A DIFFERENT FASHION SHOW

The world of fashion is transient. This statement can be confirmed each season by the diversity of Fashion Weeks, various photoshoots of collections on the pages of glamorous magazines... But when one looks closely at this rapid change of events, one can find that the flair of great couturiers of the past, who could create more style than clothes, is gradually disappearing. That is why every appearance of something fittingly feminine reflected in the elegance of the outfit always arouses genuine interest and elevates its author above the current trends.

The founding father of Sultan Couture, one of the fashion oases still preserving the tradition of creating sophistication and chic, fashion designer Orkhan Sultan has been trying for two decades to prove that whatever the seasonal changes in the fashion industry, its real and primary identity is Beauty as is! When a dress is meant to accentuate the dignity of its wearer and a suit accentuates the masculinity of her companion. When a stage costume is an extension of an artist, which creates additional ambience around him. The ambience that our famous fellow-countryman could immerse the audience during the celebration of his professional jubilee on the stage of the Heydar Aliyev Centre as part of the project Opera and Fashion: Sultan Couture - 20.

It was a splendid event where two elements merged into a single space: great music and the sophisticated style of concert outfits. The Uzeyir Hajibeyov State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mustafa Mehmandarov. Four opera divas of international recognition: Anastasia Chernovolos (soprano), soloist of the Moscow Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre, Elnara Mamedova (soprano), winner of international competitions Yana Melikaeva (mezzo-soprano) and Yekaterina Sannikova (soprano). The luxurious gowns created specifically for each of them by Orkhan Sultan, each of performances was a separate vocal defile of the stage attire.

"Opera and Fashion: Sultan Couture - 20 is a kind of anthem for female individuality. Except that in everyday life we prefer a more sporty style. But Lagerfeld used to say that 'sport trousers are a sign of defeat. If you've bought them, you've completely lost control of your own life."

"The same Lagerfeld produced sports collections himself! But when a woman wears sports trousers to a restaurant, you can't argue with the great Karl! When she's at her dacha, she can do whatever she wants in them. One just needs to respect the manners, a culture of relations between a man and a woman, relations of people with each other. It's such a subtle matter... Why do we continue to say that communicating was better in the recent past? The answer is indeed quite simple—it was the cultural stratum that was formed by the people who created culture: theatres, paintings, music... But today it is depressing even to do a simple search in the Internet for composers who create beautiful music. Perhaps Raimonds Pauls is the last of the Mohicans in this sense, whose works can be listened to with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. Composers of that generation have done everything they could in their field, and exhausted the limit of their talent. But while the electronic music can still somehow exist, how can one imagine an electronic dress?! It's awful, isn't it? We already live in an electronic world. I can't imagine listening to recorded or electronic music in a conservatory. It just makes me happy that many people around me still share my views, we are still alive!"

"Women may be picky. They are illogical by nature, in fact."

"So what?! They're beautiful. All women are beautiful! My grandmother is 84 years old. She was very beautiful when she was young. And now she's even more beautiful than she was then. And I mean it! It is true that she is old, but it gives her extra charm. I believe any woman is beautiful! They're just divided into two groups - adequate and inadequate ones. I'd let the men or family members of the latter deal with them. I am responsible for fulfilling the order for which I am getting paid in this case, that's it..."

"After reading some of your past interviews, I dare say that you are studying us humans. I can feel that when looking into your eyes on photographs, as if you are looking deep inside our souls."

"I do it always. After all, eyes, smile, lips, speech are strongly linked. They form an impression of a person. For example, I always smile, regardless of my mood at that time. And it doesn't matter whom I am talking with."

"It is the envy that often drives the society..."

"Absolutely! Envy has accompanied me throughout all twenty years of my career. It is also quite normal. Except it smells bad. That's the smell of old age, which can also be different. And beautiful, too. I'm not talking about people, but things... in the interior... in everyday life... It seems to me that envy is something that a person cannot throw away. Or what he is unable to do for himself. When that happens, he starts to eat himself up from the inside, spending a lot of time for that. That's why his body starts to age, thoughts are getting old. But it is quite possible to do something. If you can't make it yourself, go and order it. No talent for singing?, then go to a concert of a professional performer. visit a museum! People have forgotten how to visit them! They stopped reading books! They don't listen to good music! It's horrible! You see, you get the impression that they're like an old dusty plaid forgotten on the veranda in a closed cottage somewhere, all mouldy and shabby, no one needs it anymore. But it's a shame to throw it away. It might come in handy to, say, plug a hole."

