A Delightful Interview with Fashion Designer Serra Kefeli
Our love for people who create continues. During the week when the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Istanbul Spring/Summer 2020 creations met fashion lovers, one of the brands that brought colour to the runways was Kithandkinofficial. So who created this brand and brought it to us?
That is why I would like to introduce you to Serra Kefeli and leave you alone with our delightful interview.
Ms Kefeli, first of all, thank you very much for kindly accepting our interview. Could you tell us briefly about yourself?
-I was born in Izmir in 1983. In 2005 I graduated from the Fashion Design department of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Design at Izmir University of Economics. In 2006 I did a master’s in womenswear at Domus Academy in Milan. I then took part in a research programme in fashion communication and styling at the Istituto Europeo di Design. After returning home, I worked as a stylist for a while and set up my own atelier, and I have been producing my own collections for 10 years.
Frankly, we have great respect for those who search for, find or strive to find a profession they love. We hope young people, as they try to make decisions for themselves, will draw useful inspiration from the stories of successful people like you. So how did you come to choose fashion design, and how did your family and friends react?
-My family also has an artistic bent. My father is a very gifted painter and has his own model-making workshop. My mother is also very skilled at handicrafts. So as a family we love making things.
-In your collection for this 14th season of MBFW, we see flowers, a strong presence of blue tones and generally vintage-style designs. Could you tell us a little more about your collection, which you have divided into 4 categories?
“The prints with big blue flowers and small yellow flowers are my own graphic designs“.
-I love them because they reflect me completely; using these prints with vintage cuts was enormously enjoyable. In my family, I always followed the way my mother and grandmother dressed with admiration. That is why there are certain cuts, poses and silhouettes etched in my memory. Of course, it is only natural that they are reflected in my designs. Vintage makes people feel safe, and that sense of the known and familiar is what draws me to vintage.
How long did it take you to prepare your collection?
-I have been working with the same person and the same atelier for 10 years; it is like a family production. That way I can prepare 2 collections a year.
You founded your brand Kith & Kin in 2009, at quite a young age at the time. Could you tell us a little about the process of founding your brand?
-I suppose we could call it courage. I went after what I wanted to do, and I can say I did everything because this was what I wanted most. It has been a process with ups and downs, of course, but still, my atelier has mostly made me very happy..
Apart from your own brand, Kith and Kin, do you provide freelance design services to any other brand?
-No, but I do styling work. I work with photographers and make clothes especially for them to use in their shoots.
You have taken part in trade fairs in Paris. What kind of feedback did you get?
-I gained customers from Kuwait and London. Meeting new countries and new customers is always very important for a brand’s development.
Do you think fashion designers have a role in the sustainable fashion cycle?
-Certainly; we can reinterpret a garment by adding or removing details.
How can people who want to buy your designs reach you?
-My pieces are available from my atelier, through my PR agency di fashion branding and at Openhaus in Nişantaşı. They are also available at Caddemoda Butik in Bursa and, currently, at Essentials5ive boutique in Dubai.
Do you wear your own designs in everyday life?
-Sometimes I wear my silk blouses with a slouchy everyday outfit, because I love mixing styles. Mostly, yes, we could say.
Thank you very much for this delightful interview.
Website: https://www.kithandkins.co.uk
Instagram account: Kithandkinofficial.
The brand celebrated its 10th anniversary with its Spring Summer SS 2020 show, held as part of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Istanbul on 11 October at 11:00.
‘Kith & Kin’, a name that carries the meanings of being together, sharing the same feelings within a community and uniting, used its new season to underline the widespread cultural practice of male violence today. In doing so, it reminded us of the importance of women in social life. It also emphasised that all people, without any distinction and simply by virtue of being human, have the right to live equally, freely and with dignity.
Defying grey, monotonous routines, the woman who brings colour and life to every room she enters shone in the Kith & Kin collection through two distinct prints.
There is a big floral print adorned with blue, pink and black. There is also a second print of tiny flowers and leaves adorned with yellow, green, orange and black. These prints reflect the designer’s inner world, while also pointing to nurturing hope for women.
The Kith&Kin SS 2020 collection also features viscose with Lycra, cotton, chiffon, cotton satin with Lycra, silk crepe and silk satin.
Creative direction of the collection was by Burak Tuncel, photography direction by Ozan Kıymaç, production management by Tolga Özgal, styling by Rabia Yaman and choreography by İlke Kılıç. Make-up was by Kryolan and hair by Loreal.
The shoes in the studio presentation bear the signature of Makiela Design, complementing the Kith & Kin collection in colour and style.
All Images : ISTANBUL, TURKEY – OCTOBER 11: A model poses on the runway during the Kith & Kin show during Mercedes-Benz Istanbul Fashion Week at Zorlu Performance Hall on October 11, 2019 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images for IHKIB ).
Notes from fashion designer Serra Kefeli’s journey
According to what she told us in the interview, Serra Kefeli graduated from the Fashion Design department of Izmir University of Economics in 2005. She then did a master’s in womenswear at Domus Academy in Milan, and also took part in a research programme in fashion communication and styling at the Istituto Europeo di Design. After returning to Türkiye, she worked as a stylist for a while, set up her own atelier and has been producing her own collections for ten years.
With her brand Kith & Kin, the designer took to the runway on the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Istanbul Spring/Summer 2020 schedule. Her story is a fine example of the generation of young Turkish designers who combine international training with local production. You can read about the brand’s tenth anniversary collection dedicated to women in our story Kith & Kin’s 10th anniversary collection. For information on the school where the designer studied, you can also take a look at Domus Academy’s official website.