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REPORTS: KARABAKH HOPES TO PRODUCE FOR VERSACE
EurasiaNet.org
Sept 12 2013
September 12, 2013 - 9:28am, by Giorgi Lomsadze
Could Azerbaijan be facing encroachments on its territorial integrity
by Italian fashion brands? Armenian and Karabakhi media have it
that Versace, Armani, Prada and Moschino are considering setting up
production lines in breakaway Nagorno Karabakh, a patch of territory
that Azerbaijan claims as its own design.
According to the reports, a coterie of Italian businesspeople are
visiting Karabakh this week to check out the potential for producing
clothes in a decrepit, former textile factory, Gharmetakskombinat. The
separatist authorities hope that the abandoned factory could soon
start producing Versace outfits, among others, and have joked that
perhaps Baku would care to set up a special black list for "prominent
international brands and companies."
While this story may sound like something out of The Onion, officials
in Baku took it seriously. Azerbaijan, which is trying to isolate
Karabakh as part of its policy to regain control of the predominantly
ethnic Armenian territory, tasked its embassy in Italy to look into
the reports. One nationalist NGO called for a boycott of Versace
clothes -- an action that, conceivably, might have put Azerbaijan's
reigning fashionista, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, in a potentially
delicate situation.
Soon enough, though, Azerbaijani media distributed alleged comments
from Versace that the company has no plans to extend production to
the disputed region.
A purported "representative" of Versace in Azerbaijan, however, told
the Azerbaijani website Virtualaz.org that the Italian clothier intends
to open a boutique, rather than a factory, in the breakaway territory.
Versace spokespeople could not be reached by EurasiaNet.org for
confirmation.
It remains unclear if energy-rich Baku was able to talk Italy's
fashion sharks out of their alleged Karabakh ideas or if the fashion
factory was Armenian/Karabakhi wishful thinking to begin with. In a
part of the world known both for fake news and fake fashion brands,
it may take time to get a clear picture.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/67496
From: Baghdasarian
EurasiaNet.org
Sept 12 2013
September 12, 2013 - 9:28am, by Giorgi Lomsadze
Could Azerbaijan be facing encroachments on its territorial integrity
by Italian fashion brands? Armenian and Karabakhi media have it
that Versace, Armani, Prada and Moschino are considering setting up
production lines in breakaway Nagorno Karabakh, a patch of territory
that Azerbaijan claims as its own design.
According to the reports, a coterie of Italian businesspeople are
visiting Karabakh this week to check out the potential for producing
clothes in a decrepit, former textile factory, Gharmetakskombinat. The
separatist authorities hope that the abandoned factory could soon
start producing Versace outfits, among others, and have joked that
perhaps Baku would care to set up a special black list for "prominent
international brands and companies."
While this story may sound like something out of The Onion, officials
in Baku took it seriously. Azerbaijan, which is trying to isolate
Karabakh as part of its policy to regain control of the predominantly
ethnic Armenian territory, tasked its embassy in Italy to look into
the reports. One nationalist NGO called for a boycott of Versace
clothes -- an action that, conceivably, might have put Azerbaijan's
reigning fashionista, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, in a potentially
delicate situation.
Soon enough, though, Azerbaijani media distributed alleged comments
from Versace that the company has no plans to extend production to
the disputed region.
A purported "representative" of Versace in Azerbaijan, however, told
the Azerbaijani website Virtualaz.org that the Italian clothier intends
to open a boutique, rather than a factory, in the breakaway territory.
Versace spokespeople could not be reached by EurasiaNet.org for
confirmation.
It remains unclear if energy-rich Baku was able to talk Italy's
fashion sharks out of their alleged Karabakh ideas or if the fashion
factory was Armenian/Karabakhi wishful thinking to begin with. In a
part of the world known both for fake news and fake fashion brands,
it may take time to get a clear picture.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/67496
From: Baghdasarian