Dilek Hanif Ready-to-Wear Autumn/Winter 2011-12

the Very Latest of Dilek Hanif

As usual She is sticked to her Ottoman-inspired style. And She displays her second ready-to-wear collection.

2011-12 Autumn - Winter Haute Couture

 

Lessons from fashion's free culture

Is fashion industry better without copyright protection? 

Johanna Blakley will convince you that it is

"Copyright law's grip on film, music and software barely touches the fashion industry ... and fashion benefits in both innovation and sales, says Johanna Blakley. At TEDxUSC 2010, she talks about what all creative industries can learn from fashion's free culture."

Ümit Benan's Inspiration Photos Project

With his latest Inspiration Photos Project, Ümit Benan puts a strong emphisize on his
neo-macho man style

Ümit Benan had started his career in Milan displaying a long bearded, old man as a brand image, advocating that people shouldn't be judged by their appearances, an attitude which helps him to distinguish himself from the rest in an industry mostly relevant with the images over-stylized.

Now, after several years, he still keeps his trajectory straight, staying loyal to the core of his brand attitude, with kind of images from the low and diregarded side of the society.

His clothes are defined rough by appearance, (which is arguable in case of some collections such as the latest 2011 SS) and soft by other senses.

For the recent inspiration photos project, Ümit Benan collabrated with Serdar Bilgili, a high-profile businessman known with his b&w sensational portraits, displaying disabled people in emotional conditions.

And in this inspiration project, he shot men who are so apparent that they belong to the 'have-nots' side of the society, and has nothing to do with fashion streams.

Ümit Benan's this non-traditional fashion attitude has been praised by the main stream fashion journalists as much as the bloggers all around the world who are fascinated with the odd and undiscovered things.

Yet, I wonder, does his recent description about the-new-age-macho style reveal anything about what is coming-up next in men's fashion?

It's doubtful that whether Benan's oriental influenced designs go main-stream or not, but it's so clear that his aspiration has already begun to inspire those that lead the society forward.

A thriving talent: Nihan Peker

The relevant abstract she designs around and the way she makes her clothes outstanding render Nihan Peker remarkable

At the very begining of his career, after some education in Milan, London and New York Ümit Benan had stopped in İstanbul to give it a try. He stayed over a year, worked for some well-known companies and then had decided that to be a branded designer in İstanbul is exremely challenging. So he moved back to New York. You may google for the rest of the story, if you havent heard of him yet... 
His withdrawal creates a question mark about how the fashion business works in İstanbul. In an interview, he said "In Turkey, companies see designers as any other ordinary workers, not a creative force behind the brand. I just couldn't see a future for myself"


It's common that coming up design students who fancy about the glamorous catwalks and a big branded name like Prada or Christian Dior disappoint after the graduation when they see not that fancy side of the business. While most of the newly-grad designers enter into big brands, a few of them choose a more challenging path: To go his/her own way.


The negative attitude gets even harder to stand without a sustained financial support. To find the right tailors and patternmakers or ateliers that understand your demands, the right contacts that let you showcase or sell your products... At the middle of all these challenges It turns into a tedious journey.


Therefore when we witness a creative talent blossoms we should hail, at least, his/her courage. And if this person, like Nihan Peker, has a story to tell without comprimising all the seem-to-be hard to swallow details for the demand of superfiacial populist eyes we should claim his/her thriving existance.


This year, after her fashion design master at Istituto Marangoni, Nihan Peker is back from Italy. Her second ready-to-wear collection is on sale, now at a concept boutique named Laudromat.
She named her last collection as "Uyandırma Ayini" (wake-up ritual). This name is part of a whole consept she keeps to go on all through her previous collections named, orderly, "Palyaçolar" (the clowns), "Semazenler" (whirling sufi derwishes), "Paradoks" (the paradox) and "Hamal" (street porter). She explains that the culture she comes from is her main inspiration. All these names are the words which haunted her during the research for the right fabrics.


She declares that her designs are her self-expression. the clothes are basicly affected by her inner world (paradoxical, sort of depressive, monochrome (mostly white) with lots of strings...) rather than global trends. She defines her clothes experimental but she also wants to stay casually wearable.


As the economy recovers a new demand is emerging for the sophisticated brands. Before the crisis it was all about logos, shiny patterns, brands who talks aloud on behalf of their customers. And now, after a short back-to-basics movement, cutomers once again want brands say something on behalf of the wearer, but this time in elegance.
That's because Nihan Peker's plain but outstanding clothes, all above the global trends, clarifies post-crisis zeitgeist: recognizable desings without any logo.




Uyandırma Ayini:

Interview:Nihan Peker

Clothes as a way of self-expression: 

Well-defined, well-cut and monochrome...

After some education and internship in Italy you are back to İstanbul, and decided to fly with your own wings; what's new?
The recent collection Uyandırma Ayini (wake-up ritual) is my second ready-to-wear collection among total five. Previous collections which were mostly enperimental and not intended for the mass market had tendency towards to haute couture but now i'm more reachable. This is what i want right now: To be consumed casually. 

