#14: Dresses for real women, fast and slow fashion, Turkish bazaars - Ani Bagdasaryan
Building a fashion brand that serves women’s needs, while being environmentally friendly, in a time of fast-fashion, is a big challenge. In this episode, we are joined by Ani Bagdasaryan, as she shares her journey to building an ethical fashion brand.
Ani Bagdasaryan is the founder of AYANI, a fair and sustainable fashion brand based in Berlin. Observing the largely underserved women’s work wear market, she decided to launch a female fashion brand. AYANI solves the everyday question of "what to wear" to the office and beyond. Here style, comfort and elegance come together. Ani produces all collections in Armenia, the home country of her parents, with the goal of creating jobs for local women.
How AYANI Brand was born
Ani came not from a typical fashion industry background. Throughout her career as a marketer, she was surrounded by fellow working women. She noticed a gap in the fashion market between more formal dress codes on the one hand and a rather casual startup atmosphere on the other.
Ani tells us about how the design process is meant to reflect the diversity of women's lives; whether commuting to the office by bicycle, traveling for business or attending a formal event. Her dresses aim to support women in being confident and comfortable as they go about their daily work lives. Ani remains very much involved in the whole production journey, from the dress sketching to the proof-check.
“When I’m designing, I’m thinking about all these different women and the different characteristics they have”
Manufacturing in Armenia and fabrics in Turkey: challenges on the way to build the brand
Ani chose Armenia, her family's country, as a production location, but faced several issues trying to find the right factory for her brand. Sub-par working conditions and factory management are all too common in the fashion industry. We talk about her search for the right fabrics on her travels to the bazaars of Turkey and Georgia, as well as her adventures on the border.
Sustainability in fashion, what does it mean?
For Ani sustainable fashion is about fighting overconsumption: high quality, minimum production, minimum styles. With AYANI, she strives for timeless pieces that are made to last. She believes all fashion designers should produce clothes for every occasion matching real women's needs.
In our episode we discuss the perils of fast fashion. The issues seem endless, garments are often made under inhumane conditions and take excessive amounts of water to produce. Ultimately large amounts end up in landfills as the industry moves on to the next fashion trend. If left unchecked, the fashion industry is set to use up to a quarter of the world’s carbon budget by 2050. Can sustainable fashion counter this bleak development?
“Sustainable fashion by definition is based on equality, social justice and environmental integrity”