Back in 1989, intrigued by a Georgian painter named Niko Pirosmani, Rei Kawakubo gathered her crew and headed to a hilltop in Soviet Georgia, where she tapped the photographer Brian Griffin to shoot a Comme des Garçons campaign for Six, the brand's stapleless, wordless magazine. Since then, the country has emerged as a surprising fashion capital: Georgian-born Demna Gvasalia's recent entrance into the international spotlight has only heightened the design scene back at home, where the capital, Tbilisi, is now home to not one, but two fashion weeks. The second kicked off on Thursday, just in time for the opening of an exhibit of Griffin's photos at Tbilisi Moma, organized with Project ArtBeat. Get a glimpse of Kawakubo's designs on the locals, shot near an Orthodox church where animals were being sacrificed.
