Celebrity Talks
Emin Bolbolian
SINOIAN- When Inspired by Armenian Culture! -Dear Emin, accept our thankfulness for giving TourInfo Magazine this great pleasure to introduce SINOIAN exclusive ethnic street wear brand. So, could you tell us about your career start? I knew from the very beginning that design was my passion. When I was around 17 I started creating my first fashion pieces. One year later I got my own sewing machine and was able to experiment on a more advanced level. I created unique fashion pieces by re-designing some of my old trousers or jackets and I did the same for my friends in school. So basically I took old clothes which I was not wearing anymore turning them into modern and contemporary fashion pieces. This is how it all started. -How did you come up with the name SINOIAN? Does it have any special meaning? I wanted to create something unique and new, which is modern fashion, suitable for daily use, fresh and meaningful with an Armenian flair and background. I wanted the name to express that. That’s why I decided to choose a name which did not exist until then, just like this sort of fashion brand. I also wanted to create a name that expresses the ”armenianness” of the brand, by adding the typical Armenian IAN ending to it and something that would tonally fit into the world of fashion. The name SINOIAN itself derived from the last name of William Saroyan as being one of the most outstanding literary figures of the 20th century, kind of did the same but in his field – creating unique literary pieces but always keeping the Armenian culture alive. So I took the name Saroyan as a basis and sort of developed a Saroyan of fashion, namely SINOIAN. - We know you are working with different types of Armenian cultural and graphical elements. Which element has been your favorite so far and why? That’s right. I am working with elements from ancient Armenian fabrics, architectural Armenian elements, old Armenian books, our cross stone (Khachkar) and of course with our unique 48
Armenian alphabet. Amongst all of my designs and the elements I don’t really have a favorite. They are all special in their own ways. But what I really like are the floral ornaments or the bird letters. They are full of bright colors and beautiful shapes. If you look at these forms they tell stories, they are authentic and meaningful. -Have you ever been to Armenia? Yes, I have been. I have family and friends who live in Yerevan. Actually I will be in Armenia again in August this year. I am already excited and looking forward to it. Also it will be a good opportunity to get some inspirations for my future designs. - I am sure all lovers of SINOIAN are impatient about your new special creations. Which is going to be your next item? We are now working on some new fashion pieces. The time has come to expand our product line and add some cool stuff besides t-shirts. Maybe a dress, or a jacket, or some nice accessories. There will also be a really cool event coming up in the next few months, which we are very excited about. Stay tuned, follow us on Facebook or Instagram by searching for SINOIAN to receive the latest information about that and our upcoming collections. -What is your message to your followers and especially our Armenian readers? First of all I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support and the appreciation for our work. There wouldn’t be no SINOIAN if it wasn’t for our followers and fans worldwide. And my message is: Be proud of who you are! Especially if you are Armenian, and I don’t mean it in a nationalist way. I mean to be proud of our thousands of years old Armenian heritage, culture and beautiful art. Be aware of it, show it to the world and let others be part of it. Our culture and art is too beautiful and unique to not to be shown. Even some of the most luxurious brands like Hermès recognize the beauty of our culture and show it to the world. And as Paruyr Sevak said, “menk kich enk, sakayn mez hayen asum“.