A mixture of cultures, a thriving underground scene that permeates into the mainstream, and historically rich surroundings: a description that might sound familiar to Berliners, but is equally applicable to Istanbul. And this connection will only be getting stronger, with the newest bunch of young designers based in the Turkish capital showing their SS14 collections as part of Berlin Fashion Week. In this second year of the project “Istanbul Next”, the hottest Istanbul looks come courtesy of Nevra Karaca, Ece Gözen and Nazli Bozdag. Sleek sat down with the designers as well as the director of the programme, Gülriz Egilmez, to discuss this unique fashion metropolis.
What do you find unique and inspiring about Istanbul? Nevra Karaca: For me, it’s mainly the mixture of cultures.
Ece Gözen: Definitely the variety in the people that live there, as well as the history of the city.
Nazli Bozdag: Also, there’s the underground scene – the vibe, people and music and especially how it transcends into the mainstream.
Your descriptions sound very similar to how people talk about Berlin. How aware are you of this connection? EG: This is exactly why I find it so inspiring and cool to be in Berlin. Here, it’s a bit ahead of Istanbul but we’re on our way, in terms of the scene, fashion, people and so on.
NK: I agree. We are very close cultures, especially with so many Turkish people living here.
How much did the recent uprisings in Istanbul and events in Taksim Square affect your work? EG: For me, the element of protest is already in my character, and in my clothes. Generally, I try to get things that are happening around me in the world to be portrayed through my clothes. In some ways, these events seemed like a cathartic extension of how I already work.
NB: It actually really affected my fashion – before these events I was working in a very masculine style. And now I’ve ended up doing things with a much more feminine aesthetic because of what I could see was going on; for example, working with leather.
Let’s talk about European interpretations of Istanbul as the border between Europe and Asia. Do you feel like the “Oriental” label is something you identify with, or rather a Eurocentric interpretation of your work? NK: I think there are designers who work in this kind of fashion, but also a lot of other designers who work in a more modern, simplistic fashion, in the sense of Jil Sander, or Prada. It shouldn’t be about whether you’re Turkish or German or whatever, it’s the designer’s perspective on the world that’s important.
EG: Personally, I try to rebel against it and do something very different, just to prove that I am not a designer that will fit neatly into a box marked “Oriental”.
NK: There is also a tradition of very simplistic, modern shapes from Turkey in design from centuries past. But now there’s this stereotypical view of the “Arabesque” or “Oriental” – but Turkish fashion is about mixture and putting things together and see what happens. There is no one Oriental dimension to our work – it’s a three-dimensional set of inspirations.
What is the future of Istanbul fashion – will designers continue to swap countries, with bigger designers moving to larger fashion weeks or set up its own week? Gülriz Egilmez: Definitely Istanbul will become a fashion destination in its own right. Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week was launched last year, and Nazli Bozdag and Ece Gözen both showed there. I think it will develop very quickly from now on, because there’s such a big young population, who really want to make things happen. The swap with Berlin will take place again in 2014, and what I’m establishing right now is something for either Paris and London – that’s where I see it accelerating in the future.
EG: I think people really need to go to Istanbul to see the new young talent.
G: Yes, I mean you can show in Paris, and it’s great, but there is nothing happening there, really. Berlin is the next exciting thing. I think Istanbul will be playing in Berlin’s leagues soon, so if Berlin and Istanbul can work together in the future, it’s a way to say to the world: “Here we are.”
Sleek is official media partner of Istanbul Next.
Check out the Istanbul designers fashion spread featured in sleek’s Summer 2013 issue, out now.
Photographer: Ali Yavuz Ata
Fashion Editor: Lorena Maza