Your collections have always been abstractly well defined with cultural references, how do you decide a concept?
That's right, every collection has a unique theme. And these themes spring naturally in the design process. I always start with researching the right clothes for the garments. Time i spend for the research is pretty short but i construct all the concept at this very limited time.
When i was preparing for Hamal collection, i spent so much time in Eminönü. I saw a lot of hamal (street porter) there. How they carry their 'küfe' (a very large basket carried on the back by street porters) and how the küfe itself is woven inspired me. I'm basically interested in traditional Turkish culture. For instance, i have a big respect for all the aspects of sufi culture and i reflected this fascination at 'Semazenler' with writing and other details placed on pieces of clothing. 

Is there any chracteristics you especially give a place in your desings?
In general, i am not in love with colours. All the clothes tend to be monochrome. I always design things i certainly would like to wear on and that's because my designs mostly are well-cut, plain and black and white. The collections are basically consisted of two main parts: well-cut, masculine white shirts (yes, i love white shirts very very much) and disproportionately cut or woven pieces. 

Each garment is unique. Even the sizes make a difference. Sometimes people who try a different size of the same piece say that that is not looking the way other one is. They are right, all of the pieces look different on a different body. And because of this disproportion the wearer may adjust its look according to her taste with simple accessories.

So which words do you think describe your style best?
Plain and monochrome; experimental but deliberate...


What's your favourite texture?
Organza. Some of the dresses are made of organza in this spring collection. They're wearable in a daily routine. Actually i'm more interested in threads rather than fabrics. After all fabrics are woven with threads. And to emphasize this admiration of mine i use strings in a very direct way on clothes. Sometimes i tear a cloth into pieces just to make new strings... 


Who is your favourite designer?
Yasemin Özeri, Öykü Thurston, Elif Cığızoğlu, Özgür Masur, Ümit Ünal and Jil Sander...


What's the most important challenge a young designer who tries to stand on her/his own legs is supposed to deal with?
A place for a permenant retail. Now, for the last two collections i sell my designs at Laundromat. But Laundromat has a changing concept over the time and that's because it's not clear that how long more i may keep selling there. The revenue i get from the sales is significantly absorbed by the expenditures of production. That's a circle hard to break.

Because of this reason most designers get into business by working under the name of a big brand. Why didnt you choose that path?
Because i want to express myself. Even though i could get a chance to work for a creatively driven brand, my role as a beginner would be so limited. Besides i feel a very strong energy inside me to go on my own way... 

What's the most important difficulty you face during the production process?
I've no contract with a single atelier. I work with several independent tailors and patternmakers. That's because it's really hard to keep an eye on all of the goods during the production. And sometimes dirty results of the clothes or inadequate stitching could be a problem.

Who do you think would like to wear your designs on?
Women who appreciate distinctive and delicate design...


What we should expect in the near future?
All of my five collections were constructed around a specific idea. The whole idea is developing even more right now. 
For the next collection you'll see more shirts... White will be dominant colour, along with a touch of beige. 
The current collection is "Wake-up ritual" and the next one will be named "Narcosis". It'll be a calm and dignified collection.
I imagine and wish to use a hospital gallery for an exibition. Everything will be white and garments will be worn by sculptures. I hope it comes true.

Vogue on the shelves in Turkish

After generating a lot of speculation for months 
Turkish Vogue finally had its place among others.

It is just above the mediocrity…

I was completely biased because of our previous magazine experiences in the industry. Elle, Harper’s Bazaar or Cosmopolitan happened to be another soulless, unidentified carbon copies of their original editions by reducing its staff only a bunch of translators and simple implementers while disregarding the local talents.

And Vogue, even though it has a well-known tradition with the fashion industry and Condé Nast Publication has strict policies about the brand expansions, could possibly be a victim of the market in the same way.

It was a big question mark in my mind whether Vogue could manage to not to be another women magazine in this not-that-demanding market.

Along with that wonder, I was afraid of Turkish Vogue happen to be too commercial like its American counterpart due to the concern over circulation. It may be okay in the States but in Turkish edition, would be really repulsive to see too polished pictures all through the pages with big price tags.

Fortunately, probably since Mary Fellowes of British Vogue is at the head of fashion direction, Vogue Türkiye is mostly inspired by the British one. Not as arty as the Italian one or as glamorous as the French one… Just in the middle of all and above the mediocrity.

Although some say that there is a lack of a specific article on fashion in the magazine, i pretty like its relationship with ‘lifestyle’ topics.

There is an article on the painter Semiha Berksoy celabrating her 100. birthday; an article and shooting with director Ferzan Özpetek revealing his latest film and another shooting made in Italy with the leading actor and actresses of the newly relased movie, Ses.

