MATÉRIEL BY ALEKSANDRE AKHALKATSISHVILI

What is your brand’s DNA? Aleksandre Akhalkatsishvili: “I like working with handmade, cut or embroidered fabrics.” What are the signature features of your designs? “Simple geometric shapes.” Sources of inspiration? “I love drama. My shows are often theatrical and total black is one of my trademarks.” Where do you produce? “In Tbilisi, because everything is on hand, from pattern makers to accessories.” Where is your brand currently distributed? “Along with our own online store, there’s also More is Love and Not Just A Label. We’ve started working with the Eizenstein store in London, and we sell in China, Australia and Russia mostly, plus Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Qatar, South Korea and Switzerland.” Whom do you design for? “It depends on the idea of the collection. For SS 2016, which was inspired by reincarnation, I imagined split personalities reincarnated.” Awards and

other acknowledgements? “I won the Newcomers Award during Tbilisi Fashion Week in 2006, and in 2013 I was a prize-winner at the Be Next contest.” What was a turning point in your career? “When I went to Germany after winning the Newcomers Award to do some workshops.”

What’s next? “I’m working on the next collection and we’re developing a new brand and concept store, which will open in February 2016.”

SHOPS: Lomonosova 22 (Saint Petersburg - Russia), Per Lei Couture (Doha - Qatar), Avart (Lugano - Switzerland)

E-COMMERCE WEBSITES: materieltbilisi.com, moreislove.com, notjustalabel.com