Style & Design
Bora Aksu
Originally published on Wednesday, 25th February 2009
Bora Aksu
Including in his influences Victorian muses, nomads and '60s couture shapes, this collection was as complex and beautifully executed as one might expect from the four-time New Generation award winner.
The show was marked by a dark romanticism, inspired by the aesthetics and emotions of Tissot's late 19th Century paintings of his mistress, who apparently died young, leaving him heartbroken.
A somber spectrum of midnight blue, deep green and black was lifted with highlights of peach and light blue. Delicate crochet work and fine silk netting were combined with heavy brocade, taffeta and even PVC to create a look that was at once both tough and feminine.
Marilyn Manson thundered from the speakers as the models floated down the catwalk like ghosts, with porcelain-pale faces and their hair pinned back from their faces.
“I wanted the girls to look like faded photos of Victorian ladies that you sometimes find in carboot sales,” explained Aksu.
This was a show about contrasts: darkness and light, vulnerability and strength, sadness and optimism.
Aksu also revealed he has been working on a new capsule range of cocktail dresses to be unveiled in Paris in March. If that doesn’t cheer you up nothing will.
