Close Up: Bora Aksu “The Unknown” SS2012

Now this is a Spring Summer 2012 collection that I am very happy to be revisiting!

You can read the show report I wrote and see some (very amateur!) catwalk film and images I took here:
“BORA ASKU “The Unknown” SS2012 Catwalk Report”

I’m aware this may sound a bit fashion-snobbish, but many of the shows during fashion week can actually be quite boring, and, as they only last twenty odd minutes, they can be very forgettable too.
The Bora Aksu show was neither of these things and I was inspired both to go and see the clothes on the rail in the exhibition rooms after the show (see images below) and also to look into the designer’s archives.

Bora Aksu Autumn Winter 2010

Looking only so far back as AW2010 (above), we can see the distinctive type of heavy embellishment and organic shapes that Bora is known for, but it just seems that his Spring Summer 2012 collection, whilst staying true to these original aesthetics, is just so much more refined. Whereas some of the looks in previous collections perhaps looked a little clumsy and difficult to wear, the new collection edits these ideas and forms into something exquisite, beautiful and ultimately wearable.

Through Bora’s demi-couture style, he has developed a distinctive brand of refined maximalism, characterised by extensive embellishment and intricate layering. The catwalk show suggests a full-body look, completed by mismatched or co-ordinating tights – an area of the business the designer is keen to grow and has been focusing on.

I’ve got my fingers crossed for an invite to the show this year as I am intrigued to see how the Bora Aksu brand and aesthetic develops. I really think he is a great talent and certainly one to watch, in the proper sense of that much overused phrase.