A delightful interview with fashion designer Recep Demiray
We had a delightful interview with young fashion designer Recep Demiray.
With Istanbul traffic in mind, we set off a little early for our 1 pm appointment. As a result, we arrived at Demiray’s showroom before the appointed time, which gave us the chance to have a long chat. So what did we talk about?
Image: A fashion designer’s studio desk: sketches, colour swatch cards, pencils, a dress form and a bookcase (representative image) — Arroser, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
1 – Mr Demiray, could you tell us a little about yourself? Who is Recep Demiray?
I’m from Diyarbakır and I’m 27 years old. First, I finished high school and university studying fashion design. After graduating, I attended short workshop programmes at many fashion schools so I could continue my education. I invested in my profession by taking certificate programmes and learning from seminars.
2 – So can we describe your style as haute couture?
Yes, I make made-to-measure designs, so that makes it haute couture. I also have ethnic and vintage designs; I used them in my first show. In particular, I designed clothes inspired by the “puji” of Diyarbakır and staged a show with them. In short, we can say that my collections include haute couture as well as ethnic and vintage styles.
3 – We think you raise awareness by modernising designs that belong to our culture. You also took part in a competition in Cyprus; could you tell us a bit about it?
Actually, there was a “best of the year” awards night in the TRNC (Northern Cyprus) and Turkey. I received two awards, one in 2017 and one in 2018.
I received the Young Designer of the Year award. I also received an award at the show held in memory of Zeki Müren, organised by Yıldırım-Bursa Municipality.
4 – You had a showroom in Diyarbakır. What prompted you to move to Istanbul?
I’d like to put it this way: everything there was great. Everything was going the way I wanted, but because the industry is in Istanbul, I needed to be in the right place too. So I made a radical decision and came to Istanbul.
Hakan Akkaya is from Ordu but lives in Istanbul. Emre Erdemoğlu is from Izmir but lives in Istanbul, and Faruk Saraç is from Urfa but lives in Istanbul. So I felt I was in the wrong place, as I was geographically far from the industry.
I also had a showroom in Diyarbakır, my products are still in the places I have agreements with, and my collaborations continue.
5 – You’ve started to make a name for yourself in Turkey. You’ve also provided costumes from your designs for many TV series. Do you think your name will be heard around the world too?
I do. With my 2020-2021 winter collection, which I’ve already prepared, my products will be at several points of sale in Italy and New York. In Turkey, too, the Recep Demiray brand will be featured as a Turkish Designer at three corporate companies.
6 – We know your idol is Christopher Bailey. Why Christopher Bailey?
Our life stories are very similar. My father’s trade is carpentry and timber. Since I was little, I grew up alongside my father. I tried to follow the example of his work, but of course I didn’t go on in that field. People often compared my life story to that of Italian fashion designer Christopher Bailey. So the similarity of our life stories, and the fact that he is a successful designer, were big factors in my choosing him as my idol.
7 – Fashion design requires emotion, vision, close attention to trends and talent. Your job is very hard.
It isn’t hard, actually; when you love what you do, it feels easy and fun. For example, I prepared my winter collection in 40 days, and I loved doing it. Yes, it is demanding work that requires meticulousness and effort. But as I said, when you love your work it doesn’t feel hard; it even becomes fun. It’s the same for an architect, an engineer or a designer. Once you love your work, believe me, everything becomes very easy.
You can also watch the rest of this delightful interview on our channel.
Notes: Vintage clothing style. Emerging in the 19th century, the vintage clothing style is a fashion movement that reflects the styles and outfits of different eras.
Recep Demiray and his approach to haute couture
In the interview, Recep Demiray explained that he creates made-to-measure designs. In his collections, he combines the haute couture approach with ethnic and vintage touches. Haute couture is a term of French origin describing garments made to order for a client with high-quality handcraftsmanship; from the mid-19th century onwards, Paris became the centre of this field. For details of the term, you can see the haute couture entry on Wikipedia.
One of the events at which Demiray says he received an award was the show held in Bursa in memory of Zeki Müren. For our report on that night, you can read our article on the Zeki Müren memorial show.