The universe where TAMRA garments belong
seems to lie in deserted dry plains of some dystopia,
the city depicted in Bladerunner or Wu-Tang Clan’s New York.
The Asian influences, at times bordering on exoticism,
contribute to the mysterious appeal.
Tamra is about interdisciplinary design,
the relation between art, movies, music,
skateboarding and fashion.
With a sporadic approach to the fashion week schedule,
Tamra’s shows are few and far between: but when they do happen,
they’re one of the most artistic, imaginative, and boundary-pushing
events on the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week line-up.
“I don’t want to create collections, I want to tell stories,”
says the founder of the brand Tamuna Karumidze.
Beloved by the skateboarding community of Tbilisi,
the skate-inspired streetwear label is
wholly dedicated to a sustainable method of production
and a distinct, DIY aesthetic – collections crafted from
old duvets, and repurposed surplus fabrics and finishings,
with blown-up, XXL silhouettes and garments designed without
gender in mind.
The brand deals with three different realities,
namely Tamra – a uniquely unisex brand, experimental
and full of custom-made items,
Tamra Skateboards – gender fluid, uniquely
dedicated to the metropolitan skate world and
Troublemakerz, an internationally popular model agency,
proposing their talents for fashion shows like
Balenciaga and Vetements.
The first line, in any case, focuses on pure research,
looking for fabrics of out of stock or of the rural
Georgian tradition.
“My goal is to create something beautiful by adapting
what already exists according to my needs, giving a new
life to these fabrics that would otherwise be lost
and inserting the most street elements that belong to
my creativity.” designer confides.
Some of the garments, unfortunately, are not for sale
as part of the research process; but if they were,
they would be unique in Georgian creativity,
both in terms of product and creative approach.
An example of how to deal with sustainability in a different way,
using it as a means and not as an end to describe
a new aesthetic.
