One day, a rally of protest was in full swing in front of the Russian embassy. Speakers were "armed" with megaphones; journalists recorded interviews; police tried to keep law and order. In short, it was noisy. Suddenly a taxi stopped nearby and two girls got out from the car. They were dressed in strange red clothes with Russian military boots and Russian military hats with stars. One of them was carrying a red Soviet flag. "Oh!" cried the policemen, causing everyone to turn and look. Journalists immediately recognised the girls who came to support the rally as Natia Bakhtadze and Tamta Tchovelidze, the fashion designers from Tbilisi.  Their "cool and shocking" red clothes were from their last collection.
Those who are knowledgeable in Georgian fashion and have regularly attended the shows held in various places over recent years, will immediately recognise the names of Natia Bakhtadze and Tamta Tchovelidze. Natia and Tamta are the fourth year students of  the Department of Fashion Design of the Faculty of Decorative and Applied Arts at the Academy of Arts. They are already quite well known in the world of fashion. Those who know the business even say that the two girls have created works of one of the most interesting and original styles in Georgia.
Natia had her first show in 1996 in the "Aura" Club. However, as a model she had appeared on the podium before. Tamta’s first show also took place in 1996, in the club "Akhalgazrduli" (i.e. "Youth Club"). Both of them were first year students, in the same class but working separately. At that time the main visitors of the "Aura" Club were representatives of the Georgian underground, people who believed that they were doing different, alternative business. One year later, Natia and Tamta arranged a joint fashion show in "Aura". Soon after,  "Aura" was closed down and alternative venues had to be found.

Natia: "After "Aura" we had several, relatively minor offers. We held shows in the "Elite-Club", "Berikoni" and in some other places. However, we had little enthusiasm for the work. We did not want the jobs but had to accept in order to get at least a little remuneration. Here, models are paid better than fashion designers. I don’t know why, but they think that modelling is hard work, whilst sewing is considered a hobby. At times, they may not even pay at all."

Tamta: "Once we were taken to Rustavi. It was part of a pre-election campaign of one of the majoritarian candidates. We arranged our show in the factory. We were driven there by car and after finishing the show they sent us back on an old and broken bus. We had all our clothes all over us. It was a terrible experience."

Some time later more serious offers began to appear. Their models achieved success at the "Design 98" festival. This was followed by "Ama  99" and "Ama  2000". At the beginning of this year, an exhibition of German Fashion Photographs was expected in Georgia. A presentation of Natia and Tamta’s new collections was planned for the above exhibition that was sponsored by the Goethe Institute. Due to a number of reasons the exhibition did not arrive. However, in April, the exhibition of Film Concern UFA’s premiere posters in the International Centre of Art was concluded by showing the new collections of these two fashion designers. This collection already had a "trade mark" - "NB&TT", i.e. Natia Bakhtadze and Tamta Tchovelidze, their initials but in German. The press unanimously agreed that the show was a success.

"There was a perfect taste and, at the same time, rich fantasy expressed in the marvellous simplicity of the costumes designed by Tamta Tchovelidze and Natia Bakhtadze… And the models presented them as easily wearable at picnics, parties and other special occasions. On top of that, they created a theme of protective suits. This is how the young fashion designers fitted the general trend of this century’s fashion to their taste, as well as cosmos to daily routine…", wrote one of the newspapers.

Natia: "You can wear anything you have a desire to. However, there are some clothes that won’t do for the streets. We mostly wear the clothes sewn by ourselves. When we start sewing we never think in advance what to do and how. One thing is to have an idea, and the other – to implement it. The work obtains its sense and form in the process of cutting the material. Irene Tsintsadze, our teacher in needlework, helped us with creating our last collection. We worked in her studio. We decided what we wanted to do and did cutting by ourselves. The teacher never tried to impose her ideas on us. She simply advised and corrected us when anything went wrong with the sewing. Whenever I do not like anything I always say it. It is the same with Tamta. We always take each other’s opinions into account."

Tamta: "In general, we never sketch in advance, drawing is different than a finished product. You may draw and then sew according to it, but the final product may not be the same as the initial sketch. We often change materials as well. Recently we started using "latex". We purchased the material at the "Lilo" market. It is cheap and quite different. We mostly use contrasting colours. In our last collection we had red, black, silver and golden colours. Later, the red colour really acquired a very strong presence in the "Russian" act of protest."

In Georgia, many people talk of the emerging serious fashion industry in this country. Millions are spent on producing clothes and arranging fascinating fashion shows in the world today. Here in Georgia, with rare exceptions, people generally avoid investing in the business. And, if there is no money, you won’t be able to produce anything worth selling.

Several designs of Natia and Tamta have already been sold. Even hosts of different TV programs have worn their clothes. Some wanted to use them in a film but unfortunately they did not fit the actors. However, at the Theatrical Institute their clothes were extremely appreciated in Nika Shvelidze’s production. On the closing ceremony of EPIKA (European Advertisement Festival that was held in Tbilisi) journalist Nino Danelia, film critic Teo Khatiashvili, and the fashion designers themselves appeared dressed in those costumes…

Natia and Tamta are going to Germany to study.

Natia: "Everybody started making clothes these days, as if nothing but the desire is sufficient to succeed in this business. However, when you are in the process of mastering this profession you realize that there are too many nuances, too many things without which it is impossible to create anything of value. We, unlike many, do what we’ve learned to do and what we know… There is a special school in Germany. We think it will help us in many aspects. To study there is free. We shall see, if we have luck it will work…"

Tamta: "We do not have very serious and immediate plans yet. There is no money and we have to stop. There are some good ideas but… We cannot produce anything new every month, we work when we are given the opportunity. During this time, fashion changes and we change as well. In the working process, everything fashionable, modern and new evolves by itself, naturally. Looking through journals and attending shows is not sufficient for the development of ideas. You should feel and understand it inside yourself…"

Tamta and Natia have a very long list of their future plans and "incidentally" most of the list items are related to Georgia. They are going to open a Georgian fashion centre in Tbilisi. Art and sewing studios will be placed in one big premise together with a show-hall, a bar and a "trendy" discothèque… They say it is their dream for the future. As for their present plans, they want to open the first Fashion Cafe in Tbilisi where the interior design, menu, everything, will have a connection with fashion…

I do not know what kind of a cafe it is going to be, but I know for sure that there will always be a "cool" company, lots of colours and many new ideas born here.

ELISO KAPANADZE