Award-winning Azerbaijani designer brings forgotten crafts to global fashion stage From carpets to catwalk

Award-winning Azerbaijani-born fashion designer Galib Gassanoff made his Copenhagen Fashion Week debut with his label "Institution", presenting the Spring/Summer 2027 collection titled “Yad” — the Azerbaijani word for “memory”.

The collection, presented on August 5, drew inspiration from the imagery and symbolism of carpets, with traditional rugs covering the runway as models showcased Gassanoff’s designs, as presented in a profile on his latest work published by Vogue magazine.

The Milan-based designer from Georgia, who won the Zalando Visionary Award in March 2026, used the collection to explore themes of heritage, identity and the preservation of disappearing crafts.

“I grew up surrounded by carpets, playing on them, sleeping with their patterns around me on the walls and floors, and washing them barefoot in cold summer water,” Gassanoff told Metal Magazine following his award win.

Born and raised on the outskirts of Georgia’s capital Tbilisi in a region that boasts a long-established Azerbaijani community, Gassanoff moved to Milan at the age of 18 to pursue his education. He remains based in the Italian fashion capital, where he has built an international career.

Gassanoff first gained recognition as co-founder of the fashion label ACT N°1, launched in 2016, before establishing his own creative project, Institution, in 2024. The brand functions as a social and artistic platform that combines traditional craftsmanship with contemporary fashion, focusing on natural materials, community involvement and the preservation of artisanal knowledge.

Through Institution, Gassanoff places his Georgian and Azerbaijani roots at the centre of his creative vision. His previous collection, “Su” — meaning “water” in Azerbaijani — presented during the Spring/Summer 2026 season, featured garments made from woven rush crafted by women artisans from Azerbaijan’s southeastern regions of Masalli and Lankaran. He discovered their work through documentary filmmaker Sitara Ibrahimbayli, with whom he collaborated on the project.

Gassanoff was also shortlisted among the nine finalists of the prestigious LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers in 2026. 

His broader mission is to highlight endangered traditional skills, support rural communities and celebrate knowledge passed down through generations, particularly among women artisans.

These values were also reflected in his previous works. For his Fall 2026 collection presented in Milan, the designer incorporated three unique pieces — two skirts and a men’s top — featuring traditional Karachop, Fachralo and Bordjalou carpets. The rugs were hand-knotted on vertical looms by Azerbaijani weavers from Georgia’s Kvemo Kartli region, home to a community known as Borchaly Azerbaijanis.

“This art is disappearing, there are very few women still handweaving. The collaboration intends to shed light on the craft, draw young people to it and urge the government to support it,” Gassanoff told reporters backstage in Milan.

By Nazrin Sadigova