These days, the best knitwear isn’t made-in-Italy cashmere hanging on a rack in your local department store. Instead, the real-deal weavings are coming out of the country of Georgia. At Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tbilisi Fall 2017, cozy sweaters and dresses made an appearance at almost every show. Standouts included veteran designer Tamuna Ingorokva’s black mohair with fat cylindrical arms, a cocoon of frothy fuzz. Liya added an extra layer of textured yarn to sleeves to create the illusion of armored arms, while Keti Chkhikvadze applied a cloud of wool to one red sweater’s chest for a billowing effect. Of course, Lalo of Lalo Cardigans fame showed their signature super-size braided knits, as Lako Bukia went the relaxed and polished route, creating a retro red dress with partially tapered bell sleeves.
So, why is Georgian knitwear some of the best in the market? Knitting has long been a part of the country’s cultural DNA, dating back in Georgia and other Caucasus regions to around 4,000 and 3,000 B.C. Tbilisi Fashion Week’s founder Sofia Tchkonia describes Georgian knitwear as “the Missoni of the mountains.” “It was always quite good in Georgia,” she says. “It’s tradition. Also, in national costume, we have a lot of knitwear.” Then during the Soviet Union days, knitting became especially popular due to scarcity. “During my mom’s era, there were no shops to buy clothes, so everyone was knitting or sewing themselves,” says Lako Bukia. “My mom said that was a trend and that everyone was competing with each other. For full-time mothers, it was like a hobby to knit or sew from Burda [a fashion magazine popular in the Soviet Union].”
This long history is evident in more than just clothes. Tbilisi-based label 711 has made a whole business out of mixing Plexiglass and woven knits into bags, using traditional Georgian techniques. Then there’s Woyoyo, an up-and-coming bag company created by Leko Melashvili, whose grandmother taught her how to knit and weave without stitching.
Here, the best knits from Georgia, or some very chic fruit of the loom.