The “New East” : 5 Eastern European Designers to Know

It seems to have come out of nowhere and without a trace. One of the most booming scenes in the fashion world is now Eastern Europe. Creativity has taken over the region. Offering a different aesthetic and attitude from it’s stylish counterparts- the new wave of designers emerging from this area are ready to shake things up. The disruptor and leader of this seeming trend can be found in the ever so cool yet highly criticized (either you love or hate him) Demna Gvasalia. He can be credited for bringing a new appeal of streetstyle to the luxury world.  

There’s a whole new set of Post-Soviet designers emerging that the fashion scene is hyped about. Each one brings a unique and forward-looking style.  Get to know what inspires them, what they find cool and what their perfect day is like.

You’re a self-taught designer, what drove you to enter the fashion world?
Since my childhood, I have always been interested in fashion. I remember looking through my mom’s fashion magazines and sketching at the back of my notebooks in elementary school.

When did you decide to start your own label?
Despite my interests, I started studying business management, as fashion jobs were not taken seriously in Georgia back at that time. But, later I quit university and decided to pursue my career as a designer. In 2010, I did my debut collection and was awarded as a “Best Newcomer” at a local fashion contest. This was the very first step of my designing career.

How has growing up in Tbilisi influenced your work?
Georgia is still very traditional and has a predominantly conservative attitude. Even more so, when I was growing up. So, I guess the environment pushed me to explore beyond boundaries, to strive for more positive dynamics and to be more open-minded.

Can you describe your creative process?
For me, it is always a battle of many emotions up until the moment when I see a satisfactory result. There are many stages like sketching, sewing, fitting and throughout the process, I always try to keep that initial mood, which I had when I started thinking about the collection and the creative process

Can you describe your label in 5 words?
Playful, raw, dramatic, sensual, timeless.

What is your perfect day like?
Doing nothing, enjoying the sun & sea at the beach.

Tbilisi has a thriving night-life hotspot, do you find inspiration in this?
Indeed, there are many great clubs in Tbilisi, such as Bassiani, Mtkvarze, Khidi. For lots of youngsters, those clubs were an inspiration to say the least and also a way to progress and mature. The clubbing culture brought a big spotlight to Tbilisi, but I don’t really enjoy clubbing. I prefer passing my leisure time at an outdoor café with my friends.

What’s on your playlist?
My playlist is constantly changing. Right now, I mostly listen to 80s rock bands, such as Queensryche, Cindarella and Heart.

As one of the pioneers of the return of the tiny sunglasses craze, what trends are you forecasting?
Perhaps, accessories with 80s sizes and shapes.

Can you tell us a bit about the concept and history of Matèriel?
Materiel is the new edition of Materia family-owned fashion house that has operated in Tbilisi, Georgia since 1949. The company opened its doors to young and talented designers from the Tbilisi fashion scene. Today Lado Bokuchava and Aleksandre Akhalkatsishvili are the designer duo behind the brand and now Aka Prodiashvili (the latest edition of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week) has joined the team.

Fashion House Materia was participating in fashion shows during the Soviet Era, what is different now? Is there a different vibe in the collections?
Some of our team members at the factory have been with the company since the Soviet Era and we often hear their stories about how fashion was perceived back in the day. Yet, the concept wasn’t very much different but the collections were. Today, Matèriel represents a feminine but strong woman. The brand uses a lot of tailoring techniques that were used in men’s fashion only. Matèriel woman is still modest but loves to take risks and experiment with new shapes and colors.

How does the history of Fashion House Materia influence Matèriel and where do you see the future of the fashion collective?
We believe that what distinguishes Matèriel within the industry is our collaborative spirit and a constant search of new talents. Tbilisi being super up & coming city where opportunities are rare and financial stability is not easily achieved, it is important that we, as a fashion collective, stay open to the new talents that need our attention and support to succeed.

How are the designers chosen for each collection? How are they influenced by Georgia?
Lado and Aleksandre have been successfully collaborating under Matèriel for multiple seasons now. They have years of experience and vision needed to succeed in the industry.
There is a huge political and human rights movement wave in Georgia and especially in Tbilisi. Different cultural shifts are changing society’s mentality for the better. That being said, it is hard not to be inspired or affected by these events. Our designers too are influenced by the country’s events and the rebellious nature of our youth.

What is the creative scene in Georgia like today?
Very bohemian and very emerging. It can easily be compared to 90s Berlin – with a rising night scene, young artists struggling to survive, the opening of new galleries, gathering spots, etc.

Describe your perfect day.
The perfect day at work starts with a morning gathering with the Matèriel team where we preview the new collection samples and styles and discuss future plans. We drink coffee together and start our day. We are also very much involved with sample making as well as the production. No major issues in these processes definitely contribute to having a good day.

