SILKY GOWNS FOR HEROINES
Silky dreams of heroines in stories have been customized to today’s world by lecturers of Izmir University of Economics (IUE) Department of Fashion and Textile Design. The lecturers, who integrated the dreamy gowns of heroines of our childhood stories told by our parents with contemporary touches, used silk from Odemiş Region and opened the doors to new dreams with the gowns they designed.
Prof. Dr. Elvan Özkavruk Adanır, IUE Head of Department of Fashion and Textile Design, and lecturers Özge Dikkaya Göknur, Seda Kuleli, and Duygu Kocabaş Atılgan, who got inspired by Oğuz Yorgancıoğlu’s book titled, “Stories 2- Compilations from Turkish Cypriot Folklore”, combined silk with the gowns of story heroines. The lecturers created a collection they named the “Cyprus Stories: Gowns for Fictional Women”, and re-lived the stories with their work.
Prof. Dr. Elvan Özkavruk Adanır stated that they selected 6 stories from Cyprus Stories and designed two gowns for each by imagining the heroines of these tales. Prof. Dr. Adanır said, “Modern stories are not powerful compared to the ones we listened to when we were kids, where we had to use our imaginations. We took the difficulties these women experienced into consideration in these stories. The fictional heroines in these stories had tough lives. But they overcame any kind of problem by using their wit and imagination and managed to turn a new page and make it a happy life. We tried to answer the question of what they would wear today if they were alive through our designs.”
Prof. Dr. Adanır mentioned that they used the silk woven in Odemis region, and the fabrics were dyed in print studio and sawn in the sewing studio of Izmir University of Economics. She also mentioned that one illustration for each story was prepared and all the work was completed in 5 months.
