Discover DZHUS’ “ANTICON” phantasmagoria materialised at the one-of-a-kind CONCEPT11 space. The project speculates on the humanity’s ‘Utopia codes’ generated to program happiness. Deciphering her own intimate trauma, Irina Dzhus saturates this cathartic collection with narratives of sociocultural conformism. Convinced that frustration grows on expectations, the Ukrainian designer ironises about the conventional symbolism throughout the entire history of mankind.
ANTICON Collection
Irina points out to a correlation between a natural desire for self-discovery. The urge for homecoming and reflects with an open question. “Can finding ‘where you belong’ in life replace the essential feeling of home?”. She defines her escapist coping experience as ‘inter-refuge’. And suggest utilising the civilisation’s semantics database to pave a path to a subjective idyll. Thus, any sign, term or notion appears to be a metaphysical source of power serving as a vector. To ‘self-settlement’, as an efficient strategy versusexistential dilemmas.
Irina Dzhus pays tribute to the world’s declared encoding systems, from spirituality to commodity. She desaturates the chromatic spectrum, replacing colours with abbreviations. The society’s self-consumerism is traced to gastronomy-related sacraments typical for all the major religions. Thus, a series of ensembles is inspired by ritual table setting. The mirrored modules also allude on this ‘autophagia’ phenomenon. A shape is indivisible from its antipode, a ‘counter-shape’, as they interact and co-nourish.
Glorifying a reunion with our true self, DZHUS flirts with the gender stereotypes, fetishising the lingerie leitmotif and corpcore, deconstructing the traditional social roles and accentuating their fluidity. While white sartorial trousers transform into an iridescent corset, DZHUS does not stop there and incorporates wearability into homeware objects. Thus, a tablecloth with serving on appears to be a flat-cut cape.
As she refers to Gnosticism, Kabbalah, Judaism, official and alternative Christian teachings. Irina Dzhus admits the burden of personal values and duties. Stoicism and self-sufficiency are translated through the ‘object-subject’ statement, embodied in multifunctional clothing items. DZHUS believes: whichever conventional system chosen to refer to is relevant. As long as its waymarks show a way out of desperation. Furthermore,
randomised references may well (if not better) lead to a destination point.
Irina Dzhus encodes the rainbow in blank, quilted surfaces. Leaving the exterior pure, she embellishes pockets and lining with rhinestones and jewellery,
commemorating her own escape from the war in Ukraine through an eloquent tribute to the heartbreaking Holocaust stories. The labyrinth motif is
dedicated to the Sinai wanderers driven by a spirit of homecoming.
Unexpectedly, colours pop from underneath the clothing, as DZHUS paints the ‘wrong’ side in the rainbow gradient. This ‘secret’ splash of pigments
amidst the total white collection carries a life-asserting message, suggesting an insight as a route to home, joy, and hence, fulfilment.
Compassionate to animals in the first place, Irina caricatures the society’s dualistic approach: from treating them as food to idealistic speculations
about pets’ afterlife. Not only can we notice zoomorphic elements from Byzantine iconography, but also tiny paw prints on DZHUS’ rainbow.
Video about of this collection click here.
DZHUS
DZHUS is a Ukrainian conceptual brand internationally known for its multi-purpose outfits, made of cruelty-free materials. Designer Irina Dzhus’pattern-making innovations help minimise physical shopping and create a versatile yet sustainable wardrobe from a few transformable garments. Since the war began, DZHUS has relocated to the EU and has been donating 30% of its profit to Ukrainian animal rights organisations. In 2019, DZHUS won the Cruelty-free Fashion prize at Best Fashion Awards Ukraine. Short-listed for the International Woolmark Prize back in 2015, DZHUS is now stocked at concept stores in Japan, China, Belgium, Portugal, USA, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Australia, Poland, and sold online worldwide. DZHUS incorporates gender representation dilemmas in the core of its unisex design, challenging the social standards and glorifying human
physique in its versatility.
Among the brand’s clients are American avant-garde musicians Zola Jesus and EYIBRA, and Eurovision-2016 winner, Jamala from Ukraine. The studio
has collaborated with such movies as The Hunger Games and Star Trek Discovery as well as leading beauty brands, Saco and Davines. DZHUS has been
featured in the top international press: Vogue, Dazed&Confused, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, Elle, Elle Decoration, Cosmopolitan, L’Officiel, Kaltblut,
ASVOF, Dezeen, and many more. DZHUS collections have been presented during Paris Fashion Week, Berlin Fashion Week, Ukrainian Fashion Week,
Milan Design Week, International Fashion Showcase London, Brussels Fashion Week, Helsinki Fashion Week, Vegan Fashion Week in Los Angeles, Milan
Design Week, Dutch Design Week, Prague Fashion Week, Designblok Prague, Feeric Fashion Week in Romania.
Irina Dzhus’ creations are extremely personal as she translates ‘patterns into patterns’ in the mode of self-rediscovery and self-reinvention. The artist
redirects her intimate dramainto avant-garde design solutions in a sharply literal way.
Genuine and straightforward throughout its entire 15-year history.
DZHUS missions at contributing innovation into the fashion industry and breaking sceptical stereotypes about animal-friendly and eco-oriented design. DZHUS promotesethical fashion through its emblematic intellectual allegories.
PHOTO & VIDEO CREDITS
Brand: DZHUS @dzhus.conceptual.wear
Location: Concept_11@concept_11_warsaw
General partner: CHOICE Ukraine @brands_by_choice
Organisational support: OTOTO Art Foundation @ototo.art.foundation
Film premiere partner: Hotel Continental – Art Space in Exile Berlin @artspaceinexile
Direction, poetry, styling, photo editing: Irina Dzhus @irina.dzhus
Sounddesign: Hennadii Biliaiev @man_without_one
Campaign photography: Marta Chudek @martachudek
Lookbook photography: Maria Salivonova @salivon_ph
Video: Yuliya Simutkina @sssimutkina
Styling assistance: Mariia Horbenko @mariia_horbenko
Makeup & hair: Karolina Żukowska @flying.brushes, Marta Kozłowska
@martakozlowska_makeup, Agata Kowalska @agatakowalska_makeuplover, Sveta Safronovskaya @sveta_saf_beauty
Technical production: Sviatoslav Mykhailov @mhlvsv, Gianluca Pica @notgianlu, Filip Kurczyński @filipkurczynski, Wojtek Nurzyński
@wojteknurzynski, Oleh Shypkov @olegshypkov, Maciej Kowalewski @maciek_kowalewski
Backstage photography: Tina Zaborowska @ztinavl
Models & actors: Marta Gac @gacwoman, Adriana Gołębiowska @adrianqa, Kolas Vodonovsky @vodonovsky, Yuri Vedenyapin @yurivedenyapin,
Kate Artman @katesmile2121, Yeva Batriak @rosyands, Agnes Samuel @agnessitta, Barbara Dmowska @kosmiczna_trumna, Rita Jako @rita_jako
@Gaga Models, Denis Novikov @deonij, Lena Shtyk @lenashtyk, Ania Kos @ania.e.kos
Soft furniture: NOOM @noomhome
Special thanks to Monika Goszcz-Kłos @goszczdesign, Mariya Ponomarenko @ponomarenko__mariya, Dariusz Munio @muniomunio, Gennadii Kozub
@gennadiikozub for organisational cooperation
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