TBC Bank & Georgian Art Palace Give New Life to the Ancient Georgian Textile
TBC Bank and Georgian Art Palace have collaborated on a new project which aims to give new life to the historical and traditional textile of the country of Georgia.
Giorgi Kalandia, Director of the Georgian Art Palace, spoke to GEORGIA TODAY about the project in progress, highlighting the importance of reintroducing the unique and ancient Georgian textile to the world.
“We’re a country of rich history and culture, so it comes as no surprise that our fabrics and textiles have a long and rich history,” Kalandia tells us. “Luckily, Georgia is placed on the world map where Europe meets Asia, and like the country’s ethno culture, its textile combines the best traditions of the two continents. But that’s not all: the European and Asian influences were topped by the Georgian character and unique approach of the country to textiles, shown very evidently in its ornaments. In the end, what we got is a very interesting textile, which can only be seen in Georgia. Since we’re a country of a huge history, our past is very important to us. If our past becomes a part of our everyday life, it will make Georgia even more attractive and interesting – that is why it’s so important to revive this culture”.
It all started with the Art Palace publishing a book titled ‘Textile from Georgia’ back in 2018, Kalandia tells us. The 400-page book features hundreds of different iconic, historical textiles that were worn by Georgian royalty and noblemen.
It is an encyclopaedia of unique fabric samples dating from the 7th century to the 1920s. There are more than 200 frescos and about 300 textile types included in the book, but over 600 frescos have been used as sources to reimagine the historical textiles that were worn centuries ago.
“The book received the Europa Nostra award the year it was issued, for its scientific research, and it thus attracted the attention of TBC Bank,” Kalandia says. “The fabric samples that were printed in the book, which were all in fact reproduced from more than 600 frescos, caught the Bank’s interest, and they decided to help this project go a step further. They have been a friend of our museum for a long time and we quickly found common ground to work on this project. What we got in the end is this great final product”.
“Financed by the Ministry of Culture and Monumental Protection of Georgia, a workshop was opened on the ground floor of the Art Palace to produce samples of historical Georgian textile. This is a unique project because we are creating (and reviving) the textiles in the same way that our ancestors did.
“It’s mainly silk work, but as silk is an exclusive fabric, it is too expensive to be mass produced, and we wanted the revived Georgian textiles to be affordable for the masses- youth and tourists,” Kalandia told us. And that’s where TBC Bank stepped in.
“TBC Bank started taking practical steps to reach out to the partners of the Bank, Georgian designers, and everyone who was interested in the textile and its production. That is how we ended up with textile samples using ornamented décor: we brought that ornamented décor to jeans and other items of contemporary clothing, making Georgian fabric interesting and attractive to all,” the Art Palace director says.
On their end, TBC Bank’s Head of the Brand and Creative Department, Koka Kamushadze, revealed the Bank’s discovery that there are some cases when the past should not be something that has just passed us.
“We discovered that the Dark Ages, as the Middle Ages are known in history, was actually pretty colorful visually. What today may be perceived as the textile creation of a famous designer, was in actual fact already worn by our ancestors ten centuries ago. This is more of a realization than a discovery: we realized that Georgian textile can continue to live and be very modern”.
Several designers and start-uppers have already joined the project, creating contemporary designs with ancient inspiration taken from the historical Georgian textile. It’s was revealed to us that some of the designers already putting it into practise are Daraia, Muzaradi, Side Size, Ceramic Studio, Lakoiaj, Spilow, and the Why not Gallery.
The final ready-to-wear-collection will be united under one brand, reviving the Georgian textile rich in design, meaning and culture. The Art Palace director told us that a website will soon be created where people will be able to purchase contemporary pieces that are the reincarnations of Georgian textile. The prices will vary from affordable for most to expensive, depending on the type of fabric used.
By Nini Dakhundaridze