down the run-
way in a ball gown missing
everything but its sleeves
and some barely-there
lingerie. If the 25-year-old
Russian bombshell had ful-
filled her childhood dream,
she’d be a flight attendant
in a demure uniform hiding
some of the most sought-
after curves in the world
of fashion. No Victoria’s
Secret shoots, no Maxim
cover, and no fun except
for a lucky planeload of pas-
sengers. We can all say a
word of thanks that in this
case at least dreams didn’t
come true.
Yet she has more than
fulfilled her fancy of see-
ing the world—and the pay is a hell of a lot better to boot—with almost
800,000 Instagram followers along for the ride. “Modeling is not some-
thing I dreamed of growing up,” the blonde beauty tells Maxim. “I got into
it by accident! A friend invited me to a local modeling school for a summer
camp, where I took my first professional pictures and uploaded them on
social media. About a month later I was contacted by an agency in Mos-
cow who told me I had potential to become a model and offered me a
three-month contract in Japan.”
After moving to New York City at the age of 17 in 2011, Sidorkina be-
gan modeling for an impressive array of clients, including Lilly Pulitzer,
BCBG, Elie Tahari, Rebecca Minkoff and Philipp Plein. Her big break
came when she landed a spot in the 2015 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. “I
was so thrilled!” she says. “I prepared and worked really hard for two years
to get there. Victoria’s Secret is the brand all models in the industry dream
of, the competition is insane. It’s really a big deal to be selected.”
And a big deal it was, because the lingerie extravaganza proved to be
the official turning point in Sidorkina’s career, immediately launching her
to exponential heights. “I will be forever grateful to PINK and Victoria’s
Secret for opening so many doors,” she notes. Doors that the pretty girl
from Khabarovsk, a city on the eastern edge of Russia near the Chinese
border, never could have imagined.
“Growing up there was really beautiful,” she says of her hometown. “I
spent my summers at my grandmother’s dacha, or cottage, by the Amur
River. Winters were long and there was so much snow everywhere, so I
would ski and ice skate– two sports I still love to this day. Growing up in
such extreme weather conditions was so [incredible], and even going to
school was an adventure. That made me a bit of a tomboy, even though a
part of me has always been very girly.”
In 2017 Sidorkina tied the knot with Italian real estate developer Vale-
rio Morabito, and to score such a stunning wife, the lucky groom went
went above and beyond to impress his lovely lady and literally flew clear
across the world for their first encounter. “My husband swept me off my
feet when he flew from Miami to Sydney where I was for work to have our
first date. You can’t beat that.” Clearly he continues to keep that standard
at the same astronomical level each and every day, because Sidorkina is
absolutely loving her new role. “Married life is amazing! Everything is so
much better when you have your soulmate by your side. I definitely think
that any relationship requires work but it should never feel forced. The
key is to be honest and open about your feelings, and accept your other
half exactly the way they are.”
These days Sidorkina also balances being a supermodel and a super-