Irakli: Situationist takes its inspiration from the group of political and artistic social rebels of a mid-20th century known as Situationists. The group was born out of the fusion of avant-garde artists, political theorists and street ethnographers who started to explore alternative life experiences that are constructed by everyday life situations. Artistic means of expression – of both the Situationists and the label – is all about aimless wondering, experimentation, sensing time and following one’s own desires.

David: We met in Berlin at one of the home parties during New Year’s Eve celebrations. We just exchanged a few words and opened up that we both loved each other's work. Before Paris fashion week, Irakli told me that he was interested in me taking a photo of a model dressed in Situationist. He wanted to see my vision of the brand. Back then, we both thought that I would just make a single shot for Instagram but, at the same time, he gave me absolute freedom and that was where I got challenged. For the first time, I asked myself if I could do a fashion shoot while staying true to myself image-wise. This is how a single image turned into a campaign for the brand and I have worked on it as my personal project.

David: Leather clothing and photography led me to Robert Mapplethorpe, but instead of using a studio, I rented a sports space. I knew I had a couple of leather looking mattresses that I could use as a background and, of course, the atmosphere of a sports school that would give the shooting a twist of my artworks.

David: The only hint from Irakli regarding the brand was that it is about individuals, so I decided to ask a couple of friends who were already experienced in modelling to be part of the collaboration. The shooting took place in Berlin, starring Nat Marcus – poet and a co-founder of Tabloid press –, Mikka Nielsen – artist and a co-founder of Herrensauna –, and Jade Lee Petersen – a contortionist artist. The reason for choosing black and white goes back to my early thoughts on what would I do for Situationist; I always imagined it that way.

Irakli: The collection aimed to discover new ways of using pre-existing forms and was very minimalistic. The strict minimum is our approach towards Fall/Winter 2018. Our original plan was to show the collection in Women's Prison Nº5 in Rustavi (Georgia). Unfortunately, we had to change the location the last-minute. However, the concept of the show was very similar to the raw and minimalistic aesthetics of our initial space. As for our work with celebrities, I think it is majorly connected to the platform of Mercedes-Benz. For example, the stylist of Bella, Elizabeth Sulcer, saw the pictures of our show on Vogue and got in touch with us. Working with Bella and Elizabeth is indeed a great honour for me.

Irakli: I have a great respect towards Demna, but I would not say Situationist and Vêtements have many similarities. I understand the comparison that was made in the beginning, as both of us come from Georgia and there could have been some inspirational similarities. But now, we are trying to distance ourselves from ‘90s fashion and the post-Soviet niche in which Georgian designers are often put. Georgia has much more interesting and deeper culture than seventy years of the Soviet period. Therefore, in our Paris Fashion Week presentation, we aimed to bring out the vision of young Georgian artists whose sense of belonging goes beyond a recently popular image of post-Soviet culture.

Irakli: Situationist is only three years old, and we were already presented in Paris and Milan. Every brand that is participating in Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tbilisi has equal opportunities. However, I think that the amount of time and energy that a designer and a team are willing to contribute to their brand is crucial for success.

David: At this moment, I can think of one more collaboration for sure, and let’s see how happy we both are going to be about it. I guess I’ll be keeping myself busy with shooting at the studio on dark winter days in Berlin.
Irakli: Apart from having worked together, David is also a good friend of mine. We will be bringing our joint efforts further in the nearest future.