The Tamesis
When I first visited Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tbilisi (MBFW) in 2018, the city was buzzing with creative optimism. Demna is Georgia’s famous fashion export brand, making waves at Balenciaga and Vetements, with many eyes on the capital looking for the next breakout star. Designers, drag performers, and club kids all collaborated to create subversive, politically charged performances and events, resulting in an intense fusion of queer culture, performance, and bold resistance to the country’s Soviet roots.
But MBFW Tbilisi has been held on and off ever since. After Russia invaded Ukraine, the country’s right-wing Georgian Dream party became increasingly conservative and pro-Russian, triggering political unrest and violent protests across the country that both hampered fashion weeks and threatened the local creative community.
In 2024, the government passed an anti-LGBTQ+ bill that deeply affected Georgia’s fashion industry, both commercially and creatively. That same year, MBFW Tbilisi founder Sofia Tchkonia organized Culture Days, a small fashion week event that allowed designers to express themselves and share their experiences with the world through exhibitions, installations and performances. The Autumn/Winter 2026 edition of MBFW Tbilisi was held from May 7 to 11, for the first time since May 2023.
Tchkonia, who founded MBFW Tbilisi in 2015, said: “Over the past few years, during our stagnant period, some Georgian designers have continued to develop globally despite the difficulties they faced. But there is a clear need to bring back a strong platform that reconnects local talent with international buyers, media and industry professionals. Relaunching MBFW Tbilisi is all about supporting this momentum and creating opportunities for a new chapter in Georgian fashion.” To achieve this, Tchkonia Existing partners such as Mercedes-Benz and Coca-Cola were secured, as well as new organizations such as Stenheim and the recently opened hotel The Telegraph.
“Like many creative industries, Georgia’s fashion industry is affected by economic uncertainty, regional instability and broader geopolitical tensions,” Tchkonia continued. “These realities impact production, logistics, investment and international mobility. At the same time, the Georgian creative community has shown remarkable resilience. Despite difficult conditions, designers continue to create, adapt and find ways to maintain an international presence. In many ways, these challenges enhance the authenticity and emotional depth of Georgian work today.”
MBFW Tbilisi FW26 hosts 11 performances and 3 exhibitions, in addition to a rich program of concerts, cultural events, dinner programs and, of course, the drag balls that have now become a Tbilisi specialty. “Georgia really has something special,” said Andan Prize founder Nathalie Dufour, who is visiting the capital for the third time this fashion week. “There’s a lot of commerce and a lot of inspiration. [from] From Saint Laurent to Balenciaga, but there is something unique and dramatic about Georgian designers,” she said. “I’m sure it’s not easy in terms of building an international career and finding buyers and media here. But the reasons why they do these things are so amazing. “