What designer would you love to work with on a future collection?
We have started working on the jewelry and accessories collection with different local and international companies. As Matèriel has emerged into a RTW brand it is important to offer the full look for which we have a lot of cool ideas in mind. We do not want to spoil the surprise by naming the collaborators –  however, you will be able to see the final result on our SS19 runway.

How have your home county (Ukraine) and Italy influenced your work?
I’m very lucky, I must say, because I live in one of the fashion capitals of the world, in the Motherland of outstanding Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Italy inspires me, God blessed it with beauty. Ukraine is my first home, that made me always look and go forward. Ukraine is a young country where until recently there was a deficit of everything, which left a print on our mentality – to always go ahead and desire for more. These two cultures seem very different, but at the same time similar and help me to do what I love today.

You cite street style and pop culture as an inspiration for your collections. What are some of your favorite pop icons and street style trends that
inspire you?
My favorite pop icon is Madonna. The revolution of her style amuses – it’s really a source of inspiration. I also bring up archives and dig up the wardrobes of Princess Diana and Bianca Jagger. I love the early works of Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, as well as an amazing style of the 90s of Gianni Versace. I like the provocation and sexuality of Terry Mugler.

When clients wear your collections how do you want them to feel? What woman are you designing for when dreaming up of a collection?
The clients of the brand Marianna Senchina are women who like to be in the center of attention, who are ironically naïve, mysterious but at the same time foxy and sexy. It’s a sort of a transformation of Lolita’s image that grows up and turns into a vampire woman. The brand’s clothes ideally are suited for first dates, going to the theatre, cocktail parties, and highbrow receptions. By the way, our FW’20 collection is dedicated to the girl that is going on a date.

What is your perfect Saturday like?
My ideal Saturday does not start from a coffee. I wake up at 7:30, drink a glass of water and lemon, and go for a morning run. I live in the center of Milan so for my run, I go to the park Giardini Publlici Indro Montanelli. I run for 40 minutes and then I go to one of my favorite places for breakfast LuLu bar. There I order an avocado toast with freshly-squeezed orange juice, and of course a cup of cappuccino with soya milk. I go back home, take a cold shower and get myself to order. By the way, thanks to the cosmetics brand Biologique Research, this is very easy. After this, I go to the flea market that takes place in the area of Naviglio Grande. The market is open every weekend of the last week of the month. There I totally relax, I love vintage, especially furniture and other details. I often buy them for my flat. I also make my own research at displays with clothes, I often buy it and bring it to our manufacturing in Kyiv where we explore it in detail. This often inspires me for the new collection. I then come back and prepare lunch, I like to cook. Living for a long time in Italy, I like to cook more and more. After we have prepared and packed the lunch, my boyfriend and I take our open roof mini cooper and go in the direction of Lake Como. Como is an amazing place, one of my favorite ones. One day I dream of opening a small and cozy hotel there and fill it with all the small vintage discoveries and other things that I often bring from travels. This will be a place where I will welcome all my guests and friends from across the world, and my family too. This is one of my big dreams. When we get to Como, we rent a boat and then go sailing around Bellagio, Tremezzo, and Chernobbio. We have lunch made of home food right and white wine at the boat. What else do you need for real happiness?

What’s on your playlist currently?
My playlist is very varied from pop-music and to American rap and music of the 70s-80s. It keeps changing depending on my mood, as this music often inspires me for new ideas and projects:
Emanuelle – Italove (soundtrack of my FW’20 колекції)
Mina – E penso a te
Donna Summer – I feel love
Bee Gees – How deep is your love
Pink Floyd – the Wall
Madonna – La Isla Bonita
Eagles – Hotel California
Sade – Sweetest taboo
Sade – Smooth Operator

Who would you love to collaborate with?
Actually, in the nearest future, we plan a lot of collaborations, one of my dream collaboration is with Rihanna, Dua Lipa, and Beyonce. Our brand has worked with these celebrities on numerous occasions, and they have chosen our clothes many times, but I want to make something bigger. We will work for this and put or efforts to the maximum to reach this in the nearest future. I would also like to collaborate with Virgil Abloh with this super talented young man.

What inspires your collections?
Everything that surrounds me, be it emotions, people or places.

You grew up in Moscow and Vienna, would you say your work is influenced by your backgrounds and experiences?
My past is what shapes me, and makes me who I am. I guess it influences what I do, but I do not think it happens on a conscious level.

How would you describe the fashion scene in Georgia at the moment?
Hopeful, complicated, vibrant, and eclectic!

How does your background from working in art galleries and art projects shape your collections?
It helped me to see how the creative process becomes part of the market. It also helped to open my mind to the possibilities of developing myself
artistically and professionally, and seeing that there is no limit to what can be done.

