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. The artist behind DZHUS was forced to activate her familiar survival mode. She used her creative power as an urgent coping mechanism.
The “ABSOLUTE” act premiered at Berlin Fashion Week. It is now placed at the conceptual Jaga Hupało Space of Creation in Warsaw. It is attributed with objects by local design visionaries. These include Zieta Studio, Anna Drozd-Tutaj, and Organic Lighting.
A Stage Built from Memory and Metaphor
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. They 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. Irina focuses on accessories. They serve as an eloquent medium in the true events. She shapes her sculptural apparel from pre-owned headpieces and scarves. Alongside the upcycling kintsugi homage, anatomical metaphors reflect on fetishes and phobias.
Silhouettes as Emotional Architecture
The imagery includes mouths, either smoking or ritualistically stitched. It features a hybrid of a deconstructed male face and an aged female corpus. There is also 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.
The artist realized this ‘blessing-slash-doom’ foundation of her personality. It imprisoned her within a duty. This realization made her question the freedom of choice, not just in terms of strategies, but in 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.
PHOTO & VIDEO CREDITS
- Concept & Direction: Irina Dzhus
Brand: DZHUS
Location: Jaga Hupało Space of Creation - Beauty & Hair:
Jaga Hupało · Antonia Wolff · Alicja Smoniewska - Photo:
Julia Jaracz · Konewka Studio - Video:
Patryk Patynowski - Objects & Design:
Zieta Studio · Anna Drozd-Tutaj · Organic Lighting - Footwear:
House Martin - Models:
Asia Dyrkacz · Maggy Words Modlibowska · Polie Nimaeva · Lena Shtyk · PURL - Backstage:
Kolas Vodonovsky - Catering:
Fundacja Viva · Primavika · Cultured Foods
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