RED CARPET

Flashes of red and burgundy colours. An oriental spice sumac at Paris Fashion Week. The colours of the mesmerising beauty of Azerbaijani carpets under the arches of the Paris American Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. A group of beautiful girls with chatma-gash eyebrows converging on the bridge of their noses, symbolising the charm, freedom, and strength of an oriental woman, enter the podium under the melody of Pulse by the famous Azerbaijani tar player Shahriyar Imanov. They demonstrate garments from the Haute Couture Sumakh by AFFFAIR collection of the world famous Azerbaijani fashion designer Rufat Ismayil based on Azerbaijani carpets. Each dress of twenty-one models deserves special attention and study.

What seemed fantastic quite recently has become a reality: Paris Fashion Week, the name of the Azerbaijani fashion designer in the calendar of shows alongside with the world fashion giants Christian Dior, Balenciaga, Elie Saab, Michale Cinco, a new interpretation and performance of the semantics of Azerbaijani carpets. An interesting application of their patterns in a collection of clothes from a fashionable couturier.

The beauty of the Sumakh collection, colours, and the overall ambience is the event are quite impressive. Thanks to his show, Rufat Ismayil could attract the attention of the world fashion industry to everything truly Azerbaijani. Soul, traditions, culture, history, ethnic beauty, carpets on display in famous museums of the world, including in the Hermitage of St. Petersburg, the Louvre of Paris, Topkapi of Istanbul, the Victoria and Albert Museum of London and the Textile Museum of Washington, DC. The unique collection of Haute Couture Sumakh by AFFFAIR is a result of a painstaking three-month (!) work of the team of more than 30 people led by Rufat Ismayil. According to the designer, this collection is a tribute to ancient Azerbaijani carpets, the brave Azerbaijani people and the long-awaited victory in Garabagh.

Climax

All the outfits in the collection contain pieces of historical and artistic information from the medallions and compositions of such Azerbaijani carpets as Chelebi, Garabagh, Achma-yumma, Goja, Khanlyg, Nalbakigul and so on. Many of them are made from unique handmade fabrics, decorated with semiprecious stones, embroidery from floss threads, old techniques Rococo, Kurchuk and Sarma. A sophisticated, rich and incredibly stylish collection was created in close cooperation with the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum.

“To create this collection, I was inspired by the motives of famous Azerbaijani carpets, their depth, rich colours, elegance, and the trepidation, with which our ancestors created them, illuminating each pattern, filling it with life,” the designer admitted.

Parisians showed great interest in the collection of Rufat Ismayil. According to the local media, on the day of the presentation (October 2), a few hours before the start of the show, a queue lined up at the entrance of the American Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. “Amazing ethnic designs and mesmerizing models brightened the atmosphere of the cathedral. The show was opened by the famous designer Michael Cinco, and the super-talented, well-known Azerbaijani couturier Rufat Ismayil, who was twice awarded the title of the best designer of the year in Turkey,” wrote Fashion Week Online (@pariscityfashionweekofficial), the official outlet of the FWO Fashion Week in Paris.

FWO also noted that Ismayil's collection was a bright end of that day. “Rufat Ismayil’s brand AFFFAIR is the culmination of modern styles, traditions and culture of the Azerbaijani people. The designer used traditional carpet patterns preserved in the Azerbaijani culture for centuries to create luxurious dresses with intricate and extremely delicate handicrafts,” said FWO.

Fashion Week Online also stated that the Haute Couture Sumakh by AFFFAIR collection is an incredible success, considering that after a long pause due to the pandemic, the Paris Fashion Week turned out to be the richest among the offline events. Famous brands Dior, Chanel, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, and Maison Margiela could not wait for another digital presentation season and decided to arrange real shows for a small offline audience. And Rufat Ismayil was also in this line.

Famous Azerbaijani top model Gunay Musayeva, who currently lives in Turkey, was the main model of Rufat Ismayil's collection.

