“Europe is open to our fashion. When I say ‘our' I mean that which we have created. Nobody is saying that we should all wear the traditional Armenian costume, but even a small detail in the Armenian style – a sewing design, color or cut – would interest Europe,” said Mikayel Danielyan, fashion designer and head instructor at the Atex fashion center.

How does globalization affect Armenian fashion? Who dictates the dress code for Armenian men and women?

There have been different directions and trends in fashion over various periods of time. Lately, the major fashion designers in the world are designing their collections to Oriental themes . That culture offers a very wide choice of material and designs.

The perception of the Orient inArmeniaseems corrupted, or it is duplicated in the most tasteless ways and means. It is painful for me to note that it is soap operas, with their Brazilian and Oriental motifs, that dictate fashion inArmenia. Our Armenian women are so taken with these soap operas that after each broadcast the whole ofYerevanis filled with Oriental dancers or girls who look like they just came from a Brazilian beach. I remember when girls used to put on shawls and dream of becoming “Jade”. And it wasn't just the dress sense that was copied but also the music, the way of life – everything.

In 2004, French designers were emphasizing pink in their work. But only one in a hundred would wear pink inParis. I remember that back thenYerevanwas quite simply flooded with pink. There would be girls on the streets who would not just be wearing pink dresses, shoes and have pink bags, but would also use pink in their make-up and other accessories.

Why is it like that? Isn't there an alternative?

The reason is that most people here choose what they'll wear from a television screen and buy it from stalls in a bazaar or marketplace. We don't produce clothes or have a textile factory. There are just a few ateliers that take individual orders. I make 50 or 60 dresses a year, but that is very few. Organizing fashion weeks is costly.

In these confusing times, when influence from both the East and the West is massive, and there is an information overload for style, attitude, and color, I would really like to see our young women and men asserting their own identity, without blindly copying whatever is dictated to them by soap operas, movies and music. It is stupid to think that the girls would be able to become Oriental beauties by tying those colorful shawls to their waists.

Can we offer anything else to the world, besides consuming their fashion and style?

InEuropetoday, a lot of attention is being given to those cities and cultures which are not very developed in the sphere of fashion. That is, they bear within them undiscovered beauty which can be used as the basis for new fashion collections.

Europehas exhausted itself over the past years and needs new energy, new spirit. Many famous designers travel toChina,Istanbuland corners of the world where there isn't even a hint of fashion. But they look for fresh ideas and themes so that they can create something new and unique.

Armenian culture, especially certain patterns and decorations in clothes, could also become a source for new fashion collections.Europeis open to our fashion. When I say ‘our' I mean that which we have created. Nobody is saying that we should all wear the traditional Armenian costume, but even a small detail in the Armenian style – a sewing design, color or cut – would interestEurope.

Clothes imported from Europe are considered today to be the best in the world – at least that is the perception which prevails in Armenia. What place do clothes designed by Armenian fashion designers occupy compared to those “European boutiques”?

The first thing that we have to realize is that the clothes brought toArmeniaare already one season old. People prefer to sell old clothes inEuropecheaply, rather than hang the same thing in a shop for two consecutive seasons. There are shops inArmeniathat offer the clothes of some of the most renowned fashion houses for only 200-300 dollars, but I can assure you that the price for designs of the most famous fashion designers starts at only 3,000 dollars. Unless, of course, if they've sold their design to some Chinese textile factory. One shouldn't indulge in self-deception and think that one is wearing clothes from a famous fashion house. It is highly likely that it was stitched by a few Vietnamese working in some corner ofParis. So, the world is ready to give us everything, but what about us?

There are a few stores inArmeniawhich sell clothes made by Armenian designers, but there are a number of things to consider. There are clothes which bear the name of Armenian designers and there are people who sell their designs under other labels. There is a simple reason for this – we think that if something has been brought from abroad then its much better and more fashionable. Armenians want to wear Armani, and not Arevik, Mikayel or Nectar.

Although fashion has a history spanning decades, the only criteria that have prevailed until now for fashionable attire is that the clothes have to be comfortable and well-stitched.