Georgia Will be Designer Guest Nation at Pitti Uomo, Florence

On June 12-14, Florence will again host the bi-annual Pitti Uomo, (in English, "Pitti Men"), one of the world’s most important platforms for men’s clothing and accessory collections, and for launching new projects in men’s fashion, described by GQ as “typically known for generating insane, eyeball-twitching street style.” Each year, Pitti Uomo hosts selected designers, and this time Georgia is in the spotlight as the guest nation. Six Georgian menswear designers will be sponsored by the Fodazione Pitti Immagine Discovery.

In an article on their website last week, men’s fashion magazine GQ wrote about the future of fashion and Georgia’s role in it, calling Georgia “the wildest country in fashion.”

Of the six, of course, Demna Gvasalia has gotten the most international attention. As creative director of Balenciaga and head designer for Vetements, he brought the post-Soviet aesthetic to the world stage and turned heads with his Georgian-90’s inspired collections. Even after proclaiming, in 2017, that “Eastern Europe is over,” young Georgians still flock to the bazars to buy knock-offs of his designs – and the occasional authentic piece. Gvasalia is not the only designer in the cohort, however.

The up and coming Georgian designers at this June’s Pitti Duomo this year are:

• Irakli Rusadze runs two labels based in Tbilisi: Aznauri and The Situationist, worn by celebrity model Bella Hadid.
• Vasili Tabatadze's label Vaska uses mostly black, with one highlight color each season (Spring ’18: a bright orange red), and experiments with texture and tailoring.
• Anuka Keburia’s namesake line also displays her very Georgian love for black and wrapped, draped drama that ignores gender norms for silhouettes.
• Gola Damian, deemed the “’enfant terrible’ of Tbilisi fashion” by GQ, is known for bold, in your face designs that play with color.
• Tatuna Nikolaishvili has been working since 2003, and presents clothing with unusual form and structure, updating classic feminine styles with a distinctly modern edge.
• Demna Gvasalia

Pitti Uomo gives young designers the chance to display their unique tastes and break free of the preconceptions of an Eastern European or post-Soviet aesthetic. So, keep an eye out for the Georgian designers in Florence next month, and don’t forget the street style!

By Samantha Guthrie

Photo: Pitti Immagine Uomo