INTRICACIES IN ISTANBUL: PROFILE ON DILEK HANIF
With an eye for international royalty and a coat of arms adorned with cultural prestige, Turkish debutante Dilek Hanif is handing socialites and fashionistas tailored formal wear and haute couture of sword-cut quality.
Racked with global respect, Ms. Hanif graces her golds, laces and curvaceous garments of intricate embroideries between Istanbul, Paris, and Milan where her native patterns of East and West heritage fill hard-earned showrooms. On the move with both ready-to-wear and couture collections, the designer has trumped runway status after her line debut and success in 2002, earning her Avon’s “Most Successful Female Designer” and later in 2004, Oriflame’s “Most Accomplished Woman of the Year” award. After support with the Ralph Lauren event, Fashion Targets Breast Cancer, she claimed the Association of Alternative Development award and went on later that year to earn the Beykent University award for Outstanding Communications. As the first female Turkish designer to enter the Paris Fashion Week (2004), she has further paved the way for her native creatives, illuminating modern Turkey alongside acclaimed couturiers Dice Kayek, Erdem Moralioglu, Bora Aksu, and Rifat Ozbek.
The list goes on, but the real award is that of global fashion success. With a flawless concentration on the cultural and inherent traits of a country in constant upheaval, Dilek Hanif grips the core of a modern Turkey and polishes the riches of indigenous value with her creativity and talent for the fitting the female form. For the debonaire, and a woman of astute design, Ms. Hanif is on a mission to massage the world of cultural differences and coalesce innovation and tradition through her visual decor.
While an overwhelming number of Spring/Summer 2012 collections parade into the fashion scene, there are a few more winter noteworthies that ought not be overlooked. Racing to welcome future pieces as winter is upon us, the season still holds a number of exquisite festivities for calling upon a warmer wardrobe. One particular designer pipes up bringing Haute Couture into conversations among new cultures as a modern Turkey steps onto the planks.
