Versatility is a key!
We come across Materiel in the middle of the visual battles of Instagram. Dominant colours, effortless silhouettes and confident women. Everything about 21st century fashion is perfectly combined. Created by Aleksandre Akhalkatsishvili, Lado Bokuchava and Aka Prodiashvili, the brand is the echoer of the spirit of the Tbilisi fashion. Creating a strong combination of individual fashion languages as well as managing a perfect partnership together, this fashion trio raises our heartbeats for Tbilisi!
How would you describe the style of Materiel?
The style of Materiel is definitely a mix of both classic and easy, everyday pieces. Classic tailoring is brand’s signature. Most of the styles can be worn together or separately dressed up or down. It is important to provide both options for our clients – dress up for going out or for the office – all of these must be done in an easy, relaxing way. Versatility is a key in our shapes.
Can you tell us more about your studio environment?
Our studio is a large and airy space full of light and samples; A lot of samples! It’s almost like a brand archive. It is important for the designers to be able to refer to old collection samples when they need it. We’ve got a huge table in the center of the room for team meetings. Although designers have a communal room, we make sure they have the private space for brainstorming and focus. For that, we have a separate room which is quiet and where we display the moodboards and huge posters of our previous photoshoots. Here, designers have separate desks and are allowed to work privately.
What would you say about today’s Tbilisi fashion?
It’s been a few years now that Tbilisi has been a popular fashion destination for many. Compared to the main fashion cities, here the scale of the scene is lot smaller. Perhaps, this is what makes it interesting. Despite the smaller scale, fashion here is very diverse. Designers’ hospitality is also very special – they are open to interviews and talks and will even show you around their studios. Overall, there is a very relaxed and cool attitude in town towards fashion and it is definitely refreshing for the strict and serious industry of fashion.
We believe that following trends blindly is a NO in general.
What is a big NO for you among the current fashion trends?
We believe that following trends blindly is a NO in general. You can’t fully ignore them though, but it is important to stay true to yourself and not always be distracted by trends. They must be incorporated in your style in a smart way so that not to disturb your identity. Us too, as a fashion brand make sure we follow the trends only without harming our brand DNA.
Many designers use social media as a tool to grow their brands. Do you find these valuable?
Absolutely! Social media is important and is one of the tools for us to communicate the brand’s news with our audience. Although, we just re-opened our website, most requests are still received via Instagram. Recently, Instagram Stories have been a very effective way of communication for us.
In a few words, what does “luxury” mean to you?
For us luxury relates to status, elegance, feeling of being beautiful and desired;
What is next for you?
We are now working on PR and raising awareness of the brand. Our recent collection Press Day went very well and we are looking forward to new features and stories.