When the news about the Creative Fashion event got to my Facebook feed, I knew for sure that my presence would be unconditional. Was it because of the event’s venue which was Hippodrome or because it was a fashion show? Not sure. But the venue intrigued me and the event promised to present those designer’s works that I have never seen before so I packed my bag, took my camera and headed to a horse-smelling place. Lately, I have been wondering why Armenian designers and fashion brands would not bring novelty into the delivery of their collections. The Dare to Wear brand did a great job with the venue choice during their latest fashion show event but most of the designers take the simple way out from the setting of their collections’ presentation. But not the ArmMod, this time.
The event started with the host opening the show on a horse. It reminded me of the Old Spice ad when the guy said: “Anything is possible when your man smells like an Old Spice and not a lady. I am on a horse.” Maybe, because the horse’s pace and her voice correlated with the ad (not that she sounded like a man but anyway). She pointed out that models went through a month-long preparation for the show. However, it is worth noting that no one raced on the racetrack and simply rode on horseback accompanied by professionals. Perhaps, dressing professional riders and adding speed to the show would leave a more dynamic and lively atmosphere rather than filling the Hippodrome with loud Ed Sheeran music and showing models walking on the runway or sitting on horses. Isn’t the beauty of the horse in his/her movement and strength? Why not show it? The difficult part about choosing the venue is merging with the venue. If organizers are confident that hippodrome reflects the “mood” of all the collections presented on the runway and that the Hippodrome will complement to the whole look of the event, that’s when you know that your venue choice is on point. Nevertheless, it was great seeing something fresh.
After the hosts’ two turns on a horse, Tigran Alberti took the stage with his shoe collection. Before launching his own label, he studied in Moscow then Shanghai specializing first in clothing design then narrowing it to shoe design. Tigran Alberti presents his collection for the second time in Armenia. To the news outlet (wnews.am) Tigran Alberti says that one pair of his designed shoes cost approximately 250.000-300.000AMD (~500-650$) and he explains the reason for the high prices so that the shoes are made in one copy and the materias are bought from Italy. Tigran Alberti uses Armenian patterns in his designs, for instance, carpet tracery on the sole and adds bright colors. By the way, his muse a.k.a. wife, Asta, singer, did the opening performance of the event.
After the performance models took the stage:
Along with Tigran Alberti nearly six designers presented their collections: Mekikchian, Jenya, Arpi Grigoryan, SofEli, Safea, and others. According to the host, their collections were thoroughly selected as creative ones by the ArmMod Fashion. Consisting approximately of 5 to 10 pieces, the collections went smoothly on the runway. One nuance that puzzled me the most was the clothing choices for the riding models. It seemed to me that they were too short for them to feel comfortable on the saddle. There is a certain beauty in the movement of a horse so that the choice of the costumes become harder to add to that movement. Cowboy-inspired outfits, ropes all over models’ bodies, wrap dresses and even sheer gowns prevailed the runway. At some point, the show was about extremes: either platform shoes or bare feet, plain material or robes, covered body or transparent tulle, cold colors or warm.
Speaking of the cold: the temperature inside the building was so low, my fingers got frozen but in comparison to the models who walked the runway in tule and bare feet, I have no complains. Joking aside! I always stressed the idea that Armenian fashion industry has a potential to break out into the global market. And many fashion events were organized in the last three years in Yerevan with noticeable arithmetic progression in quantity. It means that there is a desire to develop the sector and with the desire there comes responsibility. With the will to bring novelty and to improve the industry we need to ensure the quality of the product, in the first place. Possibly, we did try to keep up with the changes of trends globally but still, one thing that prevents us from excelling ourselves is this cliche expression that we rarely follow- “to think outside of the box.” Perhaps, the box is too big for us yet.
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