MilliOnAir Magazine July/August | Page 233

Every year when I visit, I stay in the capital city Tbilisi , which is a charming mix of modern and traditional architecture. For me, the draw is the Old Town, where I can spend hours wandering along narrow cobbled stone streets, peering into doorways that reveal the history of old Tbilisi and admiring the original architecture of intricately carved verandas which are balanced precariously above colourful houses and old shops. Around every corner, between the high fashion stores and the international hotels, there are small doorways or basements where the locals sell their produce, vintage clothing or books alongside street stalls and flower sellers.

I have always stayed at Rooms Hotel in Tbilisi, which is a very cool, designer hotel created from a former publishing house in a very eclectic part of the city. The hotel is a hub for both local and international creatives, a cool place to stay, hang out with friends, have a meeting or just chill. Alongside modern architectural elements the hotel also includes industrial Soviet-era style features, vintage Georgian furnishings and local artworks. There is always a warm welcome at the hotel with attentive staff and great food, so Rooms Hotel always offers a charming stay.

During my visit in May this year, I also took the opportunity to visit another hotel in the group, Rooms Hotel in Kazbegi. Lots of my fellow fashionistas had visited during their stays for fashion week and I had been very jealous of their experiences, so this time decided to go and see what it was all about. I decided to take a personal tour and was introduced to the charming Kartlos, the founder of Inter Georgia Travel who was my driver and tour guide for the day trip to the mountains. Kartlos made the whole experience, as he was so knowledgeable about the history of the region as well as passionate about promoting his country. He stopped at all the key historic places on the way, found the best small restaurant for a lunch of local speciality khinkali and Chacha (a local brandy or vine vodka that is known for curing all evils!!) before heading along the Georgian Military Highway to Kazbegi. Along the route we passed some fabulous new ski resorts that will definitely be on my hit list for future visits, as although I don’t enjoy the actual skiing, I love the community and après ski life and it looks like this would be a rich experience in Georgia.

The area is officially called Stepantsminda but it is more commonly called Kazbegi. The national park is located in the northern slopes of the Caucasus mountains and the Kazbegi mountain is surrounded by religious traditions and myths. The town is utterly charming and great place to use as base camp for walking, hiking or skiing. At the top of the town is the Rooms Hotel Kazbegi, which offers stunning views of the mountains. The architecturally designed hotel has all the excellent design features, warm hospitality and creative community that we now expect from Rooms. My fleeting visit did include a hot coffee and honey cake on the terrace as we looked out over the mountains to the picturesque Gergeti Trinity Church in the distance. It is a long drive to Kazbegi for a day trip but it was still worth it, but next time I plan on staying in Rooms and discovering a bit more of the area.

Alongside my tourist activity in Georgia, my central reason for being there was of course for the fashion week. I was thrilled to be invited again to visit and view the collections and meet the designers in May this year. As I have written about before, MBFW Tbilisi is having a huge fashion moment. Due to the hard work and dedication of founder Sofia Tchkonia, as well as her passion to support her country, MBFW Tbilisi has become the must-see fashion week each season, garnering more interest and excitement now than the big four.

The fashion week draws press and buyers from across the world who are looking to discover the new talent on show, following the success of brands like Vetements and David Koma and of course local creative Demna Gvasalia who is now the artistic director at Balenciaga.

The history and geography of Georgia means that creative talent finds inspiration from multiple influences, which results in unique designs.

The designers in Georgia are encouraged to push the boundaries of their creative talent rather than conform to a recognised fashion industry system. There are still multiple challenges for the new fashion brands, including limited access to fabrics, business support and mentoring as well as the challenges of manufacturing and exporting to international markets.

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