In a requiem for an unembodied existential projection, Ukrainian designer Irina Dzhus translates “patterns into patterns”, converting grief into avant-garde. Having previously escaped the war and a family abuse experience, she has stumbled upon a seemingly safe personal life situation that turned into a macabre rendezvous with her most sacred fears. Forced to turn on the familiar survival mode, the artist exploited her creative power as an urgent coping mechanism.
Premiered at Berlin Fashion Week, the “Absolute”act is now placed at the conceptual Jaga Hupało Space of Creation in Warsaw and attributed with objects by local design visionaries, Zieta Studio, Anna Drozd-Tutaj, and Organic Lighting.
At the centre stage, framed with a cube construction, stands a chair, as a starting point for a profound insight. Instead of music, Irina Dzhus tells her story. Link by link, she unveils a sequence of events, dialogues and sensations that have led her to the agonising animation of unexperienced absolute happiness. The silhouettes are naïvely structured as Irina Dzhus refers to modernist comics and spiritualistic motifs. She freezes her memories within transformable outfits, replaying them in a loop mode. Focused on accessories as an eloquent medium in the true events, Irina shapes her sculptural apparel from pre- owned headpieces and scarves. Alongside the upcycling kintsugi homage, anatomical metaphors reflect on fetishes and phobias. The imagery includes mouths, either smoking or ritualistically stitched, a hybrid of a deconstructed male face and an aged female corpus, and a garment wearable as long as 2 giant gloves hold each other. A men’s coat with an inbuilt embracing figure portrays Irina Dzhus’ obsessive correlation with the protagonist. This semi- supernatural, blindingly luminous outline became indivisible from the artist’s identity. A mirroring indicator of her very existence, both a euphoric dream and a paralysing dystopia.
The “Absolute”project turned out to be life-determining for Irina Dzhus. This rebellious explosion of ideas on the ground of sorrow and helplessness has vividly shown her she would never lose [get rid of] her creative force, no matter how tragic circumstances. Realisation of this ‘blessing-slash-doom’ foundation of her very personality, imprisoning her within a duty, made the artist question the freedom of choice, not just in terms of strategies, but life itself. Materialised back in early 2024, the collection has established Dzhus’ cathartic creativity vector. Since, the brand has been developing a declarative audiovisual campaign that it now unveils.
ABOUT DZHUS
Dzhus is a Ukrainian conceptual brand known for its multi-purpose outfits made of cruelty-free materials, created by designer Irina Dzhus. Her pattern-making innovations allow a sustainable wardrobe to be built from a few transformable garments. Since the war began, the brand has relocated to the EU, donating 30% of its profit to Ukrainian animal rights organizations.
Winner of the Cruelty-free Fashion prize in 2019 and shortlisted for the International Woolmark Prize in 2015, Dzhus is stocked in concept stores worldwide. The brand incorporates gender representation dilemmas into the core of its unisex design, challenging social standards and glorifying the human physique in its versatility.
Clients include American avant-garde musicians Zola Jesus and EYIBRA, and Eurovision 2016 winner Jamala from Ukraine, while the brand’s work has appeared in Vogue, Dazed & Confused, Elle, Dezeen, and Harper’s Bazaar. Dzhus has also collaborated with major productions such as The Hunger Games and Star Trek Discovery. Genuine and innovative throughout its 15-year history, the brand continues to challenge stereotypes about eco-conscious design and promote a thoughtful approach to contemporary fashion.
Photos: Courtesy of Dzhus
Brand: Dzhus @dzhus.conceptual.wear
Direction, styling, photo editing, soundtrack: Irina Dzhus @irina.dzhus
Location and beauty partner: Jaga Hupało Space of Creation @jaga_hupalo_space_of_creation
Hair and makeup: Jaga Hupało @jagahupalo, Aga Kaszyńska, Antonia Wolff @wolffantonia, Alicja Smoniewska @alicja.smoniewska_makeup
Photo: Julia Jaracz @juliajaracz_ @ Konewka Studio @konew.ka
Video: Patryk Patynowski @patynowski.p @ Konewka Studio
Interior objects: chair Zieta Studio @zieta_studio, cube Jaga Hupało x Anna Drozd-Tutaj @anna.drozd.tutaj, chandelier Organic Lighting @organic_lighting
Ethical footwear: House Martin @housemartin_footwear
Models: Asia Dyrkacz @asia.dyrkacz @ MORE @moremodels.com.pl, Maggy Words Modlibowska @maggy_outlook @ B.OLD @b.oldmodels, Polie Nimaeva @chestnoepionerskoe, Lena Shtyk @lenashtyk, PURL @pearlsandashes
Backstage assistance: Kolas Vodonovsky @vodonovsky
www.irinadzhus.com
@dzhus.conceptual.wear
Highlights from the Campaign
