Intrigued by the rich vegetation of Azerbaijan, Menzer was inspired to experiment with purple basil, plum cherries, pomegranates and quince - unusual fruits that are a speciality of the Absheron region.
Drawing memories from her grandfather’s garden, where he grew his own fruits, vegetables and flowers for pleasure, Menzer reminds us of the richness found in fruits for color, shape, taste and nutrients.
Word from the designer:
“My grandfather would proudly speak of his ‘natural’ and free from pesticides harvest, when the concept of organic crops was not even on the radar. We had grape vines growing vertically over our heads forming beautiful walls and arcades in our summer house - located by the coast where we now host our atelier.
Together with my cousins and brother we would pick pears off of trees and shake the, ‘tut' tree onto a white sheet to collect its berries. Leftover fruits were turned into homemade jams by my grandmother.
Drawing from these fond memories of bright colors and shiny fruits in red, green and yellow, I focused on intricate line properties of each fruit and leaf, placing them in various corners of the silk scarf panels.
The fine metal and wood work on our made-to-order stamps required that our artisans hone their skills to manage the complexity of each illustration, to preserve the fragility of each element.
Some scarves have been dipped into several individual color baths, consuming four days for the production of one scarf.”
