Turkish-born designer Bora Aksu spreads the air of romance at the London Fashion Week Friday. Aksu returned to his roots to present an array of embroidered dresses, cropped jackets and layered skirts, using lots of lace, crochet, ruffles, and intricate embellishments on suits and frocks.
Floral patterns nodded to styles reminiscent of Ottoman palaces.
"I grew up with ... my mum and my grandma... doing all these kind of knitted blankets, crochet dresses," he told Reuters. "I wanted to bring that back... with a fresh perspective."
London is the second leg of the month-long spring/summer 2024 calendar that began in New York. Over the coming days, London will host presentations from Burberry, JW Anderson, Erdem, and Molly Goddard, among others.
This year, the British Fashion Council (BFC) is celebrating 30 years of its NEWGEN program, which provides financial support and mentoring for new designers.
Past recipients have included the late Alexander McQueen, as well as Erdem and Anderson. As in previous years, this year's cohort will showcase their collections at London Fashion Week, which runs until Tuesday.
"To be in London is incredible ... a great melting pot of creative industries intertwined, but the rents, cost of living, increased costs, impact of Brexit makes me think it has ever been any harder (for young designers)," BFC Chief Executive Caroline Rush told Reuters.
"It is really difficult for our young designer businesses to get partnership and sponsorship opportunities for their shows. So I know that many businesses have really focused creatively on how can they produce a show this season, as well as the creativity of the collections of course," Rush said.
