February 22, 2025 |
Dilara Findikoglu has a ripost to all those bemoaning the lack of energy and direction at London fashion week. Summoning Venus from Chaos she unleashed a defiant blast of feminine power, forceful enough to blow away the bullshit. It came in the form of a late night catwalk show in a dingy goth club. Lara Stone set the goddess mood opening the show in a body moulding black patent snakeskin corset jacket and matching pencil skirt. Leather and lace, metal and appliqué – the craftsmanship was as intense as the look on Stone’s beautiful face.
Each model slinked, sauntered or strode down the catwalk, projecting a mesmerising sense of self possession. The clothes were uncompromisingly sexy and complex. Jeans and leather trousers were routinely slashed into a deep, provocative, pelvic V at the front. Shorts were reduced to little more than knickers. Grey suiting spliced into tiny corseted looks. Lace was collaged into tantalising sheer gowns and mesh dresses were deeply encrusted with rows of shells and thousands of safety pins. Some of the models carried beaten up pairs of Converse (who sponsored the show) as if they were heroic medieval rockstars trouping back from a secret gig. The finale dress was spectacular. A moulded, flesh-coloured leather body form crafted by Whitaker Malem and hand-tattooed with spidering, lace-like graphics.
Dilara is a star because she has the ability to create convincing and compelling worlds – she’s imagined a post patriarchal universe, inhabited by mesmerising characters who are rapturous embodiments of female liberation. “The gravity of patriarchal oppression is countered by the power of conviction and the lightness of imagination,” she said. To see Dilara is to witness a designer in full creative bloom.
Photography courtesy of Dilara Findikoglu.
