RELAÇÕES PÚBLICAS & MARKETING DIGITAIS

It was the wealth of gold in the area that inspired this tale; Georgian pioneers used fleece to sift gold dust from the rivers since ancient times. They have Europe’s tallest mountains and the world’s deepest cave, temperate rain forests and glaciers, 200 mineral springs and the Black Sea. This is all in a country only 26,911 square miles in size with a population less than the city of London.

Mythology aside, Georgia has a rich heritage of creativity. They had their renaissance in the 11th century, and despite invasions by the Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Mongols, Seljuk Turks, Ottoman Turks, Persians and Russians they have fiercely protected their culture. Georgia sits on the axis between East and West, and their theatre, dance and literature reflect this: not quite European but neither wholly Asian. The Black Sea was the gateway to Europe on the Silk Road and unsurprisingly – given that position slap bang in the middle of this great route for textiles, dyes, jewellery and leather – costume has been central to Georgian identity for centuries.

Georgian fashion expatriates David Koma and Tata-Naka are well know in the UK and whilst their work doesn’t smack of obvious Georgian references there are subtle hints to their nationality. Koma’s work, sculptural with heavy embellishment, is not unlike the tapered waists, full skirts and heavy accessorising of traditional dress. His use of leatherworking in his Autumn/Winter 2010 and Spring/Summer 2012 collections echoes another age-old Georgian skill. Tata-Naka’s intricate prints parallel the detail of Persian design in the South Caucasus and their Spring/Summer 2012 collection is inspired by another Georgian passion, dancing.

Georgia’s love of dance and theatre has a huge impact on their fashion industry. The local theatre school is Tbilisi’s ‘St Martins’, students loitering outside campus smoking and exhibiting their version of street style. It is a huge honour to design for the theatre, and designers often supplement their practice by producing costumes for Georgia’s myriad and prestigious theatres.

Designer Simon Machabeli studied costume design before starting his MA in fashion at Central Saint Martins and his Spring/Summer 2010 collection, shown at Tbilisi Fashion Week, reflected this. Models were suspended from the ceiling of the venue, walking across the wall as if traversing a vertical catwalk dressed in layers of kaleidoscopic colour with distinctive chunky silhouettes and elements of bricolage.

I visited his studio in downtown Tbilisi to be greeted by a supra, a smorgasbord of Georgian delicacies washed down with wine. His practice is embryonic, like many young Georgian designers he sells his clothes privately or produces one-offs. There is not yet enough domestic faith in Georgian fashion; nor the textile manufacturing industry to make large runs feasible.

New York-based Uta Bekaia is also known for his drama. Predominantly a costume designer and installation artist, he shows at Tbilisi Fashion Week under the label Uta Levan. Irakli Nasidze, a Georgian designer working out of Paris, experiments heavily with textiles and presents theatrical collections supported with props, body paint and spectacle. His play with headwear and facemasks harks back to traditional Georgian veils and headscarves.

Copenhagen-based George Shaghashvili produces multi-functional androgynous pieces, which are as much about the polymorphic presentation as the practical uses. Young designer George Keburia is another great example of this trend; his 2010 collection featured a 3-headed PVC dress and a PVC centaur suit.