With the DAŞ collection, the Azerbaijani-born designer Galib Gassanoff explores structure and construction through a softer, more fluid approach. Its name, which means “stone” in Azeri, points to the collection’s central principle: pairing monumentality with suppleness and movement. The image of the Soviet woman, which the designer associates with a certain maternal severity, is transformed here into more supple silhouettes with more fluid lines.
Cultural memory blends with traditional savoir-faire and a contemporary interpretation of form. The kəlağayı, an Azeri silk square for women measuring 150 by 150 centimetres, becomes one of the collection’s essential elements. Its making, founded on hand printing and the use of natural dyes, is passed down from generation to generation and is inscribed on UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage.
Gassanoff also rethinks traditional garment construction: jackets become draped pieces, while trousers are extended by flat panels evoking aprons. Decorative topstitching directly underlines the cutting lines on the surface of the garments, while bare backs become a graphic element revealing fragments of skin. The sculptural volumes evoke a sense of protection without hindering movement, while the natural imperfections of the materials — cracks, raw surfaces and the unfinished edges of the silk — become an integral part of the collection’s aesthetic.
In DAŞ, the heaviness of stone meets the lightness of silk, while the rigidity of construction converses with the suppleness of the fabric. The monumentality characteristic of the designer’s work thus ceases to be perceived as a fixed form: the silhouettes seem in constant motion, evoking a stone able to change state while keeping its essence.
Photos: courtesy of the brand
Cette publication est également disponible en :
