February 21, 2023 |
Dilara Findikoglu is fast becoming a designer to watch. Not only is she scoring major A-list coups on the likes of Bella Hadid and Lorde, but her London Fashion Week shows, infused with a dark and powerful femininity, have serious stand out. She presented in a deconsecrated church in London’s East End, which reflected the deconstructed, anti-patriarchal attitude of collection. “What I try to create is a sort of escapism from all the corruption and the mess or sometimes even an antithesis for the existing fucked up system” she said. “Our body is our territory, we are here to take it back” she wrote on the show notes, calling this collection Not A Man’s Territory, and giving each look a name. Soft Weapon, a black mohair sheath with a waspie-waist, worn by nineties supermodel Sibyl Buck opened the show. Buck slinked past, eyeing the audience defiantly, followed by Doll Parts (leather jacket and matching knickers). Lingerie and corsetry were at the heart of many looks which included abreviated mini kilts and deconstructed jackets and sheer sheath dresses. Innocence and Bondage was a white lace corset dress with the model’s arms bound with pink ribbons at the back. The models didn’t do the usual catwalk strut, they strode out slowly and deliberately or slinked seductively. The show closed with Jean’s Knives, a gown decorated with dinner knives moulded to fit the body like armour.
Photography courtesy of Dilara Findikoglu.
