Designers pointed to the craving for a sense of wonder, eager to expand their horizons. Two seasons in, will they unleash their full potential?
WITH A neutral-splashed grey runway and traditional beats turned up to deafening volume, Yerevan Fashion Week’s front-row insiders may have suspected that a handful of designers were plodding through a creative crisis.
Suspicions were confirmed as the first few amazons (or better put, models) pounded down the runway in rockabilly shimmery jackets with hard-edged surfaced patterned pants, teetering on red-toed clear-plastic spectator heels and glowering from behind their ‘90s tequila-sunrise sunglasses. But there’s more to the story.
Yerevan Fashion Week | Credit: AGHAYAN
With an electric palette of hot pinks, poison greens and the season’s ubiquitous puff sleeve (all combined at one point in a delicious concoction of sizes), Armenian designers indulged in a psychedelic local parade—complete with beaded taffeta ponchos, asymmetric cotton hems, bright organza mini dresses and retro-style rock-meets-punk macro checks.
Of course, the local creatives have many of these maximalist references in their own archives, but the fine sleek piping swagged like an admiral’s embellishment across a scarlet pantsuit, or forming a ruffled top, looked like they had strayed from a place of all-out fun with little direction.
Young-at-heart insiders hitting their mid-life crises might respond to the modern idea of deconstructing a wardrobe and mixing it up again with a new swanky attitude, but the fashion-forward younger counterparts will love the real classics—like the superb take on minimalism fashioned by Iranian-Armenian designer Ariga Torosian, who presented so many possibilities of structured poise without losing sight of the woman — a woman whose attitude you’d like to possess.
Ariga Torisian | Credit: Asatur Yesayants
Ariga Torisian | Credit: Asatur Yesayants
She brought the functional once again for Spring, following up last season’s shape romp with a collection that was more grown up but barely less whimsical. She said her frame of reference was the sculptures and architects of the pre-and-post-Soviet era, which explained the severe tailoring and pants she paired with minute fastenings and, somewhat more tangentially, a rigour used in body-hugging dresses. The line connecting that wealth of references and, say, her intricate numbers was a bit fuzzier; for quirkiness, she hit the jackpot with a graphic take on toppers.
But if you don’t ask yourself too many questions about the viability of this season’s outings—flowing beachwear silks, anyone?—Armenia’s stream-of-consciousness collections were an amusing ride. Amid feel-good thrills and soulful feels, though, complexities are sung.
“When we started this work seven years ago, I had a vision that maybe in five-to-ten years’ time there will be a lot of new emerging designers, and we wanted to start something for them because decades ago, when I started in the business, there was nothing,” said Vahan Khachatryan, designer and President of the Fashion Designers Council (FDC), whose thoughtful mindset is steeped in feel-good optimism for Armenia’s creative pool of talents.
Yerevan Fashion Week | Credit: AGHAYAN
“I understood that it’s important to support young people and young talent, but there was nothing. So that’s why we started, but then I realised that in these five to six years there are hardly any new names on stage here in Armenia, which for me is very strange, because every year there are students finishing their university courses and venturing into the job market.”
At this current stage, Khachatryan is working with the same names he first scouted seven years ago, but he sees growth in those he met years back and what they are doing today. “There have been very difficult years,” amidst Khachatryan, “like Covid and the war—so despite everything they are still here working, and we’re very proud that they don’t give up. And it goes without saying that I’d like to reach other markets, that’s why we bring them to Italy for WHITE and to trade shows, but I must say it is very difficult because the market is extremely saturated,” he says.
“To dive in with new names or new products is complex, but I’m very proud that some of them have really high quality goods. But still it takes time, money, dedication, and a lot of public relations, and we try to do everything we can.”
Yerevan Fashion Week | Credit: AGHAYAN
In the context of the Armenian shows, you could be forgiven for thinking those final dresses had all the rawness of an academic uniform. But Armenia’s Fashion and Design Chamber, still in its early stages of development and expansion, expressed a different idea for the young minds of the country.
Feeling a sense of power and hope in these clothes that isn’t about imposing silhouettes or Westernising creative connotations at the expense of one’s identity. Rather, engaging with a clientele driven by the vein of wearability.
“What’s interesting about Armenia is the globalised production pole,” replied WHITE’s General Manager, Simona Severini. “Unlike when [production] started in the eastern countries like Romania, Bulgaria and Poland, there was no know-how there. So they really moved our Italians, sending out various product/production managers to them to teach the trade, and how to use machinery, how to make buttonholes.
Yerevan Fashion Week | Credit: AGHAYAN
Instead, Armenia has its own culture of manufacturing, which is clearly transported into their line, in their way of dressing, but with a few expedients and a few guidelines on what the needs of large companies are, they easily managed to translate and therefore achieve a very good production.
Local artisans are very good at making outerwear, denim and knitwear, as they already have their own machinery. I feel like they might benefit from a knitwear master to teach them a new stitch, a new knitting technique or newer fabrications, but these are codes they’re already acquainted with.
Firstly, we must acknowledge that fashion in Armenia was born as a manufacturing reality, not as a creative one. Then consequently, as it often happens to our subcontractors in Italy or Europe, when they start producing for Dior, Chanel or the big groups, at a certain stage designers muse over starting to produce their own collections, and that’s when you see similarities from Western fashion, which surely gained from the know-how they’ve learned throughout the years (and through the bigger conglomerates).”
Z.G.EST | Credit: Mosh Sahakyan
Z.G.EST | Credit: Mosh Sahakyan
A lot of things are hiding in these clothes. Take Z.G.EST’s civilised affair in layering, inspired by Armenia’s natural beauty and landscapes combining organic silhouettes, fluidity and bold layering, intricate transparencies in combination with strong statement pieces with exaggerated shoulder lines.
The sense of being stuck in a world of wonder came through in this show — that and how complex expressions can somehow release you. This is a condition that many people feel at the moment, and some designers have expressed it with a craving for line and structure. And as days went by, there was an improvement in the clothes themselves.
SONCESS | Credit: Asatur Yesayants
SONCESS | Credit: Asatur Yesayants
SONCESS | Credit: Asatur Yesayants
SONCESS | Credit: Asatur Yesayants
On Sunday, Soncess’ Sona Hakobyan expressed her take on shape without banalities, in a streamlined and simple manner with a lineup that showcased a slew of architectural volumes and motifs that reflected the timeless elegance of the East, while the freedom and self-confidence expressed by the models are inspired by the innovative spirit of Western Europe.
She called the overall shift away from her more experimental designs of the last few seasons “a practical luxury.” Indeed, a good term. And it does feel ready to broaden its horizons. Still, these are offerings that don’t feel completely confident and ready in their own skin, but their potential could lead a long way.
by Chidozie Obasi