Mixte Magazine

Designer duos in fashion are quite common. We’re immediately thinking of Rick Owens and Michèle Lamy, Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant of Coperni, Lucie and Luke Meier of Jil Sander, Andreas Kronthaler and Vivienne Westwood or Ester Manas and Balthazar Delepierre. To this non-exhaustive list of sartorial twosomes, we can now add Imruh Asha and Danial Aitouganov, founders of the emerging brand Zomer – with the difference that, unlike those mentioned above, they’re best friends, not a couple. Originally from Amsterdam, the two creatives met when they were only teenagers with their heads full of dreams and aspirations. Zomer is first and foremost the story of a longstanding friendship, now translated into a brand that, in just under two years, managed to make a name for itself in the fashion industry thanks to a flamboyant creativity manifesting itself in experimental silhouettes, kaleidoscopic colors and unexpected textures, all with strong references to art and contemporary culture.

Although the two friends first had the idea for this project back in 2016, it wasn’t until 2022 that they decided to really go for it, after each of them had built up a solid CV and experience of their own. Danial, a designer by training, worked at Chloé and Burberry studios before moving on to brands such as Études Studio and Louis Vuitton menswear. As for Imruh, a self-taught stylist who previously collaborated with media such as M, le magazine du Monde, Vogue France and Mixte, he has been fashion director of Dazed and Confused magazine for several years. Today, with just three collections under their belt, these two childhood friends have already managed to leave their mark thanks to their good nature, their love of playfulness and their sense of irony, all of which constantly enrich their creations. 

Their motto is simple: brightening up our daily lives, bringing joy, light and smiles back to our faces, as illustrated by their launch campaign in 2023. Titled “It’s just kids”, it featured some of the fashion game’s most emblematic figures (Anna Wintour, Grace Coddington, Rei Kawakubo) and themselves, in a “mischievous kid straight out of kindergarten” version. A way of reminding us that whatever our status, fashion star or not, we were all once children.

MIXTE. In just under two years, Zomer has joined the official Paris Fashion Week calendar and is already sold in stores such as Dover Street Market. What do you think of the brand’s early success?
DANIAL AITOUGANOV. It’s quite strange, because we’re so absorbed in the process that we don’t take the time to stop and consider how far we’ve come. I think we should do that more often, and congratulate ourselves.
IMRUH ASHA. (Pondering) You’re right. It’s pretty cool actually… We’ve gone really fast and we keep aiming higher and higher, wondering what the next step will be. So, what’s it like to stop and look back after only a few years? When I think about it, I realize now that we’re living something pretty special.

M. Honestly, it’s well deserved. You both seem so involved in the creation of the brand, and you’ve already created a whole universe and developed an identity of your own. A lot of young independent brands take longer to achieve this.
D. A. The truth is, if we had started back in 2016, it would be different. The skills we’ve acquired then enable us to make things run much more smoothly. Now, we’re able to anticipate problems by knowing what can happen. We have enormous respect for designers who start their business immediately after graduation, but as far as we were concerned, we knew we needed context, network and money first.
I. A. Absolutely. We needed to gain experience and develop our knowledge. That’s how we knew, at the end of summer 2022, after a few years’ work in our respective fields, that we were ready to launch a project of this type, one designed to express our own creativity.

M. Zomer means “summer” in Dutch. Is the name of your brand a reference to this specific season when you launched? Or is it a nod to your Dutch identity?
D. A. Neither, actually. Above all, we wanted a name that suggested something happy and positive. We tried out several names over a few days, and Zomer quickly stood out.
I. A. As well as sounding fresh and dynamic, Zomer is also very easy to pronounce in any language. It’s not too long a word, and the way it’s spelled remains quite aesthetically pleasing.
D. A. As you can see, we really put a lot of thought into every detail…
I. A. Yes! In fact, it’s not so easy to find a name and stick to it. It’s like choosing a name for your child (laughs).

M. How do you work as a team? How do you complement each other?
I. A. When Danial is working on a new piece, a jacket for example, I step in and think about how it should fit and how it can be worn. Danial is more concerned with the technical side, I’d say, because he’s obviously the one who designs the collections. As for me, I’m there to balance things out: do we have too many pants, should we add prints, should we use a specific material? And so on.
D. A. It’s like creative ping-pong. I throw something at you, you throw something back at me, and then we create together. It’s different every season, but now that we’re working together in the same space, it’s so much faster and easier (Danial and Imruh recently moved into new quarters in central Paris, editor’s note). We communicate in much greater depth, so we have a better idea of what can be improved.

M. Do you think this has an impact on the way people perceive your work?
I. A. It probably does. We’re very proud of our first two collections. But I think that with our third SS25 show, there was a kind of momentum that helped create a new dynamic. It was really new and original. We got a lot of compliments from different people telling us exactly why they liked the show. It was clearly different feedback from what we usually get.
D. A. I think it also has to do with the fact that I now work solely and entirely for our brand. At a certain point, I said to myself that this project deserved 100% of my attention if we really wanted the brand to progress. And it’s much better that way.

M. The theme of our issue is “We will always be those kids”. How do you nurture your inner child?
D. A. If you saw us in private, you’d quickly realize that we still function like kids. We like to laugh, have fun and prank each other all the time.
I. A. For example, when we have to come up with new ideas, we always ask ourselves what a child would do, how they would solve this or that problem. Taking a childlike approach to things is something we really want to keep in the fashion world, but also within our team.

