Sensationist

Grit And Grace In Georgian Design

Paris Fashion Week took place in the midst of a tragic geopolitical situation. Day Two, when the Situationist show took place, dawned less than a week after the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began. The pain from this crisis was particularly acute in Georgia, a country that had a short war with Russia in 2008 and has been disputing the status of separatist South Ossetia since. Thus the brutalist entrance to the event thrown by Georgian-based Situationist seems appropriate. A pile of haphazardly strewn tires, smoking as if in a dumpster fire, greeted guests before they were escorted into a minimalist industrial space.

The collection was anything but minimalist. I often talk about the amazing burst of creativity that succeeded the fall of the Soviet Union; after decades of strict state control, artists, architects and designers were suddenly free to experiment and realize their own visions of beauty. This paradigm was especially pronounced in Georgia, which saw gastronomic, design, and fashion revolutions that reached the international spotlight (most notably, of course, when Demna Gvasalia took the reins of Balenciaga). One such fashion revolution was started by Irakli Rusadze, who founded Situationist when he was just seventeen years old. A self-taught designer, Rusadze used traditional Georgian design techniques to create a new sartorial vocabulary that blends textures and materials in bold combinations. He has a unique talent for creating complementary ensembles from dramatically different fabrics; for example, at the A/W 2022 presentation one model looked effortlessly chic in a mix of leather, wool, and denim. Situationist designs both men’s and women’s wear and there’s a touch of androgyny in the geometric, physically substantive, and often oversized garments.

A/W 2022 may be the brand’s most memorable season yet. The collection was not particularly large. However, it threatened to overwhelm with the sheer amount of colors, materials, and influences–which somehow still formed a cohesive and logical whole. For me, the men’s outfits were the highlight. Despite being an avowed opponent of any type of leopard or cheetah print, I fell in love with the outfit pictured at left. The bold ensemble was held together by a stunning pair of cranberry red wide-legged dress pants.

Equally memorable was a cropped and sleeveless denim jacket with wool shoulder pads. The piece, which cut a surprisingly masculine form, was paired with a wool fisherman’s sweater decorated in traditional Georgian patterns, a fur tote, and a pair of sea blue pants made eye-catching by their unique pocket placement. The final men’s piece which caught my eye, and was most popular among the assembled crowd of photographers and journalists in attendance, was a tight-fitting hooded black shirt with a sexually suggestive slit down the chest. Part of a structured all-black ensemble, it suggested both lethality and vulnerability, a sort of homme fatale garment that bridged several different styles and upset traditional gender expectations while remaining distinctly masculine.

Leather was the star of the women’s collection. Rusadze pulled off yet another unlikely combination by designing a light pink leather coat with a cherry red fur collar. Completed with dark pants, tall back heels, and a Tiffany’s blue knit bag, it was a power outfit almost in spite of itself. More simple was a long burgundy leather trench coat, paired to perfection with a deceptively sexy blue knit sweater and skirt. In many ways, this was the best exemplar of the secrets of Rusadze’s craft: fine details can make complex simple, simple complex, and imbue any material or cut with either power or sensuality.

Wool danced next to various combinations of leather, cotton, and fur, through much of the women’s collection. The one outfit that broke the trend was a stunning silk top in Tiffany’s blue accented with a gold cuff, dark blue skirt, and vivid purple heels. This elegant look reminded me of the Pablo Picasso quote: “ you must know the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist. ” It demonstrated Rusadze’s easy mastery of the classic (albeit with touches of vibrant personality) and explained the basis from which he is creating new classics, which I have no doubt several styles from A/W 2022 will become. There is a certain universality to Rusadze’s looks, and lessons to be learned for designers in niches spanning the fashion industry both geographically and stylistically. As for Rusadze, I think the young designer is still near the beginning of what I fully expect to be a meteoric rise.

T