Armen Galyan is a fashion guru, a stylist, an art director

Armen Galyan: Armenian fashion firstcomer

Armen Galyan – a fashion guru, a stylist, an art director and a good friend of HAY-HAY shares his thoughts on trends and anti trends, sums up 2020 and presents his vision on how COVID has influenced the world of fashion.

Probably every Armenian that has even a small connection to the world of fashion has heard about Galyan.

He has been one of the firstomers in the industry and has established himself as a celebrity stylist.

Galyan is also famous for his styling of Armenian artists during the Eurovision Song Contest.

Hey Armen, thanks for the interview. First of all I would like to ask you, what do you think, what do we take from 2020 to 2021?

I think we have taken a lot of lessons from 2020, it seemed to be a pause for everyone in any field.

In terms of fashion we definitely take comfortable clothes and “relaxed” style with many sweatpants and sporty stuff, including nightdresses and pyjamas.

But importantly, we have brought masks with us to 2021.

Armen Galyan's moodboard in yellow shades

Illuminating yellow and grey have become the official colors of 2021. What do you think of the concept? Should everyone follow it? And do Armenians follow it and how?

Basically, this is just information for most Armenians and not a trend to follow, better to say a title and not a reality.

Globally, this concept has eventually managed to become a trend already.

Btw, I was listening to Woodkid’s “Pale Yellow ” from the new album, when I heard Pantone announcing the colors.

And I thought to myself, “Wow, this song is so on point”. In any case, yellow has always been considered as one of the most difficult colors to wear.

What is iconic about Armenian fashion, I mean not a title but a reality? What is the item every Armenian woman should have?

The very first thing that comes to my mind is silver jewellery. Silver accessories can practically be mixed with anything for any style.

Wearing silver bracelets, necklaces, earrings, rings and famous belts one manages to keep the tradition, and look modern and trendy at the same time.

According to Armen Galyan silver jewellery is iconic about Armenian fashion

In this case what is an anti trend for you and which products do you consider as an anti trend?

It is a pity to state, but nowadays there are some trends that turn into anti trends in a short period of time, so eventually, you can not even have a look at them any more.

Sometimes, a few months are enough to turn a major trend into an anti trend. Exactly this happened with pearl hair pins.

Currently, the trend with shoes with little bags pinned on them makes me nervous. On the other hand there are a number of long-term trends.

We have made so many efforts to leave ugly sneakers in the past, but all in vain. They continue to appear in the new collections.

Armen Galyan is a fashion guru, a stylist, an art director shares his inspiration list.

By the way, how do you see the influence of the latest situation on Armenian fashion and its further development?

To buy clothes and accessories made in Armenia has become super fashionable recently.

And I am happy to state that this trend continues to grow. I truly believe that exporting ‘Made in Armenia’ products will come as a next step, and gives more opportunities for Armenian designers.

‘Made in Armenia’ products give more opportunities for Armenian designers.

Continuing to talk about the latest situation, COVID has influenced the world of fashion. What are the pros and cons of COVID vs Fashion?

The situation with Covid worldwide has fastened a number of activities that were planned to be realized in the future. I mean conscious consumption, recycled raw materials, online shopping, virtual clothes have got a huge importance.

On the other hand, we will start to truly appreciate offline shopping the day we overcome Covid crisis.

Exporting "Made in Armenia" products will benefit the local market.

Before we get back to times of offline shopping, share your experience with online shopping. How do you like it and what are the benefits?

The most important benefit about online shopping is that you can purchase practically whatever you want despite the distance, breaking all the borders.

This is an absolutely new level for making a choice, especially for such countries like Armenia where the market is way smaller as compared to the US.

One more important thing, I have noticed that sometimes online shopping helps me make less purchases.

You add stuff to your cart and have time to think over and come back with a better decision.

Online shopping is about making the right decision and economy.

Armen Galyan is a fashion guru, a stylist, an art director
All images are done by Armen Galyan, edited by Lena Gevorgyan specially for HAY-HAY.
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