Opposing Forces
All runway Images courtesy of Chris Yates
Bora Aksu continued to see positivity in the negative for his AW21 collection. Filmed in Tate Britain's ornate central hall, models strutted resolutely, in unison celebrating a strong woman who stood defiant against the constraints of her past.
This season the designer took us back to France's revolutionary era, the time of Liberté, Egalité and Fraternité. Taking inspiration from mathematician Sophie Germain, one of the pioneers of elasticity theory, a muse who fought against gender prejudice in the late 18th and early 19th century. Against harsh criticism as a female mathematician, she worked independently, in isolation in her chosen field, winning a grand prize for mathematics from the Paris Academy of sciences.
With Sophie's sacrifices in mind, Bora depicted the challenges we have all faced over the past year, drawing on the things we can achieve when pushed to our limits; the simultaneous negative and positive forces at play during periods of isolation, concurrently testing and creatively inspiring.
Chris Yates
Dressed in tailored velvet suits, French caps and boxed cashmere coats, Sophie worked under a male pseudonym and guise to further her knowledge and career. Silhouettes for the collection mirrored those of the period in which Germain lived, playing on the mathematician's resistance to patriarchal limitations. The designer served us tulle and taffeta against masculine structure in sherbet brights, hot pinks, and vibrant reds in reference to these opposing forces.
Davide Cossu
“Despite the 200 years between us, I felt an immediate kinship with Sophie. The isolation and uncertainty of the last year has caused me to search for new sources of hope and creativity.”
Chris Yates
Bora Aksu's, Creative Director, said of the collection, 'Despite the 200 years between us, I felt an immediate kinship with Sophie. The isolation and uncertainty of the last year has caused me to search for new sources of hope and creativity. Sophie's own isolation allowed her to find the ideas that would drive her for the rest of her life. In that way, she has shown me that even in the bleakest of times, there is always hope, if one chooses to seek it'. Like AW21's mathematical mentor, Aksu himself has used this time of pause to reflect, face challenges and triumph. Focusing on the brand's online presence in the East Asian market, an area that had proved challenging in the past, the designer has made significant strides.
Davide Cossu
Bora Aksu never fails to bring opulence through his mastery of frilled, feminine materials, focusing on craftsmanship and drawing on his Turkish roots to produce looks we can only dream of wearing at present. But pieces like the cropped tuxedo jackets and belted blazers offered elements that can be worn now before that tantalisingly close concept of normality allows us further sartorial expression. The geometric masculinity tempered by optimistic palettes, delicate lace and voluminous silhouettes spoke of triumph over adversity.
These have been testing times for the fashion industry. But once again, designers like Bora Aksu have prevailed, proof that creativity can thrive and flourish in even the darkest of times. Like Sophie, Bora Aksu's latest work was created and delivered in isolation. And both designer and muse did not get to hear the applause they so richly deserve.
See more of Bora Aksu’s work and shop his collection here.
Chris Yates