Combining Ancient Traditions and Innovative Upcycling, Institution by Galib Gassanoff Debuts at Milan Fashion Week

Galib Gassanoff is the founder and creative director of Institution, a brand born in 2024 as his solo project after codesigning Act N°1 with Luca Lin. With Institution, Gassanoff wants to explore his personal path based on his roots. He’s Georgian, of Azerbaijani descent, raised in the Tbilisi outskirts amid contrasting cultures—and sometimes rigid taboos—where traditions are a fundamental part of daily life. The idea of creating an institution rather than a “simple” brand, he said, is related to a desire for something that goes beyond fashion and embraces social-artistic goals too.

Institution’s first show, held during Milan Fashion Week, presented EL, the brand’s third collection since its inception. In Turkic languages this short word refers to a group of people united by a common heritage, and as a member of this community, Gassanoff wanted to explore his identity. Elements such as wool, fur, carpets, and knits have always been an important presence in his memories, so he sought to celebrate them through a personal reinterpretation.

Many of the pieces were assembled by the designer himself. Showcased in the ancient spaces of Milan’s Bagatti Valsecchi Museum, they demonstrated incredible craftsmanship, modernized through contemporary upcycling techniques. The clearest example was represented by the hand-weaving of some of the dresses, tops, and skirts that recalled the carpet-making tradition of Gassanoff’s Azerbaijani community. When the technique was applied to cotton shoelaces, it became almost sculptural. A top made of reclaimed buttons was inspired by the way servants used to carry typical coins with holes in the center during the Russian empire.

The tartan-blanket-wrapped looks were a reference to how old women in the community used to dress. While the duvet proposals recalled the heavy and wool-padded blankets typically used to deal with the Georgian cold, here they were rethought as super light and comfortable—besides being presented in a sophisticated cream. Capes were an homage to the ones worn by his shepherd ancestors, who practiced transhumance in the Caucasus for centuries, reworked by Gassanoff in a sheer chiffon-like fabric or in a thick wool version, both with very structured silhouettes.

Among the most impressive pieces were tops and skirts made of a floral jacquard fil coupé, built upside down and not shaved—as it usually is—to obtain a very theatrical furlike effect. That approach was also chosen for an ankle-length sleeveless dress.