İtalya’da basılması planlanan bir dergi için farklı ülkelerden üç bloggerdan yazı istenmiş ve ben de aşağıdaki yazıyı hazırlamıştım. Milano’ya gittiğimde bu dergiyi bulmaya çalıştım ancak başarılı olamadım. (Yazıp bırakmak yerine takip etmek istiyorum, yazılarımın hepsi benim çocuğum gibi. Oh, yoooo.) Şimdi dosyalarım arasında gezinip yazılarımı arşivlerken gözüme takıldı; İtalya’ya gidecek, orada okunacak diye adeta bir Türk-İtalyan dostluk seremonisi şekline yazmışım. Olsun, yine de lezzettir, arada olur. Paylaşalım efendim. Not: Bu defa blogun yabancı misafirlerine güzellik yapmış olacağım, yazı İngilizce.

* I was invited to write a piece for a magazine to be published in Italy. While I was organizing my files, I found this and wanted to share with you. Hope you like it. (I don’t know about the status of the magazine, however, very curious about it. )

From East Asia to Europe, Turkish people have always been known as ‘nomads’. This centuries-old aggregate culture of travelling made our way to several countries worldwide; leading numerous examples of interaction on art, daily life and politics. I will not bore you with politics or dive deep into art discussion; however, I will try to create a vision to understand Italian effect on Turkey and vice versa.

It was my first trip abroad, to United Kingdom; and when I was heading to Oxford St. for some extra shopping time, some guy interrupted my ‘shopping-spree’ and started speaking in Italian, which I was expecting the least at that time! Seeing me confused and speechless, the guy asked: ‘I thought you were Italian… Sorry…’ Normally, people tend to get angry when others think that you are from another country but I was flattered! ‘Do I look that handsome?’ , ‘Oh, I love how I’m well dressed today!’ and many more were flying in my head!

It’s a fact! Italian style, Italian fashion, Italian publications… These are all elements that anyone will envy, as I do! However, in my case, the situation differs a little. Being grown up in Turkey means constant comparison to Italian people, pointing out commons as being Mediterranean, delicious cuisine, exaggerated mimics, and so on. While sharing lots of different things with Italian people, I always thought about the unspoken part: fashion! 

Years have passed and now, I have come to the sense to be bold enough to use the words ‘Turkish’ and ‘Italian’ together, in a sentence regarding fashion! Yes, there were many partnerships; yes, we have seen many people doing different works in different artistic paths; and yes, we are not-so-new to each other. But no! I have never felt anything like watching Umit Benan’s men floating on the runway for Trussardi’s Spring 2012 collection.

The man of travel, nomads, or whatever you call them, were walking with lots of suitcases, bags, all kinds of travelling material; making me question the nature of my people, and the old habits were resurrecting in a 100-years-old Italian fashion house. Life’s circles? Time – space continuum? Seeing yourself in another country, in designs, in the vision of another? It’s like the first time I sensed someone, Umit, transfer the genetic code of his own past to an international fashion house’s fate in such an obvious, compelling and impeccable way!  No need to mention the hype in Istanbul and Turkish fashion industry about Umit’s this huge new steps into Italian fashion scene, once again.   

Apart from Trussardi’s Turkish march, Umit was also reflecting this Turkish Italian bond in his past collection, ‘Third Generation Italians’; where he paiad tribute to Nino Cerruti and linked different generations of ‘Italian Elegance’ embodied with Cerruti generations. 

Several generations of Italian elegance is being reflected to designs, Turkish designers are travelling around the world to affect others, and the interaction between these gets more and more complex.  Nomads of the new world are spreading, making different countries come together, telling forgotten stories again and again, building ideas with the legacies they borrowed, and letting us enjoy the mixture day by day.

It’s time for me to get an Italian-cut suit, put on some Turkish taste with silk handkerchiefs and hit the road to travel around, as my legacy says me to do so!