IMPERIAL

Style and Status: Rich Textiles and Ottoman Silks Inspire Turkish Designers in a New Exhibition and Gala

produced By Barbara McConaghy
Styled by Barbara McConaghy & Alison Lukes
Photographed by Zaid Hamid
at the Smithsonian Freer and Sackler Galleries

Hair by Nuri Yurt Owner TOKA Salon
Makeup by Bill Weidan TOKA Salon & Susan Heydt T.H.E. Artist Agency
Special thanks to Katie Zigler, Director of External Affairs, Freer and Sackler Galleries

Right now, it’s all about the Ottomans—the fabrics, the dazzle, the imperial splendor of the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul. It is fashion at its most resplendent, and it’s coming to Washington (see page 42 for details).

In late October the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery will present Style and Status: Imperial Costumes from Ottoman Turkey. The exhibition will showcase over fifty of the world’s finest Ottoman royal textiles from the collections of the Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul, the Kremlin Armory, Moscow and other international collections. These Ottoman Imperial silks are rich in their visual design and technical complexity. Designed to impress, the Imperial Kaftans were the ultimate luxury items of style and status.

These beautiful textiles have also been influential to many of Turkey’s top designers working today. Along with previewing the Kaftan exhibit, this years gala will honor some of Turkey’s most sought after fashion designers with a fashion show, including the designs of Gonul Paksoy, Atil Kutoglu, and Yildrim Mayruk—whose beautiful modern interpretations grace the following pages, modeled by some of the Freer and Sackler Galleries’ indispensable gala and exhibit sponsors.

“I HAVE INHALED THIS GEOGRAPHY MY WHOLE LIFE SO IT IS ONLY NATURAL TO HAVE BEEN INSPIRED BY THE COLOR, SCALE AND PATTERNS OF THE CLOTHING AND TEXTILES OF THE IMPERIAL OTTOMANS AS WELL AS ALL NATIONS THAT HAVE SURROUNDED ME. BUT MY VISION IS ALSO INFLUENCED BY A GLOBAL FASHION MENTALITY IN A RATHER ECLECTIC WAY.”

—YILDRIM MAYRUK

INSPIRATIONS At left: MEVHIBE (“MIMI”) LOGOGLU wife of Turkish Ambassador O. Faruk Logoglu in a black and gold cut velvet dress with fur trim by YILDIRIM MAYRUK featuring gold filigree drop earrings, $390; gold jeweled cuff, $750, and hammered gold cuff, $210, all from TABANDE. Top: A silk satin kaftan with inlaid applique design from the 17th century; Istanbul, Topkapi Palace Museum

MARY OURISMAN Gala Committee Member & Benefactor in a red and gold gown and tasseled wrap by CEMIL IPEKCI— her red chandelier earrings, $275, topaz enamel ring, $2,950, and citrine ring, $140, are from TABANDEH. At right: A quilted silk satin kaftan with applique design from the 16th-17th century; Istanbul, Topkapi Palace Museum

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