“I HAD THE IDEA OF DOING HUGE SILHOUETTES IN A LIGHT WAY; MOST OF MY PIECES ARE AROUND 200G, AND CAN BE CARRIED WITH A SINGLE FINGER.”
His painstaking efforts and intellectual rigour have caught the attention of Antwerp’s key industry players. Marjan Eggers, owner of designer retailer Louis, awarded him with the annual Louis prize, which consists of €1,000 and the opportunity to present his collection in her store windows on the busy Lombardenstraat boulevard. “What impressed me about Sanan at first was his use of amazing fabrics, as well as his technical construction skills. There is a lot of experimentation, but there’s also a couture side that I like,” praised Eggers. “I also liked the personal aspect of it. The conversation around size and gender is very important and the industry needs to deal with it now. It was highly intelligent.”
Gasanov remains undecided about his future. Right now, Antwerp holds a certain persuasion over him. “I feel so comfortable here. I really like my teachers and friends, so I can’t imagine moving and starting from zero again. I’m afraid a move will affect my work,” he concedes. “Antwerp is really calm. There are small parties and events going on, but there aren’t many opportunities to get distracted from your work.”
What was the starting point for your collection?
This year’s collection was very personal, it was about my relationship with the garments that I have been gathering for a few years now. I am constantly buying lots of stuff from vintage shops. After collecting them, I took them apart and combined them. I also wanted to create a sexless collection for a lot of different sizes, and I was interested in couture construction. I had the idea of doing huge silhouettes in a light way; most of my pieces are around 200g, and can be carried with a single finger.
From what you’ve said so far, it seems you were thinking about three main ideas: gender, size and collage-making.
Yes, exactly. Katharina Grosse also inspired me, she’s an artist from Berlin and does really beautiful installations with a lot of colourful stuff. She paints huge pieces of fabrics and drapes it across a huge space. I was shocked when I saw her installation in Moscow: it was a vast space that was covered in coloured fabric. You can’t see it referenced obviously in the collection, but it reflects an atmosphere and feeling that I was trying to convey.