DZHUS: A Conscious Solution for the Fashion of Tomorrow
Transformable clothing it’s not only about detachable sleeves. For Ukranian designer Irina Dzhus –the mastermind behind the eponymous brand DZHUS– this concept involves the capability of creatively adapting a look to different purposes, conditions, and even states of mind through a metamorphosis process that embodies our distinctive inner world.
Irina opened up to We The Cool about the brand’s journey, her inspirations and her latest fall-winter 2023 collection recently shown during Berlin Fashion Week as an allegory for the evacuation process millions of Ukrainians went through in the last year.
Video: Courtesy of the designer.
We The Cool: Tell us more about your beginnings as a designer and how DZHUS started.
Irina: I dreamt of becoming a fashion designer since I was five. I remember exploring my Granny’s vintage magazines and sketching my own ideas. At ten, I began my studies at Kyiv Children Academy of Arts to develop my skills and, eventually, went to Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design at sixteen. However, I wasn’t satisfied with the education, as it was way too outdated from the perspective of integration into the industry. Two years after, I applied for an internship with my then-favorite Ukrainian designer Victoria Krasnova, whose conceptual approach I’d been admiring from my early teenage, and that experience was truly priceless. That practice has formed a basis for the future DZHUS aesthetics, as it taught me to always push the boundaries and look at the design from an unusual angle. Upon my graduation in 2010, I launched my eponymous brand and have been running it since.
What stimulates me to deliver new concepts non-stop is not a personal ambition but a feeling of my destination and duty to grab these inventions from the world of ideas and bring them to the physical dimension, where those can be utilized and appreciated.
WTC: How did the idea of creating transformable clothes come up?
Irina: In our case, transformable clothing doesn’t just mean detachable sleeves. DZHUS pieces are unified wardrobe items that have some completely different styling options each, such as a bag that unfolds into a scarf, or a top wearable as a hat. Speaking of my motivation for designing multipurpose garments, I just feel that those are a conscious solution for the fashion of tomorrow. By saturating one object with options for transformation, not only do we prolong its life but also excite the wearer’s imagination and encourage them to use a garment as a key to self-expression. I must also mention how convenient multifunctional pieces are for fashionable travelers. Proven by a less optimistic experience of mine - I swear I was wearing the same transformer trousers hiding from bombing in a basement (sitting on dusty concrete with all my savings in the pockets) and to a DZHUS pop-up in Paris soon after my evacuation
Photo: Courtesy of the designer.
WTC: Where does your inspiration come from?
Irina: Most often, I get inspired by clothing itself: the phenomenon of the garment as such, the way it interacts with the human body, and, most of all, its hidden potential for endless transformations if slightly reworked – and that’s what I do.
WTC: Throughout your creative process you work with traditional textiles and industrial materials. Can you tell us more about your selection process regarding the materials you work with?
Irina: When it comes to fabric sourcing, the most important factor for me as a vegetarian is the ethical origin of the materials. DZHUS has been a vegetarian-friendly brand from the day of its launch in 2010. All our products are made using only cruelty-free materials. Besides the necessary ethical origin, there are certain aesthetical and practical features I pay attention to. DZHUS collections are always haunted by an industrial spirit, featuring exposed seams, raw edges, tech-looking finishes, wrinkled textures, and solid metal trims. I do have a passion for peculiar surfaces. For example, in the AW23 line, recently shown at Berlin Fashion Week, we've used a variety of textured cotton and knits, as well as contrasting see-through rayons and edgy pleats. We’ve also opted for distressed finishes to enhance the dramatic effect.
Photos: Courtesy of the designer.
WTC: If you could describe the person wearing your pieces, how would he/she be?
Irina: I create for people who treat clothing as a material embodiment of their distinctive inner world. Finding a perfect shell for their individuality, they don't aim to hide from the surrounding ambient but to enter it as the truth and advanced version of themselves.
Every person who wears DZHUS is one of a kind. Our customers are creative, intelligent, independently thinking and open-minded, successful in their way of self-expression. They’ve learned their own personality very well and it’s very important for them to find clothing that will implement their vision and transmit it to others. As for me, when I wear my creations, I’m much more myself than without them. It won’t be an exaggeration to say DZHUS pieces replace introduction when you meet people. I believe that both the wearer and the dress change each other while interacting and merging into a single new existence. I love creating strong-minded individuals who feel natural in the intense rhythm of today’s world. Circumstances and priorities change all the time, hence, to survive, we need to be well-prepared. Transformer clothing and accessories broaden the range of styling options significantly, leaving the wardrobe technically minimal. Even within one day, our customers can perform a metamorphosis of their look several times, adapting it to different purposes, conditions, and states of their mind.
WTC: How would you describe the evolution of your brand from the launch of your first collection until now?
Irina: Since the brand's launch, I've reconsidered the sourcing and production processes a lot. In the beginning, I only focused on the visual aspect and implementation of my ideas, whereas now I think about our customer's comfort and practical matters first, and, of course, about the quality of the materials used. The shift has begun in 2013 when we got an order from The Hunger Games costume team, after a long period of having much more media appreciation than actual sales. Although it was very flattering to be involved in such a top-level project, for me it indicated the fact that my designs' strongly lacked wearability. And because I'd always wanted to make conceptual clothing and not theatre costumes, I began to pay much more attention to the utilitarian potential of our clothing. Now, my biggest joy is seeing DZHUS pieces live their own lives, worn by real, yet very special, people.
