Georgia to be guest nation at Pitti Uomo 94

After South Korea, Africa, the Ukraine, Turkey, Denmark, Australia and Finland, it is now the turn of Georgia to enjoy star billing in Florence. The country has in fact been selected as guest nation at the next Pitti Uomo, scheduled on 12th-15th June 2018. Fashion is beginning to enjoy something of a boom in Georgia, after the success of Demna Gvasalia, founder of Vetements and Creative Director at Balenciaga, and of his countryman David Koma, in charge of style at Thierry Mugler.

In collaboration with the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week organised since 2015 in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, Pitti Uomo has selected six Georgian labels for its next edition in June. Among the designers on show, the best-known is surely Irakli Rusadze, 26, who will present Situationist, his women’s ready-to-wear label blending couture and a vintage vibe. The label was founded in 2015 and, after showing in Milan, it migrated to the Paris catwalks last March.

Rusadze will also showcase the menswear label Aznauri, launched in 2016 under his creative directorship. The label’s wardrobe transcends gender boundaries, blending classic items and sportswear, inspired by post-Soviet design and by contemporary Georgia, with a strong 1990s influence.

Another interesting emerging name is that of Gola Damian. His men’s and women’s collections are eclectic and colourful, a clever mix of different styles with an innovative outlook, the outfits of choice of Georgia’s cool, convivial youth.

After founding the Tatuna Nikolaishvili label in 2003, the eponymous Georgian designer has made a mark with her style, at once classic and modern and featuring finely cut clothes and luxury fabrics. Tatuna Nikolaishvili has about thirty multibrand clients worldwide, also in France, Italy and Japan.

Educated as an architect, Vasili Tabatadze made his fashion debut with a first collection in 2005. He then worked for another label before launching his own men's and women’s brand Vaska, with an emphasis on rare fabrics, natural materials and craftsmanship.

Anuka Keburia, born in 1982, is instead a fashion accessories specialist. After studying at the Tbilisi Fine Arts Academy, she went to London’s Central Saint Martins school and then launched her own footwear label in 2006. Keburia’s focus is on natural materials, mostly leather, and artisanal manufacturing. In 2015, she introduced women’s ready-to-wear and an array of unisex items, her style being both minimalistic and a touch streetwear, with black as the predominant colour.

Pitti Uomo’s Guest Nation Georgia programme is supported by LEPL Enterprise Georgia, the country’s national agency for economic development, and by Pitti Tutorship, the division of Pitti Immagine which runs the show organiser’s mentorship programme.

Georgia to be guest nation at Pitti Uomo 94

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