M. This season, many brands and designers such as Bottega Veneta, Coperni and Balenciaga, to name but a few, have referenced the concept of the inner child and the childlike imagination in their collections. Why do you think this is?
I. A. I think it has to do with the fact that, in Western countries, childhood is generally synonymous with happiness, carefreeness and innocence. It’s a kind of sanctuary, a place of dream and wonder. And this sentiment particularly resonates with the wars, conflicts and political problems currently facing the world. I see it as a global reflection on the fact that maybe we should all think about becoming children again and try to marvel more.

M. The problem is that our world, and especially the fashion world, isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. What are some challenges – which people aren’t always aware of – when running a young independent brand?
D. A. I’d say the main issue is the financial aspect. Even if you start to be successful, there will always be money problems. We now have about ten retailers and we’re very grateful. But that doesn’t mean we’ve solved everything. So we have to keep investing and finding ways to generate funds to develop our community, and our sales.

M. This season, with your Spring-Summer 2025 collection, you set out to redefine floral prints and references with surprising pieces, some designed as giant bouquets on legs. Weren’t you afraid of being too “literal”?
D. A. The question had crossed our minds, but we chose to confront it head-on and embrace it fully. The idea was born as we sat in a beautiful garden, reflecting together. We were talking and thinking about things in life, wondering what our own garden might look like. From there, we went looking for references in my Russian culture, inherited from my mother. There are a lot of floral motifs, especially in matriochkas. This very folkloric side is something that’s ingrained in me.
I. A. From there, we started gathering inspiration for our moodboards. We had a ton of flower images all over our studio. That’s when Camille, our brand director, came to us and asked if we were really sure we wanted to do flowers for a Spring-Summer collection. She even showed us this internet meme with the famous line from the film The Devil Wears Prada, where the Runway editor-in-chief dropped a: “Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking” to her teams. It amused us and we decided to go all out. We even joked about it and referred to the scene in the film when promoting the collection on social media.

M. It really goes to show that, unlike some people in the industry, you can be self-deprecating and cultivate a sense of irony. Do you think fashion takes itself too seriously?
I. A. Not necessarily. I think a lot of brands today are having fun, actually. And the fashion landscape is definitely different from what it was twenty years ago. In my experience, the old school clichés of a mean, nasty, overly serious fashion industry are outdated. Besides, it really all depends on what you give off and what you attract.

M. You like to come up with silhouettes that defy the norm, whether in terms of shape, color or volume. How important is it for you to show that such whimsical and exceptional pieces can exist in the real world, outside the conventional space of a catwalk show?
D. A. It’s a way for us to affirm that clothing can verge on a work of art, and at the same time bring a form of fantasy to our everyday lives As far as I’m concerned, if I hadn’t done fashion, I’d have done sculpture, or some art form like that. And if you look at Imruh’s work, he’s also very sculptural in his styling approach. So I feel it’s part of our DNA. That said, we shouldn’t take this concept to extremes either, because it’s a difficult balance to maintain.
I. A. We have to admit that some of the silhouettes we create don’t look like the majority of clothes worn on the street. Our pieces have to be desirable enough to be bought, but also interesting enough to be worth showing. There’s a fine line between the two, but we try to work on that balance, as Danial said. And when you manage to blend these two worlds, it’s like you’ve folded the game! It’s a difficult thing to do, but I think it can be done.

M. As designers, you’re known for keeping a low profile and hiding from the public. At the end of each show, you prefer to bring out look-alikes of yourselves (children, young women, elderly people). Is this a way of drawing attention to your creations while making an anti-star-system statement? Or are you simply private people?
D. A. It’s a mixture of all these things. When we first discussed Zomer, we knew we wanted people to focus on the brand itself and the pieces of clothing. Not on the designers behind it. In fact, we see Zomer first and foremost as a collective.
I. A. We both hate it when we have to go out and greet the public at the end of a fashion show for instance. That’s why we don’t show our faces and send look-alikes.
D. A. It’s interesting, because we do want some form of recognition for the work we’ve done, but there’s also a kind of fear of fame and all that goes with it. It’s a bit of a strange contradiction. But I think it’s in line with the times. In the 1990s, designers used to parade themselves like stars. Now we’re in a more discreet era.

M. Yes, but we’re also living in the age of social media, where everyone puts themselves out there. And yet, you remain very private online…
D. A. I used to have an Instagram account where I was constantly seeking validation from my followers with selfies or thirst traps. Eventually it all kind of faded away organically. In fact, I think choosing not to be seen too much has become the thing of the moment.
I. A. I couldn’t agree more. But mind you, that doesn’t mean we’re not connected. We have finstas and a private TikTok where we play silly games and recreate trends for our close friends. Beyond that, professionally speaking, I don’t want to include everyone in my personal life. I’ve never even posted a selfie on my pro account. By simply showcasing your work and your inspiration, people are able to fully grasp your energy and personality, what you love and who you are. And that’s the most important thing.

This article was originally published in our Spring/Summer 2025 issue WE WILL ALWAYS BE THOSE KIDS” (released February 25th, 2025).