"Yet we can do it. Like you did!"

"Frankly, it is true. I have to admit that I had to hunt for my spot under the sun. And I continue to do so to this day. After all, it is always more difficult to assert oneself and hold on to the status you claim in Moscow, to make yourself respected. It is very nice to see when your 'arch-friends' who don't love but respect you nevertheless come to your anniversary party. And at that moment you realise that you must move on! Preparing for the project Opera and Fashion: Sultan Couture-20 was stressful. But it makes no difference how many singers I have to dress. I am nervous every time. Such a first big anniversary at the state level is a very responsible event. It's good that I was ready to carry that responsibility."

"Responsibility needs to be fostered..."

"That's right. And you know what it is fostered with? Your attitude towards people. If you respect your counterpart's time and you get that in return, it's impossible to let them down! For example, an internationally recognised singer calls and gives me a deadline of two and a half days. I ask her for a meeting where we can sit comfortably and discuss the order. Our conversation takes ten or fifteen minutes, when we can calmly discuss the necessary actions. Whatever happens, I should never panic, regardless of the possible difficulties with the order. And she should be confident and calm when she calls me!"

"What about the men?"

"They generally remain calm. But they panic in a different way. For example, "make me a jacket to hide my belly!" But even this kind of orders we make to the best of our ability!"

"Do you like dressing men?"

"It makes no difference whom to dress. I've had a children's line as well. I really enjoy working with men, correcting the style and giving at least some colour. Teaching them how to match the colour scheme. After all, it's impossible to wear the same thing! Let's take me, for example. For someone I dress very bright, for others my dress is attractive. At the same time I do everything on the verge of being a little bit outrageous. Provocative dressing is a little bit different when there is no inner workload, no emotions, losses, experiences. But how long can one stay provocative in terms of dressing? It so happens that he or she turns to alcohol, and then into drugs. This is a notorious sad chain of events. Because there is no other way out with such positioning."

"This is where the inner filling comes into play."

"This is very important! It's what makes us unique. What we fill ourselves with is then translated to the outside through our reflection. This is where reading books and visiting museums play an important role. For example, my child had attended the concerts for children at the conservatoire from the age of three. My own childhood also involved attending weddings. These are some deep memories of mine. Nothing changes with the time. But this is the colour of Baku! One cannot neither accept it nor condemn it. It is a consequence of the Silk Road, which also passed through Azerbaijan. A concentration and a cluster of multicultural nationalities. The result of diffusion of cultural diversity within the society, concentrated in a small territory. But it is simply impossible not to love it. And my feelings are no exception."

"There is a well-established perception of a fashion show, with models walking on the catwalk. The Opera and Fashion: Sultan Couture - 20 is its incarnation on the stage. Where do you find it more interesting?"

"The stage provided our guests with a 360-degree panorama through 15cm apertures, like on the podium. And it was well received by the audience. It all turned out quite beautifully. Obviously there is a big difference between the podium and the stage! But to be honest, I have never liked catwalks – that hustle and bustle of stylists and make-up artists, fussing with costume changes, when one always needs attention everywhere, which makes you pull in all sorts of directions. At some point you can hardly contain yourself. I don't like it at all! That's why I've chosen such a beautiful story for myself, when talented and intelligent women dress at Sultan Couture. Yes, I am a foodie and an aesthete! I don't hide it and I don't intend to. That's why before approving the project when I was neatly asked if it would look like a fashion show, I said frankly that it would be a stage show, but the models would be opera singers. No one has yet implemented such a thing. And I think it will be difficult to repeat this success any time soon."

"There is something of a learning process in everything you realise."

"Everyone learns something. We all learn from each other. Some people let only beautiful things, positive people, good emotions and good food into their lives. I enjoy presenting flowers to myself. This is who I am. Moreover, I enjoy finding and exploring various master-classes, like the one on knitting. Because it is interesting. We have to understand and accept that we spend our whole lives learning. Is it worth wasting this time and knowledge on all sorts of negative manifestations? By and large, if you take into account millions of years of development on the Planet Earth, we leave nothing behind, frankly speaking. We're only filling up our own lives with positive emotions..."