Poiesis

With just four days until Syndrom’s Tbilisi flagship store opening, we speak to founder Tekla Gurgenidze about the label’s upcoming collection and runway debut at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

In Tbilisi, where cavernous Soviet bunkers and derelict buildings give way to techno clubs and fleeting moments of collective release, Tekla Gurgenidze has been refining a visual language of her own. Embedded in the city’s underground scene, Syndrom is a clothing, beauty and jewellery label that harnesses fashion to document the reality of creating in a space rattled by censorship and political unrest.

Since 2015, the Georgian designer has alchemised Tbilisi’s “dark pulse” into several collections and visual essays, which articulate marginalised voices by repositioning garments as artefacts within a wider cultural narrative. Gurgenidze’s affinity for storytelling dates back to childhood. While sketching was not her forte, she recalls hours spent “costume-writing” — filling her notebooks with outfit ideas and detailed observations — a ritual that still grounds her practice today.

Syndrom’s latest chapter serves as a testament to this instinct. Encompassing 30 unisex looks and a complementary visual series, Poiesis (2026) traces metamorphosis through the lens of women’s creativity — how moments of vulnerability, tension and fortitude quietly reshape identity and inner states. For Berlin Fashion Week AW26, Gurgenidze joined forces with Georgian DJ and producer Wesley Wise to tease part of the project through an immersive presentation — comprising a clothing pop-up, live music set, poetry readings and a film screening.

On 7 May, the label will unveil the full collection during its runway debut at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tbilisi. Ready-to-wear pieces will be available to purchase online and in person from Syndrom’s Tbilisi concept store, opening on 3 May. With only a few days to go until the official Poiesis launch and flagship store opening, we sit down with founder Gurgenidze to discuss her transdisciplinary process, the concept behind the collection, and Georgia’s nascent fashion landscape.

Looking back on your trajectory to becoming an independent designer, which milestone moments stand out?

Throughout school, I performed well academically, but I had no concrete plans. I was even considering studying literature or a technical subject at university. Then, six months before my final exams, I made a conscious decision to pursue a career in fashion — largely shaped by early experiences growing up in Tbilisi. Exploring industrial sites and underground venues — and mixing with musicians, painters, photographers and performers who transformed everyday objects into art — taught me that clothing is a powerful tool for both storytelling and survival.

During my first year at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts, I realised my fashion design programme was less hands-on than I had expected. Alongside my studies, I began working as a tailor’s assistant at a local atelier, which is how I learnt to sew. After years working in the creative sector — gaining experience in garment construction, small-scale production and collaborative artistic projects — I relocated to Italy to complete my MA in Ethical Fashion Design at the University of Florence.

When I returned to Tbilisi, I felt ready to establish myself as an independent designer and founded Syndrom. Our first studio was in the Old Film Studio building on Agmashenebeli Avenue — a former state cinematic unit under the early Soviet administration in Georgia — where many community members had recording studios and workspaces. What began as a solo project gradually grew into a small, collaborative atelier as presentations and product lines expanded.

Casting your mind back to 2015, what were you hoping to achieve when you founded Syndrom?

I wanted to create durable, gender-neutral pieces that combine simplicity and functionality — for local subcultural communities and international clients seeking story-driven garments. The label’s name is a deliberate statement — like a medical ‘syndrome’, identifying a cluster of related symptoms shaped by a distinct cultural moment, with a particular focus on women’s lived experiences.

Storytelling through location has been central to Syndrom’s mission from the beginning — Tbilisi’s ‘dark pulse’ is part of our DNA. The city’s underground scene is a high-energy mix of industrial ruins and techno culture — a network of clubs, artist-run spaces and informal collaborations where fashion, performance and music bleed into one another. I wanted to build a label that mirrors that honest, raw aesthetic — using fashion to give the creative community a voice and document our reality.

I’ve been integrating film, performance and text into my practice since the start. Our visual essays are integral to that storytelling process — adding movement, atmosphere, depth and a sense of duration or ‘immortality’ to each collection — highlighting the contextual temporality of clothing. In 2016, we shot our first film based on a text by Georgian writer Luka Kharlamenko. This is just one of many examples where we’ve been able to breathe life into garments through film, revealing how they behave and interact with a moving body.

Over the last 11 years, the label has grown considerably — expanding into beauty and now opening its flagship Tbilisi store on 3 May. Throughout these evolutions, what values continue to guide your production process?

Since 2015, I have designed multiple collections and showcased them locally to honour the musicians, artists, poets, independent craftspeople, experimental venues and club collectives that inspire me daily. For example, our SS25 collection Delirium was shown at the Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia, and a year later our SS26 collection Mirror, Darkly was presented at Khidi Club. In the early years, I also avoided traditional seasonal schedules in favour of theme-driven releases and made-to-order pieces. Over the past three years, however, we have begun presenting more systematically through seasonal collections.

Our work has consistently been guided by experimentation, sustainability, craft, visual honesty and freedom of expression. Production and finishing are carried out locally in our studio, and all materials are handpicked with sustainability in mind. Syndrom operates across gender-neutral and unisex design, without limiting ourselves to conventional fashion categories. The move into beauty developed naturally from a desire to create a full sensory extension of the brand’s narratives — with fragrance and make-up products complementing each collection and its accompanying visual work.

Next week, you will launch Poiesis at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tbilisi. Could you tell us more about the collection and its accompanying visual series?