Who is the Liya woman? What do you imagine her lifestyle is like?
The Liya women is any women. That is, I hope the most important part of Liya, she is whatever and whoever she wants to be. Self-sufficiency is her lifestyle, and what makes her self sufficient is for her to decide who she is.

What would your perfect day be like?
My perfect day would be surrounded by my kids at my mother’s country house in Austria. My three amazing dogs running around in the yard, while I enjoy sketching with my mum’s homemade lemonade refreshing me in the hot summer day.

What’s next for Liya and who would you love to collaborate with?
Next would be for us to grow our market presence worldwide and be able to turn all the creative ideas we have into reality in the near future. Collaborating in terms of the company, I think next would be a footwear collaboration with local talents. Personally I would love to collaborate with video artists and create a specific visual art that would involve different perspectives on the common acceptable matters.

What trends are you excited for and which ones are you happy to see go?
I am very open when it comes to trends, having said that I think animal print doesn’t really catch up with me, but again everything is possible, depends who wears it and how. I much enjoy the ‘extra’ trend of being bold and courage when it comes to colors and shape. Absolutely obsessed with mini, tiny bags, and huge, oversized accessories.

In your first season, Ienki Ienki picked up about 80 stockists. What inspires you about a great puffer, and what requirements were you looking for when designing your cult pieces?
I always had a passion for outerwear. I have a large collection of all kinds of outerwear, but more so functional outerwear like jackets and parkas than for instance coats. Because of the winter we have here in Ukraine, we also need outerwear to be really warm and functional. Prior to launching IENKI IENKI, I had experience in buying as well, but I could not find the puffer I had in mind: warm, high-quality, simple, recognizable and bright.

How has being a Ukrainian designer influenced your collections? How has the creative scene changed in the past few decades? How is the fashion scene in Ukraine now?
Our production and our main office are located in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Kyiv is a cool city as it is full of energy — young, creative and vital. Kyiv’s a wonderful mixture of history and modernity, of in-your-face wealth and guys who never have any money. It is a very friendly city, these days it is often described as the “new Berlin”. Yet Ukrainian street style is, so far, not distinctive enough for us to take inspiration from and affect our collection design. However, we are often influenced by imagery & designs from the USSR era and archives, which left a strong impression on me as a teenager. For example, in the second-hand markets, I was taught that I high-quality zipper is a sign of a great brand. When I started my own brand, it was fundamentally important for me to work with Riri and no one else, despite the price being much higher than average.

Due to the revolution, Ukraine became much more popular in the world in general. That means more people know about Ukraine, where it is located and what we stand for. More English-language press is talking about Ukraine, not only in political terms but in terms of a destination place, creative solutions, and fashion. Nevertheless, due to the globalization and digital progress, the clients of the higher-end Ukrainian brands are the same clients of higher-end Italian, French or American brands. Your style, vision, and quality — these are the decision-making factors, not the origin of the brand. The fact that your product is from Ukraine will not harm your brand, nor will it help you. You are in the same competitive conditions as all other brands of the world.

Exaggerated silhouettes and vivid colors are a staple of Ienki Ienki. It’s a bold and brave look. What kind of women are you designing for when coming up with ideas?
The starting point and main goal of IENKI IENKI was to make a garment more flattering. I wanted to do striking and exaggerated puffer jackets, but I wanted them to look not only stylish but graceful as well. With the help of the belt a trendy, yet a bit clumsy garment became a surprisingly feminine piece. And we have no particular woman in mind while working on our collections. At least in terms of age, appearance or style. We just want her to share our values and enjoy our fresh vision, great quality, easy communication and hype look of IENKI IENKI garments.

What are your main inspirations?
We as a brand take inspiration from many sources. We can always find some inspiration for our styles in the past decades. For example, our “Berlin” jacket was influenced by a vintage German jacket from the ’70s. Mostly, however, our work is guided by industry innovations. Every season we work with new fabrics, new materials and look at ways to improve our existing designs. We were also one of the first brands to use the foil fabrication successfully, as it is a very difficult material to work with, and now each season we add new colors to the range.

What’s a perfect day off for you?
Depending on how tired I am I chose one of two leisure types. In one case the rest means active time: I love exploring new places and getting involved in all activities the country where I am staying provides. Also, I am a huge fan of cycling, that is why almost all the summertime I spend with my family in Spain riding every single day. In another case, a day off is time for recuperation. If this is what I need then I practically do nothing just spend the time on the beach during the summer or read and watch movies at home. Both of these pastimes recharge your batteries but in different ways.

Who would you love to collaborate with?
I would like to make IENKI IENKI shoes. For this purpose, I want to team up with a heritage brand specializing in footwear.

What trends are you forecasting for the next season?
Wearable tech is the future of the fashion industry in general. And the most exciting part is happening right now — technologies are changing not only the sportswear anymore but high fashion as well. The further the more we will see how these two spheres will collaborate and innovate each other.