‘Istanbul Contrast’ Exhibition, Where Fashion Meets Architecture

Fashion meets architecture at the ‘Istanbul Contrast’ exhibition at Istanbul Modern — the brain child of renowned designers Ece and Ayse Ege (creators of Dice Kayek) — which opened August 26th and will run through September 19, 2010 (coinciding with Istanbul Fashion Week) with the support of Istanbul 2010 Capital of Culture Agency.

The collection interprets the modern faces of Istanbul’s magnificent historical city from an opposite angle and presents the contrast of these values through 26 different designs, each garment symbolizing a different vision of Istanbul.

The ‘Kubbe’ (dome) dress, by Dice Kayek, echoes the domes of Istanbul’s mosques

The Blue Mosque that inspired the design

One of the five designs from Dice Kayek’s ‘Istanbul modern’ theme

The Kanyon building that inspired the dress

The exhibition features silhouettes from the magical beauty of the Dolmabahçe Palace in a dress adorned with lace and the wrought iron of the Galata Bridge in a jacket entirely embroidered with metal scales. While “Dome”, “Dove”, “Turkish Delight”, “Topkapı”, “Tulip”, “Haghia Sofia”, “Caftan” and “Bosphorus” are few of the dresses one can encounter.

The intricate embroidery of Dice Kayek’s ‘Aya Sofya’ dress was inspired by the mosaics of Istanbul’s Haghia Sophia museum

Now a museum, the Haghia Sophia is a former Byzantine church that was transformed into a mosque when Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. After the building’s conversion,  many of its mosaics were plastered over, and remained covered until 1931

The metallic embroidery of Dice Kayek’s ‘Galata’ dress was inspired by the cast-iron latticework of the Galata Bridge

The cast iron Galata Bridge, which links Eminonu to the district of Beyoglu, is considered a bridge between the ancient and modern in Istanbul

Istanbul is famed for its ‘lale’ (tulips), the inspiration for this Dice Kayek design

via wallpaper via istanbulmodern