About designer
What, or rather, who is BIBI BACHTADZE? How does one pronounce it? Where does it come from? Why such a complicated name? All these are questions everyone asks when trying to say the label's name for the first time.
"BIBI BACHTADZE" is both a proper noun and a pseudonym. BACHTADZE is the Georgian birth name of the label’s founding designer, Anna Schäfer. BIBI is a nickname she acquired when relocating to Berlin at age 15. As a whole, the name is her history a fusion of the two cultures which have ultimately shaped her.
Anna Schäfer-Bachtadze was born in 1980 in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capitol, a city which had the most important influence on her style and understanding of aesthetics. Thus, her creative career began in early childhood. In an artistic environment (with architect parents, a musician and dancer brother, as well as a seamstress grandmother) the possibilities which unfolded were limitless.
She loved all of the arts equally except ballet. Ballet was her passion. But as professional dancing was forbidden to her, she lost herself on the world of costumes instead. Putting her ballet clothes on, she would dance hours on end to The Dying Swan and got goosebumps every time she had the chance to observe the excited dancers behind the curtains.
The marvelous creatures, the lovely fabrics and embroidery in all their colors and lightness fascinated her. It was exactly this same weightlessness of the ballet costumes which pervades all her work to this day. Fine lace paired with light, floating silhouettes are unmistakable trademarks of the label, influenced by designers passion for ballets.
After gratuading HTW Berlin in 2005 with magnum cum laude Anna Schäfer Bachtadze worked in management and marketing for brands like Louis Vuitton, Celine and British American Tobacco which gave her the knowledge how to run a succesful business before she founded BIBI BACHTADZE in the late 2009.
"BACHTADZE is my foundation, my deep roots. The constant and ever-returning part of me. The omnipresent character of my past. BIBI is the fanciful, empathetic and visionary side. It is a crown towering in the sky which catches every fresh breath of wind. Once could say that BIBI BACHTADZE is the authentic expression - my own trademark, my being and at the same time the reflection of the time in which I live and have lived.”
About the brand
BIBI BACHTADZE was established 2009 and has its origins an custom couture. Brand’s specialties were and still evening gowns, wedding and cocktail dresses. Hand draped lace dresses became most characteristic and bestselling pieces long before lace became mainstream popular material.
BACHTADZE is a modern interpretation of couture. BACHTADZE dresses are specifically made for modern woman through and through, but a woman –in essence – as a muse. Fine lace paired with light, floating silhouettes are unmistakable trademarks of the label, influenced by designers passion for ballets.
BACHTADZE unites silhouette sophistication with versatility, sex appeal with elegance – playfulness paired with casualness. BACHTADZE dresses are classic, timeless yet essentially modern and almost nostalgic, sometimes risqué while remaining elegant at the same time. Taking full advantage of aesthetics is in no way contrary to the wearability and functionality of BIBI BACHTAZDE creations, which distinguish themselves through comfort and simplicity.
In 2011 the label began working in a rhythm of collection cycles: the product palette has been expanded to 3 lines with 6 collections a year, conventional fashion market strategies with wholesale distribution all over the world and scale production became the reality for the years between 2012 and 2018.
In 2019 after an intensive reflection about the fashion industry and the personality of the designer self a new sustainable strategy and vision was born. Made to order used to be brands history, but became the visionary future in times of over production and repletion. Sustainability through modularity and transformation became a new USP of BIBI BACHTADZE.
The total REBRANDING accompanied this process of self-analyses and transformation. BIBI BACHTADZE grew and returned back to the roots – back to eternalness, back to origins, back to the future: from BIBI BACHTADZE to BACHTAZE Concept Couture.
“After a year of intensive examination of myself, of the fashion industry, of society and, above all, of my role in this “theater”, I am now returning:
Back to the craft I love. Back to the creativity I need. Back to my essence and my origins.
Even as a child, I tried to beautify everything around me - that was a true desire and fulfillment at the same time. This should remain the case in the future. This child is back and she wants to make you beautiful and happy.
Unusual for our world not to declare sales and growth as the new goals of the strategy. But I dare... I've already tried the other one. I don't want to rush anymore, I don't want to compare anymore, I don't want to bend anymore... I want to create and be in harmony with myself!
Therefore, please don't expect anything standard from me in the future: I will show something new when the new thing is ripe and worthy, and not when the market calls. I won't spoil people's beautiful proportions just because it's in vogue. I will not turn away from femininity and elegance, even if sports suits are already replacing evening dresses.
I will simply put my world out there as soon as it wants to be shown.”