Georgian Fashion Week S/S 2011

 GOLA & PEPELA SS2011            ANDRÉ TAN SS2011              DALOOD SS2011

If you're planning a trip to Tbilisi, take the following advise from a true fashion girl - or like  the lovely  Tato, my new Georgian BFF, put it: An Amazingly Adorable Capricious Fashion Princess  (yep, that's me, whahaha!):

1) Leave your Pigalles at home. Believe me, Tbilisi on 12 cm Louboutins equals suicide!

2) Do not bring fur coats with you the end of October, thinking it's probably cold. I found myself  with a suitcase full of winter outfits while it was 22 degrees...


 3) If hot headed, or slightly suffering from ADHD syndrome, do not stay more than 15 minutes in  a sulphur bath. Your head will explode and you will feel all bubbly thinking that you're      completely re-energized but all you really are is stoned, or at least your body is, because you  won't be able to move for an hour or so...


4) If you want to keep your waist and your flat stomach, stay away from Georgian food. They keep  you eating, those Georgians. And when you think, dinner or lunch is over, it only just started and  the next delicious dish  will be served. So, S T A Y    A W A Y    F R O M    T H E    F O O D    !

5) If you're there to cover Georgian fashion Week (hey, maybe we will meet next time!), please  visit the State Academy of Art where most of the fashion designers studied, go visit F-Labour, the  store where these young designers sell their collections and go have a look at the multi brand  store Prive. It will completely change your outlook on Georgian fashion.

Anyway, yes, it took me almost a week to digest the experience of the second edition of Georgian  fashion week ...and the many, many, many Georgian delicacies...Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia is a  strange mixture of never ending contradictions. Its beauty, history, and wealth go hand in hand  with traces of war, communism and poverty.  The Mother of Georgia statue, also known as Kartilis  Deda, located on top of the Sololaki Mountain, is the  epitome of these contradictions: she's  holding a bocal of wine in her left hand to welcome people to Georgia, and  Tbilisi in particular,  while her left hand is holding a menacing sword, to warn enemies...

Mademoiselle Perle was invited to her first trip to Georgia by the ever so beautiful Sofia Chkonia  to attend the  SS2011 collections by Georgian designers. That bocal of wine, symbol of Georgian  hospitality, translated in a  jammed packed schedule, where private chauffeurs, a mini coach, two  Guardian Angels, numerous restaurants, after  parties, champagne and vodka were at our disposal  24/7. After visiting national treasures like the said Mother of  Georgia statue, the national  museum and the costume museum, followed by delicious but heavy Georgian lunches, the  days  continued with eight shows. Eight different designers mostly from Georgia, with a few exceptions  like the  Parisian designer Gaspard Yurkievich, André Tan from Kiev and the Italian trio A-lab  Milano.

 

KETI CHKHIKVADZE SS2011 BICHOLLA SS2011           GASPARD YURKIEVICH SS2011

  

My first impression of Georgia's fashion was the opening show on Friday evening October 22,of one  of Georgia's most established designers Avtandil. The show was held on the Metechi Bridge crossing  the Mt'k'vari river, better known as the Kura. Surrounded by mountains, and high lighted monuments  and churches, the setting was almost surreal.

The following three days, the young designers showed their collections mainly at the Rustaveli  Theatre right next to the Marriot hotel, where yours truly was staying with an interesting fashion  crowd from all over the world: the charming Phivos Istavrioglou @Vogue Greece, the lovely Zoe  Maughan @Another Magazine, the hilarious Sophie Trem and her gorgeous collegue Claire Khoriaty  @TRANOÏ, stylist Catherine Baba, mr Godfrey Deeny @Fashion Wire  Daily, Julia Melkonova Zaalishvili  @Vogue Russia, the cooky Beth Arnold @The Huffington Post accompanied by her  husband Jim, and the  London based Yvan Rodić, better known as The Face Hunter. As my impression of the city, the  collections were as diverse as possible. One moment we were watching a gypsy inspired show which  mainly consisted of fringed colourful scarves wrapped around shoulders, hips and ankles, designed  by Goga Nikabadze. The  other, we were put front row to watch Keti Chikvadze's hand crafted lady  birds on elegant black jackets, or  Bicholla's fluffy heels - he offered me a pair, and they're  mental! Highly photogenic but seriously  mental! Love them!

However, my favorite collection was a minimalist one in red, off-white and black by the 23 years-  old Tata Nikolaishvili. She's still finishing her studies at the State Art Academy of Georgia, but  I already see a promising career. Her experimenting with cut, form and texture, while respecting  the female body should get her  an internship at Jil Sander, Calvin Klein or Celine. I was  sincerely surprised to see this kind of approach to fashion in Tbilisi. But a trip to the multi  brand store Prive, explains quite a lot. To my big surprise their best seller is Dries van Noten -  whose influence was noticable amongst some young designers - Chloé and Marc Jacobs come next, and  they just introduced Alaïa and Balmain. Alaïa! In Georgia! Where were all these fabulous dressed  women who bought their outfits at Prive? According to CEO Anna Bokeria, Prive's clientele is quite  diversified. Georgian upper class women but also the female elite from surrounding countries like  Armenia and Azerbaijan, find their way to Prive. Why didn't I spot some during the shows? The shop  has two different locations, one for day wear, where they sell brands like Dries van Noten, Marc  Jacobs, Chloé, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, and Balmain. And men's wear from brands like Givenchy,  Dior Homme and again Dries van Noten. A clean designed store evoking that Ford for Gucci touch from  a decade ago. Around the corner a very lady like two storey shop with powder-y, jade green walls  with a trompe l'oeil effect of french inspired ornaments painted in roughly white strokes. Very  Dior Paris. This boutique of Prive focusses on evening wear, and has a delicious collection of  LBD's by Alaïa, YSL and Dior. An exquisite collection of heels and bags at the first floor makes  this place quite a shopping paradise. It left me speechless, although, I quickly bounced back to my  talkative self and bombarded my lovely Gigi, interior decorator, and one of my two guardian angels  with all sorts of questions. He told me that the Bagrationi dynasty, the ruling family of Georgia  (early Middle Ages - early 19th century) was famous for its fabulous costumes, and parties. And  that the Georgian sense of style (Alaïa! Helloho!) is rooted in that part of their rich history. I  still have to go into that history, but it definitely awakened a curiosity to get to know this  country better.... What about spending winter holidays in Georgia? Did you know they have a  ski  resort over there??? TATAFORNOW♥ 
P.S. Read Phivos Istavrioglou's GFW report here: http//bit.ly/cRjGLZ

     Read Beth Arnold's report here: http://huff.to/9csQDw
      Read Zoe Maughan's report here: http://bit.ly/92XXz2
      See Yvan Rodic's (the Face Hunter) reportage here: http://bit.ly/aU3lFI

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