Artworks on Scarves: Exclusive Interview with “Artuyt” Founder Arevik Arakelyan

• 05.27.2019, 20:53
•  World,  Armenia,  No-politics,  Interview

Right accessories and scarves impart a unique impression to the woman’s look. “Armedia” IAA talked to  Artuyt's founder Arevik Arakelyan about hand-made scarves, their creation and other issues.

 -  How did the idea of making scarves came into being?

-   I am an orientalist, but from an early age I dreamed to associate art with fashion. As a result of many journeys, I realized that it is easier to present the Armenian art to the world through an applicable object. And being a great fan of fashion and art lover, I decided to make scarves with artwork.

By the way Artuyt's scarves are not batik but the original is digitized and printed after processing. All copyrights are protected. As a result of research I realized we did not have a very rich history of headscarves. I thought it was time.

I shared this idea with my friend, Hovhannes Petrosyan, and he said, "Let's do it!" So, in 2016 Artuyt was founded. It was founded with the end of making the Armenian art recognized both in and out of Armenia. We create scarves with paintings and collages of Armenian contemporary artists.

- How much does the demand live up to the expectations?

- The demand does live up to our expectations through hard work and commitment. Moreover, Artuyt quickly conquered the love of women.

In ancient times a woman’s scarf was conditioned by public traditions. The change of scarf reflected various aspects of changes in women’s roles. Not only the color of the scarf, but also the way of wearing it pointed to the social position, age, status of the woman. And only in the 20th century, did the scarf become a stylish accessory completing the European clothing. Since then the scarf has been an inseparable part of a woman's wardrobe.

We are very glad that many people have started to recognize our artists through our scarves and to distinguish their style.

- What images do they mainly order?

- They do not order images, we choose both the images and the authors and museums.

The first painter we collaborated with, is abstractionist Mihran Avetisyan and the first museum, Matenadaran. Then we cooperated with museums after Yervand Kochar, Sergey Parajanov, Yerevan Contemporary Art Museum, Echmiadzin Museum, the Museum of Literature, and Museum of Historical and Cultural Preservation. And from individual artists we have collections of paintings by Karen Smbatyan, Sona Banoyan, Tatev Ghambaryan. Since 2017 we have been participating in Milan fashion week twice a year. We are exhibited in TB Studio Milano showroom. We exhibit our 100% natural silk collections made in Italy.