Poiesis is our latest chapter, reflecting on processes of change and the intimate birth of ideas. Borrowed from the ancient Greek term for ‘making’ or ‘bringing forth’, the title speaks to transformation — the powerful, generative act deeply connected to women’s creativity and how we make sense of our reality. Within Syndrom’s universe, garments carry the imprint of inner transformation and function almost like emotional armour — structured silhouettes meet fragile elements, creating a dialogue between protection and exposure. Instead of presenting this emergent state as a moment of ‘brokenness’ or ‘incompleteness’, Poiesis celebrates the emotional truth and endurance required to move through it.

The project unfolds through a visual series that captures the quiet intensity of the collection. Shot by Berlin-based photographer Rianon Vran, this editorial features our permanent, iconic ‘pin coat’ — made from women’s stockings and safety pins — and introduces new pieces from the collection. Poiesis features mixed-texture layering, experimental surface treatments and hand-finished tailoring. All fabrics have been sourced locally, and the jewellery was crafted in our atelier in Tbilisi. Although we already previewed some pieces at our Berlin Fashion Week pop-up in January, the full collection launches on 7 May. Ready-to-wear items will be available to purchase from our concept and online store. For anyone interested in custom-made pieces, requests can be made digitally.

On 30 January, part of the project was revealed during Syndrom’s debut at Berlin Fashion Week. Can you tell us more about the transdisciplinary event and how it came together on the day?

As part of the Berlin Fashion Week AW26 side schedule, we hosted an immersive pop-up event in Prenzlauer Berg, showcasing a selection of pieces that closely mirror those featured in this editorial — the full collection wasn’t yet complete at that point. For the presentation, we teamed up with a good friend of mine from Tbilisi, David Iashvili, an electronic DJ and producer known by his alias Wesley Wise. He performed a live music set alongside poetry readings and a screening of our latest film, Poiesis (2025).

Produced by videographer Alexander Iakobashvili, the short film forms part of the visual series and was played on repeat throughout the presentation, capturing the evolution of form — how something can exist in one state and, through the poietic act, emerge as something entirely different. Our video production process is always collaborative. As the director, I choose videographers whose sensibilities align with the project and develop a brief rooted in the collection’s themes, then we shoot together — either on location or in a studio — focusing on mood, texture and performance.

On the day, we were fortunate to be met with an engaged audience, whose feedback reflected the emotional intensity of the experience — particularly the live music and poetic elements. Debuting at Berlin Fashion Week marked a major milestone for Syndrom in terms of international expansion, and we look forward to returning to Berlin when the right opportunity arises.

While music and film are often used to elevate fashion presentations, encountering poetry in this context is pretty uncommon. How did the idea of incorporating a recital emerge, and which poems did you perform?

The decision to include poetry was not purely decorative — it was intentional and integral to the collection’s concept. I wanted to show that art is not merely about beauty or suffering, but the complex emotional realities of life. To express this, I performed two poems: Gas Flower, which I wrote myself, and an extract from Sometimes You Get Used to a Person by Georgian poet Lia Sturua. These works emphasised patience, metamorphosis, endurance and emergence — themes central to Poiesis and its portrayal of the modern woman. They speak to the small, often invisible battles of existence and the layered forms of survival that give rise to new creative power.

This was actually one of the first formal presentations where we experimented with this format and made poetry a core component. The reception was warm and attentive — many members of the audience commented on how the readings added an intimate, human layer to the visual and sonic elements. Given how well everything landed, I’m looking forward to exploring this format further in our future presentations.

Given the ongoing political crisis in Georgia, what are your hopes for the future of the fashion and wider creative scene?

Georgia is facing a very difficult period. While we speak about creativity and diversity, the country is also witnessing the systemic repression of peaceful demonstrators. What we call the ‘absurdity of law’ is not just a phrase — it is a direct assault on freedom and cultural integrity. In this context, politics, culture and resistance are inseparable. Art and fashion become both refuge and tool. Creatives are confronted with logistical and economic barriers, pressures of censorship and the emotional toll of instability, yet culture continues to create spaces for solidarity and collective expression.

I’m deeply proud of the scene’s resilience, creativity and growing international recognition. That said, I would like to see a stronger infrastructure in place to help emerging designers and creatives scale their work while retaining their identity. Internationally, representation is growing, but more needs to be done to ensure Georgian voices remain consistently visible beyond occasional spotlights. My hope is for stronger international support and greater local safety for artists — continued instability threatens to erode the very creative ecosystem we have worked so hard to build.

Despite these obstacles, where would you like to see Syndrom in the next five years?

I envision Syndrom as an established, internationally recognised brand with a growing creative team and expanded product categories. I want us to continue exploring our brand identity through sustained experimentation, sharper creative direction and by bringing in more diverse team members — especially women and creatives of all abilities. As Syndrom evolves, our work must remain rooted in Tbilisi’s craft and storytelling traditions. We have several projects currently underway to ensure this.

The first is the opening of our Tbilisi flagship store on 3 May. Housed in a former church at 2 Giorgi Akhvlediani Street, we want to honour the site’s layered history — tracing faith, violence and survival — rather than reclaiming or redefining what was lost. The project grew out of research into erased urban spaces, alongside collaborations with local historians and heritage specialists to preserve the memory embedded in the walls. We’re also very excited to make our runway debut at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, which will take place at the Factory Tbilisi. Needless to say, it has been a busy few weeks!