"On the brink of introversion and exhibitionism" - the new DZHUS collection at Ukrainian Fashion Week 2021

/ Art /

Presentation of the spring-summer collection SS22:  PHYSICAL Ukrainian conceptual clothing brand DZHUS took place within the framework of Ukrainian Fashion Week 2021. This time, the author of the collection and the founder of the brand, Irina Jus, presented a line of transformer products with exaggerated proportions. In this way, the designer satirizes entrenched stereotypes about appearance. The fashion show was supported by the Ukrainian Cultural Fund.

DZHUS is a conceptual clothing brand created in 2010 by Kyiv designer and stylist Iryna Zhus. Iryna's original works are not just an embodiment of style in the fashion industry, but an intellectual product that appeals to the current triggers and problems of modern society.

SS22 collection: PHYSIQUE by DZHUS at the Ukrainian Fashion Week 2021 show. Backstage during the show. Photographer – Jude P

In 2020, DZHUS was nominated in the Sustainable Fashion category – one of the most important topics popularized by the brand is the conscious and rational use of resources. Juice connects the global reduction in consumption volumes with the minimization of shopping as such. Evolutionarily, this idea led the designer to create multifunctional wardrobe items, the so-called transformers, which allow creating multiple images from basic elements. With DZHUS, you can easily turn shorts into a blouse, sleeves into pockets, and a skirt into a hat or bag. At the same time, laconic and capacious things give an opportunity to play with the images, meanings and moods of the fashion bow.

SS22 collection: PHYSIQUE by DZHUS at the Ukrainian Fashion Week 2021 show. Photographer - Sergey Zakharchenko, Spy Fashions

The fundamental principle for DZHUS is a humane attitude to the environment. All products of the brand are made from cruelty-free materials, the production of which excludes violence against animals.

SS22 collection: PHYSIQUE by DZHUS at the Ukrainian Fashion Week 2021 show. Photographer - Sergey Zakharchenko, Spy Fashions

This season, as part of the Ukrainian Fashion Week (UFW 2021), Iryna Jus presented a new spring-summer line of SS22 items: PHYSIQUE. The designer thinks about the modern era, where there are no more norms, and standards are established only to be refuted. Appearance stereotypes, body cult, total sexualization are reinterpreted in PHYSIQUE clothing items, which Irina Jus endows with sensuous silhouettes and hypertrophied proportions.

The collection balances on the edges of introversion (hiding the face of clothing) and exhibitionism (anatomical stylization). The collars and pockets of the products appeal to the shape of the female breast, the corrugated hoods, reminiscent of wigs, refer to the cult of hairstyles.

SS22 collection: PHYSIQUE by DZHUS at the Ukrainian Fashion Week 2021 show. Photographer - Sergey Zakharchenko, Spy Fashions

At PHYSIQUE, Jus has traditionally offered transforming products. Each of the presented models receives several interpretations. Oversized pants become a dress, a rectangular skirt turns into a roomy shopper, pairs of briefs are combined into a top.

In the spring-summer collection, Jus combines materials of different natures: glossy silk and soft melange, crumpled organza and ribbed wool. The different nature of fabrics allows you to play with volumes, geometry and, in turn, with images. Abundant pleats are combined with strict architectural forms, rough textures with sliding surfaces.

Shoes made of cruelty-free materials for the show were provided by the House Martin brand. The 96 Group agency took care of the make-up and hairstyles of the models.

SS22 collection: PHYSIQUE by DZHUS at the Ukrainian Fashion Week 2021 show. Photographer - Sergey Zakharchenko, Spy Fashions

And of course, the fashion show would not be so complete, insightful and emotionally strong without the musical accompaniment, which was worked on by the American composer and vocalist EYIBRA. The conceptual sound helped to create an atmosphere in which the fashion show turns into a theatrical manifesto about conscious consumption. The music emphasized the avant-garde character of the collection and the brand as a whole.

SS22 collection: PHYSIQUE by DZHUS at the Ukrainian Fashion Week 2021 show. Backstage during the show. Photographer – Jude P

SS22 collection: PHYSIQUE by DZHUS at the Ukrainian Fashion Week 2021 show. Backstage during the show. Photographer – Jude P

Opposing an intellectual fashion product to modern trends, Juice breaks patterns and goes beyond the utilitarian understanding of clothing, promoting the philosophy of minimalism and the content of the wardrobe, both functionally and meaningfully.