Fashion week's newest star grew up outside Tbilisi

Galib Gassanoff grew up on the edge of Tbilisi, built his label Institution in Milan on Azerbaijani craft, won the Zalando Visionary Award and its 50,000 euros, and walked his collection 'YAD' at Copenhagen's National Gallery. The word means both 'foreign' and 'memory'. That is the whole story of the clothes.

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01THE NAME EVERYONE LEFT COPENHAGEN TALKING ABOUT GREW UP ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF TBILISI. GALIB GASSANOFF, FOUNDER OF THE MILAN LABEL INSTITUTION, WALKED HIS COLLECTION 'YAD' AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF DENMARK, WITH A MAJOR PRIZE BEHIND HIM AND A STORY WORTH KNOWING.

02THE PRIZE CAME QUIETLY BUT IT MATTERS. INSTITUTION WON THE ZALANDO VISIONARY AWARD, ANNOUNCED AT COPENHAGEN IN JANUARY: 50,000 EUROS, MENTORSHIP, AND THE BACKING TO BRING A FULL COLLECTION TO THE AUGUST SCHEDULE. A LADDER, NOT JUST A CHEQUE.

03THE LABEL IS BUILT ON HERITAGE, LITERALLY. GASSANOFF, OF AZERBAIJANI DESCENT, REWORKS TRADITIONAL CRAFT TECHNIQUES AND NATURAL MATERIALS, USING THE LABEL TO KEEP FADING ARTISANAL SKILLS ALIVE. FASHION AS A PRESERVATION PROJECT, NOT JUST A PRODUCT.

04EVEN THE TITLE CARRIES THE THESIS. 'YAD', IN AZERBAIJANI, CAN MEAN 'FOREIGN' OR 'STRANGE'; AS A BORROWED WORD IT CAN ALSO MEAN 'MEMORY'. ONE SYLLABLE HOLDING BOTH EXILE AND REMEMBRANCE, WHICH IS EXACTLY THE SPACE THE CLOTHES LIVE IN.

05AND THE STAGE WAS EARNED. COPENHAGEN HAS BECOME THE PROVING GROUND FOR EUROPE'S NEXT NAMES, AND ITS AUGUST EDITION PUT INSTITUTION IN FRONT OF THE INDUSTRY AT A NATIONAL MUSEUM. FROM THE EDGE OF TBILISI TO THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF DENMARK.

06THAT IS WHY THIS NAME IS WORTH LEARNING NOW. THE INDUSTRY KEEPS ASKING WHERE THE NEXT GENERATION COMES FROM. THE ANSWER WALKING IN COPENHAGEN: FROM THE MARGINS, CARRYING CRAFT, MEMORY AND A PRIZE THAT SAYS THE SYSTEM FINALLY NOTICED.

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