For Istanbul’s fall/winter 2016 Fashion week, Outkast People presented an energetic, ready-to-wear collection for men and women. An urban fashion brand, their design concepts questioned the contemporary wardrobe with a soulful representation of raw energy and a modern urban edge. Their garments offered multiple expressions of identity, contrasting elements of androgyny with dress codes across cultural and historical spheres. The brand’s general manner is fed by the underground culture. In every collection, Outkast People is influenced by music, art, history, anthropology and words. Designer Emre Aktuna built the brand in 2014 in the U.K. She first studied industrial design at Yeditepe University and received her Fashion Design MA from Domus Academy, Milan in 2010. After moving to London in the same year, she interned at Christopher Beales for London Fashion Week in 2011. Her “paper dress” was selected for the “Designer Pages” exhibition, and the project was exhibited for two months at the Wapping Project London.
Toni Maticevski, a Melbourne-based designer noted for details and draping, has retained a strong hands-on approach to his work. The fact that he samples his designs himself is also one of his style statements. Maticevski manages to balance the design and creation of a successful ready-to-wear label alongside his practice of catering to one-off commissions. His particular mix of high glamour and exacting technical know-how is coupled with restrained and sleek tailoring that has earned him local and international recognition. He is driven by his desire to continually experiment.
From one season to the next, Maticevski’s work exhibits a considerable amount of diversity. He chooses to eschew mainstream ideals and prefers to work on ideas that are creatively challenging. The lifestyle exercise simply pushes his designs further. His looks are sculptural and inspired by the outline of the body. He plays with contradictory ideas of structure and fluidity. With soft volumes in luminous fabrications, his work creates and emphasizes drama.