At the centre stage of the DZHUS AW24 conceptual performance stands a chair as a starting point for a profound insight and self-analysis. Created by a prominent Ukrainian architectural brand Faina, this unique objects features an edgy shape and a manufacturing technology with deep historical roots. It resonates with the DZHUS collection and serves as a though-provoking attribute.
DZHUS also continues its signature collaboration with House Martin, the Berlin-based footwear brand of a Ukrainian origin, as both brands follow the principles of cruelty-free production.
The alternative soundtrack is an imaginary psychoanalysis session, telling a true story as the creator unveils, link by link, the chain of events, dialogues and insights that have led her to the agonising animation of quasi shadows of unexperienced absolute happiness.
The casting for the performance is reflective, too, as the edgy characters portray some of the countless versions of the author’s self-determination through a conflict she fails to cope with in a frustrating ‘loop mode.’
The “ABSOLUTE” collection is an authentic materialisation of Irina Dzhus’ reflections on a personal trauma. Having escaped the war and previously overcome a repetitive abuse experience, the Ukrainian creator has, suddenly, stumbled upon a seemingly safe private situation. A macabre rendezvous with the most sacred fears, resulting in a deep mourning for an unembodied life projection, forced her to turn on the already familiar survival mode and use the accumulated creative forces at their fullest as an urgent coping mechanism. Self-ironically enough, the visionary has utilised her ‘OCD-driven’ design potential in order to generate highly dialectical, multipurpose outfits, saturated with existential rhetoric.
The silhouettes of the Autumn/Winter 2024 line are equally naïve and profoundly structured. Thematically, Irina Dzhus revisits her comfort zone, referring to modernist comics and gnostic narratives, attributes of social conformism, and gender representation speculations. The designer freezes her intimate memories in 2D-iconography-based outfits with encoded messages. Sustainable sartorial techniques and textile manipulations pay homage to the craft of kintsugi, as Irina shapes her sculptural apparel from fragments of pre-owned headpieces and scarves, playing around accessories-related subtheme in her personal story. When it comes to anatomic symbolism, the artist keeps a fragile balance between co-interfering fetishes and phobias.
The contraposition of black and white in the collection is softened with a range of ecrus as well as shades of nude and grey, whereas chromatic choices are deliberately neglected.
The fabrics selection is rich in distinctive textures and conceptual finishes, such as a lacing with a cult leitmotif, a distressed-corset-inspired top with superstructures imitating a face profile, or a transformer jumpsuit constructed from 2 upscaled gloves holding together.
The “ABSOLUTE” collection appeared to be, in a way, life-determining for Irina Dzhus. This rebellious explosion of ideas on the ground of sorrow and helplessness has vividly shown her she would never lose [get rid of] her creative force, no matter how tragic circumstances. Realisation of this blessing-slash-doom as a foundation of her very personality and the inevitability of a duty completion has questioned the freedom of choice, not only when it comes to strategies, but life as such. On the other hand, limited freedom might no longer sound that bad when it comes to the very fact of existence.
The key piece of the DZHUS AW24 range is an oversized men’s coat with an inset contrast silhouette of an embracing female figure, portraying the designer herself in her obsessive correlation with the enigmatic protagonist. This semi-supernatural counter shape is indivisible from the artist’s identity, a mirroring indicator of her existence, both a euphoric dream and a paralysing dystopia.
In the mode of self-rediscovery and self-reinvention, the designer translates ‘patterns into patterns’, deciphering the complex structure of her trauma and redirecting it into avant-garde design solutions in a sharply literal way. For the first time, Irina Dzhus incorporates fragments of her normally unpublished graphic art, evolving within her multi-disciplinary vector.
ABOUT DZHUS
DZHUS is a Ukrainian conceptual brand internationally known for its multi-purpose outfits, made of cruelty-free materials. Designer Irina Dzhus’ pattern-making innovations help minimise physical shopping and create a versatile yet sustainable wardrobe from a few transformable garments. Since the war began, DZHUS has relocated to the EU and has been donating 30% of its profit to Ukrainian animal rights organisations.
From the day of its launch in 2010, DZHUS is a vegetarian-friendly brand and uses only ethical materials. In 2019, DZHUS won the Cruelty-free Fashion prize at Best Fashion Awards Ukraine. Short-listed for the International Woolmark Prize back in 2015, DZHUS is now stocked at concept stores in Japan, China, Belgium, Portugal, USA, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Australia, Poland, and sold online worldwide. Initially designed as womenswear, many of DZHUS garments have unisex aesthetics and fit. Among the brand’s clients are American avant-garde musicians Zola Jesus and EYIBRA, and Eurovision-2016 winner, Jamala from Ukraine. The fashion house has collaborated with such movies as The Hunger Games and Star Trek Discovery as well as leading beauty brands, Saco and Davines. DZHUS has been featured in the top international press: Vogue, Dazed&Confused, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, Elle, Elle Decoration, Cosmopolitan, L’Officiel, Kaltblut, ASVOF, Dezeen, and many more. DZHUS collections have been presented during Paris Fashion Week, Berlin Fashion Week, Ukrainian Fashion Week, Milan Design Week, International Fashion Showcase London, Brussels Fashion Week, Helsinki Fashion Week, Vegan Fashion Week in Los Angeles, Milan Design Week, Dutch Design Week, Designblok Prague, Feeric Fashion Week in Romania.
SHOW PARTNERS
The Berlin Senate @senwienbe
Fashion Council Germany
@fashioncouncilgermany
NEWEST @newestberlin
La Biostheque @labiosthetiqueparis_pro
COLLABORATORS
PR & guest management: @wehypeyou
Creative direction: @irina.dzhus
Performance direction: @sasha.kakurina
Casting: @smetlana
Designer’s assistant: @monsieursmolicz
Tech coordination: @glebuschkaa
Sound: @irina.dzhus & @ruslanmays
Footwear: @housemartin_footwear
Chair: @fainadesign
Video by Jens Schmidt Berlin @jetoshi & Neven Hillebrands @nevenhillebrands