MANILA, Philippines - Who is the Turkish-born fashion designer who designed a series of LED dresses in collaboration with the luxury label Swarovski, has exhibited his works in the Venice and Istanbul Biennales, and in museums like the Victoria and Albert, the Tate Modern, and the Louvre?
He was born in Turkey in 1970, moved with his family to London in 1978, and studied at Central Saint Martins, where he graduated with a degree in fashion with honors in 1993.
His graduate collection, titled “Tangent Flows,” contained clothes that he buried in his backyard and dug up again. An instant sensation, the whole collection was purchased and displayed in the luxury designer store Browns in London.
In 1995, he beat 100 competitors to clinch a top London design award organized by Absolut, and started developing creations for the London Fashion Week. He subsequently worked with the New York knitwear label TSE, Marks & Spencer, and the British jeweler Asprey.
His achievements did not go unnoticed, and he was crowned British Designer of the Year in 1999 and 2000. In 2003, he portrayed his wasabi-inspired inspiration through amorphous, layered designs.
In early 2008, he designed a series of LED dresses in collaboration with the luxury label Swarovski, and showcased this in Tokyo in early 2008.
In February of the same year, he was appointed creative director of the German sportswear label Puma, and has also collaborated with the German hosiery and legwear label Falke to produce one-off footwear pieces for his autumn-winter collection in 2008.
In 2005, he mounted his first large-scale solo exhibition in the Groniger Museum in the Netherlands. He has also exhibited his works in the Museum fur Neue Kunst in Karlsruhe, the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Tate Museum, and the Musee de la Mode in the Louvre. He also participated in the 2005 Venice Biennale and the 7th International Istanbul Biennale.
Collaborations do not stop with art and fashion for the designer, who is also a philanthropist. In 2007, he donated a showpiece to the “Fashion is Art” exhibition for the Help a London Child charity, which was sold at an exclusive auction.
He was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2006.
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Last week’s question: Who is the renowned British architect known for his modernist and functionalist designs and is best known for his work on the Millennium Dome?
Answer: Richard Rogers
Winner: Joella Abando, Parañaque City
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