Originally Tarkovsky had wanted “space age” costumes to be used for Solaris, since the film takes place in the future. Andrei, however, was not satisfied with the plans the first costume designer had come up with: she had used “futuristic designs” from the “House of Models”, which designers saw as pointers to fashions of the future. In Mosfilm’s footwear workshop, square-toed shoes with incredibly high platform soles had been made for the film’s main character, Kris Kelvin. They horrified Andrei.

The director’s diary for September 7, 1970 contains the following brief entry: “There’s nobody I can work with. I’ve got rid of the executive producer and the costume designer as well. Who’s going to replace them? The studio’s got nothing to offer.” Later, on September 21, he noted: “We’ve found a costume designer… N Fomina. Armed with sketches from Mikhail [Romadin], I think she’ll cope.”

I joined the team for Solaris a mere month before shooting began.