Photo: Courtesy of the designer.
WTC: Among all your beautiful collections, do you have a favorite? Which one do you think speaks the most to you and why?
Irina: I would highlight DZHUS AW23 collection as it pays tribute to the drastic changes all Ukrainians have faced in the circumstances they could not affect. As I think of my countrymen, and countrywomen in particular, who have lost everything and had to embrace new hypostases of themselves in order to survive, I want to portray those superheroes and their inevitable metamorphosis in a symbolic way. Many of DZHUS AW23 designs are conceived around pockets and bags, as an allegory for the evacuation process millions of Ukrainians went through, having taken only the belongings they could carry. Many have preferred symbolic things to practical stuff, which is so touching. Some of the outfits offer a transformation from an exaggeratedly utilitarian unisex silhouette into a fragile feminine look and vice versa, as an allusion to the inevitable change of a personality under the influence of force-majeure circumstances, often demanding heart-breaking decisions.
The key piece of the collection is a bulletproof-vest-inspired overall turning into a colossal coat with a sheer hood, referring to an angel protector of our unbreakable nation.
WTC: How has the brand’s ethos and direction changed since the Russian invasion started?
Irina: No need to say the war has divided every Ukrainian’s life into ‘before’ and ‘after’. Before February 24th, I didn’t focus on my own identity as a Ukrainian and the brand’s origin – those things were so obvious and a-priori to me that I didn’t feel a necessity to communicate them. That changed on the day when the very essence of being Ukrainian has been sentenced to execution by a bunch of maniacs. When I recovered from the first shock, I realized how important it was to share our identity with the world and include it in our self-representation on both personal and professional levels. Ironically, Russian invaders have gained a result exactly the opposite then they aimed for: instead of eliminating our nature, they made the whole planet feel solidarity with it and discover our culture. Speaking of our design in particular, its principles are not going to change – innovation, transformability, and conceptual approach will always lay at the core of DZHUS creative philosophy.
Photos: Courtesy of the designer.
WTC: The AW22 “Pseudo” collection was the latest one you released before the war. How different do you think your upcoming collections will be from this one?
Irina: Our new line, AW23, has just been released and shown at Berlin Fashion Week. Since the war began, all my creativity has been dedicated to the support of Ukraine and missioned to draw attention to the tragic situation, and I think that the latest DZHUS collection carries a very strong message.
WTC: How is the fashion industry evolving in Ukraine nowadays?
Irina: Bombing on an everyday basis results, among other tragic events, in blackouts that have already become the new ‘norm’. Without electricity, sewing equipment stops, making it impossible to schedule and plan the production process, let alone the emotional state of the staff. Speaking of those of our manufacturers who remained in Ukraine, their approach has been extremely stoic, however, depression and desperation aren’t rare things, unfortunately, which is more than understandable. The war has insulted pretty much all aspects of the fashion business, from sourcing and logistics to brands’ reputation itself, as those became, in fact, risky partners for collaborators from abroad. We are incredibly grateful to our clients from all over the world for their loyalty regardless of the force-majeure circumstances. I must admit that the quantity of orders has, nevertheless, decreased, because of multiple risk factors. The supply chains have been interrupted severely and the delivery of the finished products to the customers takes much longer now. The major fashion organizations, such as Ukrainian Fashion Week, have been putting enormous effort to partner with their international network to find alternative opportunities for Ukrainian designers to continue showcasing and developing in this dark time.
WTC: What are your expectations for DZHUS this year?
Irina: Along with my forced migration, we’ve relocated DZHUS’ HQ to the EU. The design and experimental processes are now taking place in Poland. At the same time, we’re doing our best to keep our Ukraine-based production active, as we find it extremely important to provide jobs to those of our craftswomen who remained in the country regardless of numerous obstacles. Now it’s been almost a year since my life has drastically changed. I wouldn’t say it is possible to get used to war, but at least, I’m no longer that shocked and disoriented and seem to be ready for bold actions. We’ve relocated our production to the EU (along with supporting those of our manufacturers who remained in Ukraine) and I feel so motivated to create for our soulmates with double effort now. I aim at extending our international stockists list, to offer more convenient, physical shopping options for my DZHUS followers, and allow our potential soulmates to discover, try, and feel our creations. I also feel it is my mission to promote the cruelty-free ideology we communicate through our clothing. By presenting our animal-friendly garments to the audience, we stress the necessity of being humane and future-oriented in modern reality. By producing ethical and sustainable fashion products which are then worn by intelligent and open-minded personalities, I aspire to prove that it is possible to look edgy and avant-garde, yet remain in peace and harmony with nature.
WTC: How can our readers and We The Cool community get involved and help the creative scene and the fashion industry in Ukraine?
Irina: For us, the trust and patience of our clients and partners in these hardest times are priceless. Only because of the immense support of our soulmates, we can move on. Along with people’s astonishing solidarity, we’ve been receiving immense support from international organizations and programs: Fashion Weeks, contests, grants for small businesses, and other initiatives. Throughout the year, DZHUS has taken part in Berlin Fashion Week and Vegan Fashion Week in Los Angeles has been involved in activities during Paris and Milan Fashion Weeks, and participated in more than 10 pop-up events worldwide, most of which had charity purposes. To support and help the Ukrainian fashion industry, we encourage you to continue buying from independent brands like us if you don’t mind waiting a bit longer – the result will be worth that on all levels.