Arevik Alaverdyan, fashion in Armenia

“Armenia has always been known for its know-how in textile manufacturing. For a long time, I wanted to show the richness of its traditions. In 2020, during the Nagorno-Karabakh war involving Armenia and Azerbaijan, I had the click: I decided to create a sewing workshop in Yerevan, in support of my country and in tribute to its culture. , while making a link with France”, explains Arevik Alaverdyan, 36, who has been living in Paris for a few years. After a successful musical career in her country, the designer quite naturally branched off into the world of fashion. Her family has always seen her as a child, pencil in hand, sketching silhouettes, fascinated by Parisian fashion.

In 2021, she is therefore launching her brand, called “Jaquett”, in a nod to the French jacket, this men’s jacket which goes down to the knees, shorter at the front. Self-taught, Arevik Alaverdyan specializes in outerwear – trench coats, coats, waistcoats, broad-shouldered blazers – with a pronounced taste for minimal design. “I spend my time removing and lightening, I hate the superfluous”, says the designer. All clothes are made in Armenia, with high-end fabrics selected on Nona Source, the platform for reselling dormant stocks of materials, created by the luxury group LVMH in 2021. The collections are reduced, numbering between fifteen and twenty references, including timeless ones that come back from season to season. The designer wants to organize all the shootings of her silhouettes in her country, sometimes against the backdrop of the Caucasus mountains, and by working with Armenian photographers, such as Gagik Petrosyan.