When Was Lamoon Fashion Week Istanbul in 2018

For its latest season, Fashion Calendar week Istanbul returns with a hybrid creative showcase of Turkish talent from October 12 to 17, 2021. A curated experience running between October thirteen to 17 mixes the piece of work of Turkey's artists, from photographers and designers to performance artists and actors, conceptualised beyond two performance spaces: the public and private.

The multidisciplinary exhibition revolves around the theme Istanbul State of Mind, through which event organisers — Istanbul Dress Exporters Association, or İHKİB, Turkish Fashion Designers' Association (MTD) and Istanbul Fashion Academy (IMA) — sought to celebrate the multicultural city and its art scene, united equally the world moves into a post-pandemic reality.

The immersive experience engages viewers in performances by artists dressed in Turkish designs, interacting directly with scenes unfolding around them in street settings to individual apartments. For those unable to experience the events in-person, the majority of fashion shows within the curation were also digitally streamed between 12 to xv October and can be watched on the Style Week Istanbul'southward homepage.

To complement the hybrid event of Turkish talent, London-based filmmaker and ShowStudio alumna, Marie Schuller, also shot and directed a brusk feature film, streamed betwixt Oct 12 to 15. Wearing garments from showcasing designers' collections, actors motion from the streets into apartments to parallel the exhibition's focus on public and private spaces. Y'all tin can watch the video beneath.

Now, BoF sits down with 10 of Turkey's leading and emerging design talent to larn more nigh the hybrid event, their digital offering and hopes for a post-pandemic era.

Arzu Kaprol

A founding member of Fashion Designers Association Turkey that created Manner Week Istanbul, Kaprol launched her eponymous brand in 1998. The brand opened its starting time store in 2007 and has shown at Paris Mode Calendar week on the official agenda. Since their get-go digital show in 2015, Arzu Kaprol has leveraged VR and hologram technology, and created "smart" jackets responding to climate changes.

"Nosotros are approaching a new country of mind afterwards the pandemic, which is more inclusive than exclusive. We are welcoming a new, responsible attitude. With this mindset, we looked into our local resource [and] created a collection with Turkish artisans using traditional techniques. Nosotros stopped importing materials and created a drove supporting hidden and long forgotten traditions of Anatolian culture. […] We created a sub-brand strategy past focusing on specific products like beachwear and kaftans."

With the pandemic offering a new slate of challenges for designers, Kaprol has placed an emphasis on the "ability of collaborations." Looking to back up her contemporaries, the make now carries other designers' products in their new store that opened during pandemic.

Selen Akyüz

Selen Akyüz graduated from Istanbul Style Academy in 2014 earlier relocating to Milan to study an MA in menswear design at İstituto Marangoni. Later working for menswear brands in Milan, such as Ermenegildo Zegna and Costume National, she returned to Turkey and launched her eponymous menswear brand in 2018 — and released her kickoff womenswear designs this season.

The designer leaned heavily into digital this season, leveraging 3D pattern and their e-commerce business, equally well as the hybridised FWI event. Instead of a runway show this season, "we will be nether an atmosphere, where all the other art disciplines company to designer's collections. Information technology is going to be full of experience for the audience," Akyüz told BoF, whose SS22 collection will be accompanied by music from electropop duo Lonasona to help "convey the spirit of the collection to the audition."

She adds: "My future aim is to make my brand one hundred percent sustainable, by using all recycled, all organic-raw materials, to cut the waste of water in the production and back up local, modest companies to produce the about valuable, durable and qualified mode garments."

Mehtap Elaidi

Designer Mehtap Elaidi moved into fashion to launch her namesake womenswear brand after initially working in marine insurance. Today, at least 60 percent of the brand'southward collections use organic or sustainable fabrics and is sold through stores in Istanbul, an east-commerce site and international stockists, including Harvey Nichols.

"We are now designing with the ME woman in mind instead of with/for our wholesale partners. Nosotros then look for and connect with retailers that are a good fit for the ME woman in our minds, so that the partnership tin be stronger and more than sustainable," Elaidi told BoF. Placing more than accent on their directly-to-consumer platforms to "directly interact with the ME women" through their website and flagship store in Istanbul, Elaidi said they plan to "become dorsum to hosting dissimilar events at our store to offer the ME women."

The brand is placing a bigger focus on fashion films instead of creating runway shows to reach a wider audition, collaborating with Turkish directors and vocalist/songwriters for their short films. These collaborative efforts extend to collections, working with women-endemic Turkish brands or companies once a year — including this flavour's beachwear capsule collection with the Istanbul-based pattern design studio LAR.

Karma by İMA

Essin Baris Karma collective FWI Essin Barış for the Karma collective. FWI.

The Karma collective represents emerging talent from the Istanbul Moda University — a way school established in 2007 offering degrees in Manner Design, Technology and Product Development, Manner Management and Fashion Communication and Media.

This season, the Karma designers are Essin Baris, Ezgi Karayel and Senem Kula.

As a role of the next generation of design talent coming out of Turkey, Kula has made a delivery to sustainability in their work, having worked with sustainable textiles since 2016. "As a designer, I will go on to work on a unlike creative field of sustainability each time in my piece of work," said Kula. "Istanbul Mode Week is a path that many designers have dug since its commencement day. At present I'm walking this path too, and I hope I will continue to dig new paths for the designers who will come afterward me."

SBNM

Founded in 2016 by designer Şebnem Günay, SBNM offers athleisure collections with a retro streetwear artful for women and children, sold direct-to-consumer through its e-commerce site.

