During the recent Mercedes-Benz Istanbul Fall/Winter Fashion Week, young milliner Merve Bayindir offered a heads-up with her outstanding collection of hats.
She was born in Istanbul and studied psychology and humanities at York University in Toronto, Canada. When she returned to Turkey in the summer of 2004, she worked for a while as a psychologist before going to work with her father, an architect. When asked about her inspiration to design hats, she recalls her mother’s interest in painting and art.
At an early age, Bayindir decided to explore her passion for fashion design and focused on creating her line as a hat/millinery designer. “Life is too short,” she said. “A person should rebel against conservative and binding thoughts and restrictions and instead express him or herself freely. We cannot all design or create to express. However, we are all free to use designs and creations that reach our emotions, personality and lifestyle. Hats are a less-preferred branch of design all around the world, and a dying one in Turkey. I am trying to give people a chance to have a fairy tale in their lives with my hats.”
It was nice to re-discover Atil Kutoğlu at these Istanbul Fashion Week shows. During the ’90s, he was named “Designer of the Year” several times in Austria and Germany. Since 1999, Kutoğlu’s fashions have been on the New York Fashion Week runways. His clothes are influenced by the Orient. He works with silk, cotton, wool and cashmere blends. His leather pieces are supple, but he remains loyal to his Oriental roots. His designs transport women to a mystical world.