Our team here at Dashing George, have always wanted to visit Istanbul. A city divided between Asia and Europe. In essence, a city bursting at the seams with culture and people. A true metropolis. Initially, we are very skeptic to venture into Turkey at this point in time, with the political instability and we almost cancelled our trip…thinking that it would be unwise to be there should the situation worsen and we could be caught in the middle of all the unrest. But, we packed our suitcases and cameras and took a chance…and it was well worth the risk!
The city has a rhythm that no other city has. It is hot, colourful, noisy, exotic and magnificent…in short, a city with a lot to offer…and fashion-wise, we quickly noticed a few trends. While the unrest has been televised, the people in the street are showing just how they are feeling: with camouflage, short shorts, bare legs and long, open hair. Here the trend is daring, in spite of conservative political views being bellowed through radios and television. The women are beautiful, strong-willed and dressed for summer…the men are working a bit of grunge, with bare arms, plenty of beards and tight jeans, worn-in Chelsea boots and plenty of silver jewelry. In true reactionary form, the fashion on the street is commenting on the political beliefs of the people, hence plenty of red, white and black: true Turkish colours.
We only need to think back to a few years ago when the economic instability and 911 hit America, that the fashion in turn spoke about what people were feeling. Then, the fashion industry reacted by sending models down the runway in soldier wear and a reduced, minimalistic style was call of the day. A few months later, it shifted and embellishment was the new must-have. Fashion houses decided that defiance in the face of poverty was the only answer and thus, houses like Balmain, Gucci and even Louis Vuitton, offered the world more bling than we could even handle.
A similar approach can now be felt in Istanbul. There is a military feel to the clothing, but unlike what happened in the States, the women are still feminine, despite the tough feel of the clothing. There are no single feature models in the next photo line, as the mood on the street was very much ‘do not disturb’, so we have selected instead, a few images to depict our take on Istanbul…
The city has a rhythm that no other city has. It is hot, colourful, noisy, exotic and magnificent…in short, a city with a lot to offer…and fashion-wise, we quickly noticed a few trends. While the unrest has been televised, the people in the street are showing just how they are feeling: with camouflage, short shorts, bare legs and long, open hair. Here the trend is daring, in spite of conservative political views being bellowed through radios and television. The women are beautiful, strong-willed and dressed for summer…the men are working a bit of grunge, with bare arms, plenty of beards and tight jeans, worn-in Chelsea boots and plenty of silver jewelry. In true reactionary form, the fashion on the street is commenting on the political beliefs of the people, hence plenty of red, white and black: true Turkish colours.
We only need to think back to a few years ago when the economic instability and 911 hit America, that the fashion in turn spoke about what people were feeling. Then, the fashion industry reacted by sending models down the runway in soldier wear and a reduced, minimalistic style was call of the day. A few months later, it shifted and embellishment was the new must-have. Fashion houses decided that defiance in the face of poverty was the only answer and thus, houses like Balmain, Gucci and even Louis Vuitton, offered the world more bling than we could even handle.
A similar approach can now be felt in Istanbul. There is a military feel to the clothing, but unlike what happened in the States, the women are still feminine, despite the tough feel of the clothing. There are no single feature models in the next photo line, as the mood on the street was very much ‘do not disturb’, so we have selected instead, a few images to depict our take on Istanbul…
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