All photos by Yulia Reznikov. In the throbbing heart of Berlin’s Contemporary scene, at the Fashion Week’s Autumn/Winter 2024 show space, exuding raw and personal storytelling through each of her creations, Irina Dzhus unfurled her latest oeuvre. The Ukrainian visionary, whose life is equivalent to a symphony of resilience, introduced “ABSOLUTE,” a sartorial narrative etched out of the most profound alleys of her experiences—war, personal battles against abuse, and haunting confrontations with innermost fears.
DZHUS @dzhus.conceptual.wear
@irina.dzhus
Photography: Yulia Reznikov @yulia.reznikov
@berlinfashionwe
@fashioncouncilgermany
Submerged in the sombre yet dynamic ambience of the NEWEST-Showspace, which momentarily became her canvas and confessional, Dzhus transformed the runway into an intimate auditorium, narrating a tale deeply inked with endurance. As we sipped thoughtfully from the depths of the press café, Yulia Reznikov, our dedicated lens whisperer, slipped behind the scenes to immortalize Dzhus’ testament.
“ABSOLUTE” materializes as a collection replete with dualities — naivety and architectural precision, monochromatic palettes punctuated by ecru infusions and whispers of nude, shunning bright chromatic distractions. The garments are standing monuments to a past pieced together from the shards of memories, much like kintsugi reconstructs beauty from brokenness.
Her design DNA is unmistakable: multipurpose ensembles heavy with existential musings, born from an ‘OCD-driven’ brilliance that flirts with art’s edge. Dzhus revisits her hallmarks — modernist comics, gnostic undertones spliced with socio-gender critique, and objectified symbolism that embarks on a dance of fetish and aversion within the realm of her iconography.
With unexpected twists on decay — laces entwining cult motifs, corsetry mimicking human profiles, and transformer pieces that defy expectation — the collection reveals garments as sentient entities with the power to grip and shift perspectives.
“ABSOLUTE” is nothing less than a revelation for Dzhus herself, a demonstration of an indomitable creative spirit, defiant in the wake of adversity. The collection is a public introspection of freedom chiselled by fate, where the existential weight of ‘blessing-slash-doom’ is both a muse and a spectre looming over her fashion journey.
Irina Dzhus’ latest collection, while cutting through the gloom of her trials, implores us to gaze deeper into the liberated fabric of existence itself — nothing short of a masterclass in the alchemy of art and life, as we’ve vicariously witnessed through Reznikov’s evocative imagery backstage at Berlin Fashion Week.
Models:
Valvanaaken
Glebuschkaa
Zora von der Wehl, Dieyna Ba, Luisa Weissflog via MODELWERK
Kathrin via Fifteen Minutes Agency
Eva-Maria Nemetz via LOUISA MODELS
Imken, Harald via VIVA Models
Tega via EMKAIMODELAGENCY
Models IG:
@valvanaaken
@glebuschkaa
@zora_vdw, @dieyna_, @luisa.weissflog via @modelwerk
@hausreichelt via @fifteenminutes.agency
@evamarianemetz via @louisamodels
Imken, @harschin via @vivamodelsberlin
@tegaefemini via @emkaimodelagency
Financial support:
@fashioncouncilgermany
@senwienbe
Organisation:
@newest.berlin
@nowadaysberlin
PR & guest management: @wehypeyou
Creative direction: @irina.dzhus
Performance direction: @sasha.kakurina
Makeup & hair: @labiosthetiqueparis_pro
Casting: @smetlana
Sound design: @irina.dzhus & @ruslanmays
Ethical footwear: @housemartin_footwear
Chair: @fainadesign by @victoriayakusha
Volunteer team under the supervision of @monsieursmolicz
