Extensive clothing collection revives Seljuk-era style

An extensive collection of Seljuk-era clothes, which features some designs that date back to 900 years ago, is being prepared by an advanced technical school for girls in the northern city of Samsun.

The collection includes imperial clothes worn by sultans and sultanas along with those used by the Seljuk army and the public. Before deciding on collection designs, thorough research was conducted on Seljuk-era clothes and 11 men's outfits and 19 women's outfits were chosen. The collection will feature 90 pieces in total including war materials like shields, headgear and armor. A runway show will take place in June to launch the collection to viewers. Designers conducted a literature review on Seljuk-era clothing and visited museums where Seljuk-era collections are available. "The collection's main pieces are inspired by attire seen on Seljuk-era miniatures and historic clothes that are kept in museums," Fatma Aslan, the school's principal, said.

"We are designing the clothes of Gevher Nesibe Sultan and Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad, among many others. We are keeping them alive as best as we can," she added. In Seljuk-era clothes, animal and plant figures as well as patterns associated with Mevlana Jalal al-Din Rumi were largely used. "We have duplicated some designs in the collection, while others have been re-designed," she said. Most of the pieces are comprised of three parts. Women's clothes feature a kaftan, baggy trousers and skirt, while men's clothes are compiled of two parts: A kaftan and baggy trousers.