Recognition of talent and success

Turkish media outlets Takvim, A24, Milliyet, etc. have proudly reported about the carpet collection of Azerbaijani and Turkish fashion designer Rufat Ismayil in Paris under the striking headlines: “Paris is conquered!”, “Rufat Ismayil’ success in Paris”. But the Italian English-language magazine The Style Researcher, which specializes in reporting on the Milan Fashion Week, had the brightest coverage of the Azerbaijani couturier’s performance. The cover of the October issue of The Style Researcher included photographs of models wearing Rufat Ismayil's carpet dresses from the Sumakh collection. And the article on Ismayil's show headlined Famous designer Rufat Ismayil stormed Paris Fashion Week with a unique collection of Haute Couture Sumakh described not only the designer's creations and carpet models, but also Azerbaijan. It was about a country with an ancient history, rich heritage, unique samples of culture and art, in which the famous Azerbaijani carpet occupies an important place. The Style Researcher called Azerbaijan an ancient centre of carpet weaving since the 4-3 millennia BC.

Why can we consider this as a recognition of the success of the Azerbaijani fashion designer by the international media of the fashion industry? In fact, the AFFAIR brand has gained popularity in Turkey since its inception and was successfully presented in Europe at the Milan Fashion Week in 2016. It has been also presented several times in New York, and now continues its journey in the global fashion industry. While many designers have made attempts to get to the Milan Fashion Week and other significant fashion weeks for many years, Rufat could do this right away. After creating his collection and sending his portfolio to Milan, he received an invitation. No Turkish designer has been featured at the Milan Fashion Week so far. Although applications for participation are sent annually, no one can pass to the show immediately. But AFFFAIR succeeded from the first attempt. “Milan Fashion Week is a serious bar in the fashion industry, which says a lot. First and foremost, it means that the centre of world fashion accepts you and likes what you do. Milan will never accept those whom it does not believe and whose vision of fashion does not correspond to the set level. It's nice to know that the world media welcomed us, the newcomers, so warmly. The cover of Vogue, Elle and other leading publications saved me and the AFFFAIR team from any fears and doubts,” Ismayil said in one of his interviews.

The Style Researcher is one of the most respected magazines in the fashion industry and it is accredited by the National Chamber of Italian Fashion, the largest fashion authority in Italy. The publication covers three key areas: fashion and beauty, travel and lifestyle, art and photography. Everything in the magazine is a tribute to the beauty of the photographs, complemented by exclusive interviews or columns. And thanks to its experience, correspondents of the publication attend various fashion weeks in Los Angeles, New York, Milan, Rome and other cities to provide readers with timeless and relevant elegance on each of their pages. Today the cover of this magazine is a tribute to the carpet models of Rufat Ismayil.

What else should we know about Rufat?

Rufat Ismayil's AFFFAIR was created in Turkey and is quite successful around the world. Rufat has been repeatedly discussed in the world media for his courage and eccentricity. For his outfits, he was twice awarded the title of Best Designer in Turkey. Ismayil's collection was also presented in the Mecca of the global fashion industry, Pitti Uomo, while Fashion TV named him the Best European Designer of 2018.

Designer himself says that the idea to create his own line of clothing did not come to him spontaneously, but because of a shortage of dress for large men in stores. In fact, it all started with Rufat creating clothes for himself. AFFFAIR is translated as “euphoria”, “love”, “intrigue”, but with the addition of an extra letter F. This letter also encrypts the philosophy of the brand, namely three words: Fashion, Fabulous, and Forward.

Rufat claims that his brand was created for people who are confident in themselves, for those who like to be in the spotlight and follow fashion, and, of course, for those who prefer and appreciate comfort.

“What are you proud of?”

“I am proud to be an Azerbaijani!”

These are the words Rufat Ismayil said in his interview with R+ six years ago. But if then our fellow compatriot was a rising star in the fashion industry in Turkey, today he is a world famous Azerbaijani and Turkish fashion designer Haute Couture. Today we are proud that Rufat Ismayil is a true Azerbaijani, who is applauded by the most discerning audience in the fashion world, and not only in Paris.

A huge number of world celebrities choose outfits created by Rufat Ismayil for their photo shoots and concerts, including Beyonce, Ashanti, Lil Kim, Erica Costell and Turkish celebrities Murat Dalkilic, Cansu Dere, Chagan Atakan Arslan, Tulin Shahin.

We will wait impatiently for the Haute Couture Sumakh collection to be presented in Baku. Shows in Moscow and New York are also planned. The collection was presented in Paris with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.