There are seven fashion shootings i count, four of them styled by Mary Fellowes, three of them by Konca Aykan and the other one by Ece Sükan… These mostly are pretty shoots produced out of the studio and mostly using daily light instead of strong spots.

One of my favorite shootings in the mag is the one shot in Mardin. Even if i haven’t been in there i feel excitement about that little, eastern city. When it comes to culture it seems pretty promising. And the shooting reveals it pretty much by giving space to the local patterns. The costumes and the lighting do not cover anything they go along with everything surrounding them. 

‘The Randevouz in Bodrum’ which makes you feel the mag has something to do with art photography is my another favorite shoot. Oka, maybe, gathering now-retired-but-still-beautiful models together, instead of emerging hot models, is kind of depressing idea for the first issue but the concept looks pretty on the pages.

And here is my amazement… When it comes to costumes no other public persona dare to be daring as much as Zeki Müren. Zeki Müren was/is arguably one of the most famous singers in the city life. He expressed his publicly undeclared sexual preferance with his costumes in the very conservative and politically though times. His obsession with fashion to express his identity is a great example between culture-identity and fashion.     

The New York Magazine asks to his online readers (probably as the part of a PR work) that “Why is the cover of Turkish Vogue is so great?”

Is it really so?

Oka, being plain is appreciated but for what reason Jessica Stam is the face of the first issue of a magazine published for the local Turkish market? Why not a Turkish model on the cover? Is it because that Turkish models aren’t pretty enough? Or Is that just a fear of being excluded off the international fashion industry.

In both cases the insecurity is not appreciated.

After all ‘Vogue Türkiye’ is pretty to flip through. But that’s sure it is not enough to keep the wheels working. We all going to see how it will manage to survive in the new media landscape turning its face increasingly to online.

With the help of its traditional perception it’ll probably do well in its first year. The figures show that it has an ideal advertising-content percentage for the first issue. But it’s doubtful whether these figures are sustainable or not. 

Behind the scenes of the cover :

For what reason men stand?

Why do image makers make models stand in front of a plain background in all of the suit advertisements?  
With no story, no emotion, no diversity...

Do they just try to show us that how the suit perfectly suits on? Or how amazing lines and cuts it has..?

Aren't these ads supposed to show us the final benefit we could get in the society by wearing a suit. 

All the suits in ads look like the relatives of an Armani classic. 

So how can an ordinary buyer differenciate them before going to a store unless a brand would not tell a story about itself and the man represents it?

Building: Food Lab & Apperal

A little café located in a cool, gentrified street aims to change our feeding experience 

If chefs such as Alain Ducasse, David Bouley, Anthony Bourdain launch a new cafe/restaurant/bistro we would expect new tastes we probably never-ever tasted before.

But in a case the entrepreneurs happen to be a bunch of folks who decide opening up a new cool café with background in different fields such as event-marketing and interior design what we should expect to live about that never-ever-happened experience is in appereance.

Building Food Lab and Apparel is a little, chic boutique which is located in a gentrified street, named Serdar-ı Ekrem, one of the recently coolest spots in the city. It's simply a sleek café with a clothing boutique and a little terrace for smokers.

But what is actually cool is in the details. 

One of the partners, Serkan Yılmaz explained to me that the main aim with the concept is to change feeding habits by presenting foods with some architectural objects, instead of changing the content of foods. Which means the 'tools' you're supposed to use for eating are inspired by construction tools, like saw or trowel.

And you can see this approach everywhere in the store: Clients gather around a 17-metres rectangle table with a shape of ladder and all kinds of foods are presented at the ceramic tiles. there are also some toy trucks here and there...

The apperal part of the store has exclusively chosen garments and accessorieses from different young creative brands of different countries. These are products let you identify with the concept of Building while differentiating yourself.

A brand opportunity: Oil wrestling

A potential brand which would associate with oil wrestling could get an opportunity 

to be a popular lifestyle menswear brand

I wonder why there is no menswear brand for youngsters in Turkey which associates with oil wrestling, a well-known but not wide spread traditional sport being played for centuries.

    It’s weird because it’s probable that any brand which would relate with oil wrestling could get a natural opportunity to have sponsorship with annual Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling Organization, which is held in Edirne, a city several hours away from İstanbul and to get press coverage.

   Some may have doubts about being perceived kind of provincal when the brand relates with this organization -mostly attended by not-that-elite local inhabitants. But this raw image has another opportunity: Provenance.

   Oil wrestling has been played for centuries and it used to be very popular. That’s because it has a strong provenance which would help to get public attention.

   Recent years this sport has been in the focus of gay people all around the world because of its playing style. Their perception was like this: Two half naked macho men covered olive oil wrestles and they even do freely put their hands into their kısmets (the short pants players ought to wear)

   So here is another opportunity a potential brand could use: Even though the brand would have a ‘straight’ looking it may attract gay people at the same time. Like Abercrombie and Fitch it may generate a new kind of fraternity feeling.

Kırkpınar Oil Wrestlings is a natural source for Bruce Weber-like images: