The Armenian Designers Should Capitalize their Cultural Heritage, Giving it a Modern Spin: Aaron Akinyemi

Aaron, what had you known about Armenia, before coming here?

To be honest, there isn't a huge amount of focus on Armenia in the West but I had some information about Armenia's history, culture, I knew that it's situated between Europe and Asia - there was some knowledge about Armenia but it was not that much.

Have you had an opportunity to interact with the Armenian culture? What have you come to love most?

Yes. I have been very lucky to have been taken to tours, to have seen the Symphony of Stones, Mount Ararat.

Armenia is indeed, a beautiful country, the people are wonderful. I liked the architectural styles, natural landscape and in itself it's unique to be situated between Europe and Asia - this fact gives the country a unique vibe.

So, a traditional question for Armenians - did you know that Armenia has been the first country to have adopted Christianity as a state religion?

I didn't know that but I knew that there's a lot of Christian heritage here and you can see it - the Architecture, the Churches. We have visited monasteries, discovered the rich cultural heritage and it’s been fantastic to get to know more about the Armenian culture.

Based on what you have seen throughout the four days of the fashion week, what do you think, what the Armenian fashion can give to the world?

It’s still the second year of Yerevan Fashion Week and I should confess I’ve been quite impressed by the kind of tailoring, the usage of fabric and color by the Armenian designers, I have really been impressed.

I did love the “Soncess” show that we have just seen – a really beautiful collection, much attention to detail, elegant looks - I think it would do very well in Europe. 

What could make renowned international fashion magazines create content about the Armenian fashion?

I think what they could be interested in is finding out that point of difference and distinction - finding out what the Armenian fashion can bring to the table that the world hasn’t seen before.

Yesterday I was talking to some colleagues and they were saying that some of the collections we have seen have been beautiful, but sometimes they lack originality: some of them might seem derivative. 

We’ve seen collections that were quite reminiscent to Ralph Russo or Elie Saab. Still, we want to see what’s different, what can the Armenian fashion bring to the table that we have not seen before, how can Armenian designers manage to capitalize this unique blend of Asian and European cultures.

I have seen some fantastic collections but they remind me of something I’ve seen before so the question is how can the Armenian designers innovate, how can they challenge, how can they push the boundaries and get us think differently and appreciate what’s new and fresh.

What would you like to see next year?

I would like to see more menswear. There has been a heavy focus on womenswear which is fantastic. And would like to see more international designers too.

This year we had two of them.

Yes. The participation of international designers can draw attention and add some international flavor to the event. I did love Reza Nadimi’s collection (this is one of my favorites) – a very elegant, very well-made, tailored and beautiful collection. It was fantastic. 

This was a great example of capitalizing a cultural heritage giving it a modern spin.