The patterns that artist Ergin Inan passionately paints on his canvases are reflected in specially prepared fabrics by fashion designer Hatice Gökçe. Gökçe’s new attire collection, created with patterns from Inan's unique works, will be put up for sale through an online auction between Oct. 14 and Oct. 23.

Breaking new ground in Turkey in the field of design, the wearable art, made in limited quantities of 10 pieces each by Canvas Art Fashion, offers buyers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Those who want to have one of these unique pieces can join the online fashion auction to be held by Antika ve Sanat.

Collection's story

Is it possible to wear a canvas on the body or cover a canvas with the silk fabric of a tailor? A meeting of artist Inan and fashion designer Gökçe triggered this question that has led to their partnership. Referring to Inan's paintings, Gökçe is localizing the concept of “wearable art,” which has been ongoing since the '60s, by stretching her own fabric on the canvas frame this time.

Inan responds to universal concepts such as creation, extinction, metaphysical meaning and the material world with an original iconography he has woven with the spiritual and cultural values of Anatolia. He is an artist who has freely approached the subject of using very different materials and techniques throughout his more than 50 years of art production. Inan's pieces take their visual power from this never-ending formal quest and want to move the painting into three dimensions.

Having set out with the inspiration she draws from Inan's mastery of formalism and her respect for this artistic language, Gökçe is adding something new to her pluralist experiences in order to deepen her design process. She shortens the distances associated with the concept of "wearable art" by using a sense of locality, workmanship that attaches importance to sustainability and a focus on long use. Believing that sustainable fashion has been a principle in local production for years, Gökçe embroiders natural fabrics made by silkworm producers in accordance with the texture of the fabric. She combines a form that covers the body like Ottoman caftans with a long-term, natural and durable workmanship that the user will appreciate for a lifetime.

The coming together of Inan and Gökçe brings images of dragonflies, which have a central place in the pieces of the artist as a response of Sufi, and metaphysical quests in the silk fabrics of the fashion designer, exemplifying how two artists who are at different points of their personal production embrace multifaceted formality and timeless aesthetics.