"SBNM started every bit, and still is, a digital characterization," Şebnem Günay told BoF. "First of all, existence based online gave usa the take a chance to create a strong image and evangelize SBNM worldwide without going through huge productions and unpaid deliveries to stores."

Alongside working with four PR and digital agencies globally to showcase their work, the make is using "predictive data analytics to understand customer habits and needs, which is integrated with our website," says Günay. "As we are still experiencing and adapting to the new era of change, we are planning to concentrate on a more gimmicky youth contour. Nosotros aim to be a part of this revolution."

Şansım Adalı, Sudi Etuz

Sudi Etuz by Şansım Adalı, SS22 look. FWI. Sudi Etuz by Şansım Adalı, SS22 expect. FWI.

Şansım Adalı studied in Brussels before launching Sudi Etuz, which now includes both physical and digital stores. The designer champions a digital-beginning arroyo, using for years a virtual reality model, digital artists and AI engineers. Soon, Sudi Etuz volition launch an NFT sheathing drove.

In their concluding two seasons, Sudi Etuz has turned "completely digital to proceed upward with the speed of the world," designer Şansım Adalı told BoF. "Nosotros are imagining the collections with how information technology's going to be presented — how we will shoot the picture show. The collection shapes from the [presentation] idea, so we offset making the design process and after, textile selections."

This season, influenced by historical and archaeological area Anavarza in Adana, Turkey, the make has combined ancient mythology with a digital video game aesthetic, shot from the perspective of the principal character. "We first make our 3D drawings of the pieces before samples. We accept a team of digital artists and AI engineers making virtual characters, garments and AI-educated lip-syncs for our digital humans."

"For our mode blueprint co-operative, as nosotros make our pieces in digital, it gives an ease to come across the full outfit earlier making the sample," adds Adalı. "Of form, with this, nosotros can mind our carbon footprints as nosotros don't destroy any textile for the samples of collections. We're are also making an NFT capsule drove with our digital garments."

Ece and Ayse Ege, Dice Kayek

Sisters Ece and Ayse Ege launched their honor-winning make Dice Kayek in 1992. Based in Paris, the characterization became part of the Fédération Française de la Couture in 1994. The label counts 90 global stockists, its own east-commerce site and a newly opened Parisian boutique, yet product remains in their Istanbul atelier.

"At the moment, we are heavily investing in retail because we want to reach our customers directly for a change. This is the first time we are focusing on creating a shopping experience unique to our make," said the sister founders, who opened their Parisian flagship store a few months before the pandemic hit Europe. Consumers can reserve items online to try on in the boutique, alongside a style consultancy and made-to-mensurate services.

"As for wholesale, we continue to piece of work on sheathing collections that cater to our select partners effectually the world based on their needs," including a popular-up store at the Ritz Paris for the holiday season and a Christmas drove in collaboration with French retailer La Redoute.

Having leveraged fashion films to preview collections since 2013, Dice Kayek regularly collaborates with award-winning filmmaker Marie Schuller — who created FWI's cross-disciplinary moving-picture show this flavour. "Cheers to the amplifying power of digital media, now we reach a much broader audience than we ever dreamed of when nosotros first started offering our films online. This has been a great do for us to detect new ways of highly-seasoned to the new generation of digital native consumers besides."

Yakup Biçer, Y Plus

Y Plus by Yakup Biçer. FWI. — Y Plus past Yakup Biçer. FWI. Y Plus past Yakup Biçer SS21. FWI. (Caner Kahveci)

With xxx years' experience as a creative director in Turkey, Yakup Biçer'southward genderless label Y PLUS received its international debut at London Fashion Week in February 2020.

"Our brand identity this season plays with colours and patterns while preserving one of its cadre elements: genderlessness. Beingness able to express gender neutrality by using colours freely has been the biggest change since the birth of the brand," Biçer told BoF.

While the designer says the pandemic has "taught us many things," similar leading a slower, more than sustainable life, Biçer also cites the importance of "collaboration and cooperation of fashion houses, which we have seen in the contempo fashion weeks. […] Collaborating with another brand is among my post-pandemic goals."

Ceren Ocak

Later on completing a degree in business and fashion design at Istanbul La Salle International Academy, Ceren Ocak joined the blueprint squad of Turkish designer Zeki Triko until 2013, when she left to design her own collections. Ocak's label is bachelor at the brand's showroom and Turkish clothing store Gizia Gate.

"The fact that drove presentations were not physically realised [during the pandemic] made me lean to digital media more than, leveraging social media, digital exhibitions and online sales platforms to see with buyers," Ocak told BoF.

"I am looking to the future with promise," says the designer. "I believe that good days are coming. That was what I wanted to tell in my SS22 collection. A more than colourful, more dynamic life. For my brand, I intend to take part in areas where I tin can physically display my products and show my product quality and craftsmanship more."

New Gen by İMA

A look by New Gen shortlisted designer, Nazlıcan Türker. — New Gen shortlisted designer Nazlıcan Türker FWI A look past New Gen shortlisted designer Nazlıcan Türker. FWI. (Caner Kahveci)

New Gen designers are selected from mode students and graduates of the leading Turkish fashion school, Istanbul Fashion Academy, funded by Istanbul Apparel Exporters Clan İHKİB, to showcase and support up-and-coming young designers.

This twelvemonth, fashion graduates Lidya Zenginel, Nadin Altıparmak, Şeyma Hamamcı, Nazlıcan Türker, Öykü Ece Uza, Ercan Tenekecioğlu, Mirey Demirci and Berfin Özgür are shortlisted for the New Gen honour and opened the season's showcase.

This is a sponsored characteristic paid for by FWI as part of a BoF partnership.