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Designer Aka Prodiashvili had to reschedule our interview on Monday morning because he’d been awake the whole night protesting, and his skin and eyes were burnt from tear gas.
After presenting his fashion show at Culture Days Tbilisi (formerly Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tbilisi, or MBFW Tbilisi) on Saturday night, Prodiashvili joined 50,000 other Georgians at a protest outside parliament against two proposed pieces of legislation: a “foreign agent” law that critics fear could suppress international press and NGOs; and an anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda bill. The protests began peacefully but resulted in violence, attendees say.
That Culture Days Tbilisi went ahead at all wasn’t a given. After making a comeback in May 2023 following a four-year hiatus, MBFW Tbilisi was cancelled last November in light of the political unrest in Georgia. Organiser Sofia Tchkonia says she considered skipping this season, too. The rebrand to Culture Days Tbilisi reflects a broadening to incorporate art and music. The event, which ran from 9 to 12 May, featured fewer fashion shows and a smaller international guest attendance.
“Ultimately we decided that we had to go ahead with it and show the world what Georgia truly is,” explains Tchkonia. “The political situation is very tense. Hopefully soon it will change for the better. We want a free, democratic country and what is happening now in Georgia is very inspiring. We are witnessing the process of the birth of new Georgia.”
The foreign agents bill, which passed on Tuesday morning, states that any organisation receiving more than 20 per cent of their income from outside of Georgia will have to register as a foreign agent. This means international NGOs and press will be subject to regular audits and, if the government decides they are not operating in the interests of the nation, they could be at risk of censorship or closure. It’s been called a “Russian law”, as critics liken it to those implemented during the Soviet Union (Georgia gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991), as well as current Russian laws that prevent dissent and opposition to the invasion of Ukraine.
The European Union has previously warned that such a bill would “negatively impact” Georgia’s candidacy to join the bloc, Reuters reports. The decision to pass the bill therefore could have a knock-on impact on fashion businesses, which would have benefitted from easier cross-border trading as part of the union. It could also mean Georgians will require a visa to visit EU states, making last-minute trips for fittings or prolonged travel for showrooms increasingly difficult.
Fashion as protest
Designers made a nod to Georgia’s EU ambitions in their collections. Prodiashvili’s show featured a dress printed with the EU flag, while brand Berhasm featured their own version of the flag, with stars replaced by the borjgali, a traditional Georgian symbol.
“Despite the turmoil, it’s essential to continue supporting the arts and creative industries,” says Prodiashvili. “Culture Days Tbilisi provides a platform for artists and designers to share their work with the public. By participating, I’m sending a message of resilience. Despite challenges, we must persevere in pursuing our passions. It allows me to connect with the community, celebrate diversity, raise awareness and send the right messages through my designs.”
The founder of Situationist, one of Tbilisi’s leading brands, agrees. Irakli Rusadze, founder of Situationist, says Culture Day Tbilisi was an opportunity to put forward a message. The brand’s installation, revealed on Friday, featured a blanket composed of 183 pairs of hand-knitted shoe soles and crafted from tintless natural leather, assembled using a Georgian crochet technique, to represent people standing in unison.
“We’re in a hard political situation in Georgia, and in other parts of the world. We created this blanket as a testament to unity and interconnectedness — a vision that seems utopian in today’s dystopian political reality,” says Rusadze, speaking on the phone from Tbilisi the day after the installation. “It challenges viewers to imagine a reality where barriers are broken and differences are embraced. The exhibition is a rallying cry for unity in the fight against this Georgian nightmare.”
For some designers, it was a case of weighing up the need to keep their businesses afloat while fighting to protect democracy in Georgia. It’s a difficult balance to strike. “It’s hard to focus on creativity and navigate personal, professional and socio-economic situations altogether,” says George Keburia, founder of Georgian label Keburia, which has found success in the Chinese market over the last five years. The brand is stocked by around 50 stores in China and Asia-Pacific, including IT in Shanghai and Hong Kong, IINC, Tier Jo and Sasameet. Keburia decided not to show during Culture Days, but instead held an opening event for the brand’s first bricks-and-mortar store in Tbilisi on Friday.
“We have been working on this project for more than five months and it means a lot to me, but we were hesitant about the opening event due to the current socio-political situation,” Keburia says. “The store is on one of the main avenues in Tbilisi close to the demonstration area. It has been quite crazy,” he continues. Keburia and his friends always join the peaceful protests, but they went ahead with the store event as there was no scheduled demonstration on Friday. “I think it’s important to do both,” he says, “as we don’t want to hurt the business and the many employees behind it.”
New designer Lashao Gabunia won MBFW Tbilisi’s Be Next talent competition last year, with his brand Jesus Star. Originally a costume designer, he held his first-ever fashion show on Sunday, supported by his friends. While he couldn’t make it out to protest while prepping for the show, he felt showing at all was a protest. His theatrical collection celebrates people of all ages, genders and body types. “I didn’t want to express my protest in a brutal way in my show — but my work is a protest,” he says. The goal is to build recognition and develop his label, though it’s not easy for new brands to cut through and secure orders with smaller international attendance.
Anti-LGBTQ+ laws put designers and their brands at risk
It’s not just the foreign agents law that Tbilisi’s fashion community is protesting. Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party also proposed an anti-LGBTQ+ bill, that would prevent same-sex adoption, gender reassignment and prohibit gatherings aimed at “popularising same-sex family or intimate relationships”, Reuters reported. The bill is yet to be debated in parliament.
When the bill was proposed at the end of March, radical conservatives demonstrated in the streets. Keburia was forced to close his new store for the day out of concern for the safety of his gay employees.
Many of the city’s designers use fashion to celebrate LGBTQ+ culture, and fight against oppression and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in Eastern Europe. Last MBFW Tbilisi in May 2023, the local queer community organised a drag ball, attended by hundreds of young people. “We fear we might be targeted at one point because of our message,” says Rusadze, whose previous Situationist show at last year’s MBFW Tbilisi was held in an old sulphur baths that was once a secret space for queer people to meet.
Prodiashvili’s work and shows celebrate queer culture, with drag performances and high-octane looks shown on people of all identities. “As a designer committed to inclusivity and diversity, this rise in homophobia is disheartening and makes it challenging to promote a message of acceptance and tolerance through my work,” the designer says. “It’s disheartening to see people losing hope and feeling the need to leave their own country to seek safety and acceptance elsewhere.”
The upcoming general election in Georgia in October could help reduce tensions, or exacerbate them further, depending on the result (the main opposition party is more left leaning and pro-EU). International press are calling the election “a referendum on Europe”.
While devastated that the foreign agents law has passed, Tbilisi’s designers are hoping for a bigger fashion week come November, with more international guests, to keep celebrating the local industry in Georgia and its liberal message. Tchkonia says she’s weighing the format and considering whether to return to the traditional fashion week or keep Culture Days Tbilisi for next season, to differentiate from other fashion events around the world.
In the meantime, Keburia will show in London in September, after tapping London-based Agency Eleven to help the business build brand awareness. Situationist will present in Paris in September as usual, but Rusadze is keen to continue activating closer to home. “When something is happening in the country, we always love to organise something because that’s where we started and where we come from. So if something happens in November, we would love to be a part of it.”
Prodiashvili is apprehensive about the future, yet plans to stay strong. “I am extremely worried about the way things currently are politically in my country and it is affecting my mental health more than you might think,” he says. “However, I will stay firm and creative, delivering the intended information to the community.”
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