Under the Watchful Eye of Marie Claire Arabia’s Farah Kreidieh

Farah, how do you asses Yerevan Fashion Week as a fashion event and the first ever Fashion Week in Armenia?

Well, the world-known fashion weeks, the international centers have been working for so many years and decades and Yerevan Fashion Week is still new - so, you need time. Apart from the aspect of time, there’s also a cultural component. It’s of paramount importance to train fashion students so that they would learn what is going on in the world since based on what I saw during the fashion week, I really felt that the collections are mostly in the same style, I didn’t see anything that is new and I haven’t seen anything interesting that I can take with me although you have the best craftsmanship, you have amazing people and so many tools - you’re not using them properly.

Which collections have you liked most? The works of which Armenian designers could attract the international fashion market?

The one that was just now – Narny. But before talking about Narny, let me make some comments regarding the collections of the other Armenian designers.

First, the mood of most of the designer collections is very dark, most pieces are in black. Why so? Everybody wants positivity and color. There is war everywhere, there are earthquakes. You know what’s happening in the world!

 Fashion is fun, Fashion is dynamic, Fashion is emotional. When you wear black you transfer the mood. We don’t want to see this - we want to see someone who’s happy.

So, why Narny? First of all, I loved the cuts. The design was simple and nice. She can sell and I think that she sells a lot. The pieces were very minimalistic and simple and I would wear half of the collection. No need for sophistication.

Fashion Journalism is not popular in Armenia. One of the reasons lies in the fact that there are no fashion magazines in Armenia. How should a country like Armenia do to popularize Fashion Journalism?

You have so many resources that nobody seems to notice! I personally know many Armenian people from Lebanon (I’m half-Lebanese) - in Lebanon, everybody knows that Armenian people have the best quality in leather, jewelry, and what’s important, the Armenians have the patience to achieve quality. You are not taking advantage of that quality of yours here in Armenia.

I know that there are many brands like Max Mara, Prada functioning here. So, why not taking advantage of this?

Your only problem lies in the designs - they are not modern, not up to date. Well, now you have Google, Pinterest and all the digital resources on Earth. You can be so up to date!

So you think that the works of the Armenian designers are outdated?

Yes! To be very honest! Though you can do so much. Trust me. I know Armenians and I know you can. During the shows I saw so many futuristic pieces, AI theme: we are not there yet! We’re now beginning Couture Fashion Week in Paris. When we look at the designs – they are all simple, the cuts are beautiful. Sometimes you don’t need to be that complicated.

And one more thing – the fabrics used by the Armenian designers are all synthetic, why? The leather used is fake. Why are we using these kinds of materials?

What about Armenian models and modeling in Armenia?

Your neighbors are Russians – go and get models from there (smiling). Some jobs are made for certain nationalities. Armenians are made for craftsmanship - they are very patient. We, the Lebanese people, are not so patient.