Pinar Eris in Wonderland
Swirling circles on puffy sleeves, wrinkled white mini jacket, and geisha make-up, on a girl standing coyly against a fairy-tale forest — this is part of Turkish designer Pinar Eris’ campaign for her latest 2010 collection.
Swirling circles on puffy sleeves, wrinkled white mini jacket, and geisha make-up, on a girl standing coyly against a fairy-tale forest — this is part of Turkish designer Pinar Eris’ campaign for her latest 2010 collection. Her models are dressed in baroque-inspired blouses or dresses, their make-up exquisite, their hairdos dramatic, placed in settings that are color-saturated, sometimes fantastical, sometimes eerie. Eris creates a world where imagination runs wild, and a wardrobe that seems able to turn every woman into a quirky Alice, or an “electrogeisha,” as Eris’ photographer, Akif Hakan Celebi, calls it.
The 35-year-old designer moved from Turkey to the United States 11 years ago, and studied fine arts and fashion design. After she graduated, she worked for a fashion company for three years, where she learned the business side of the fashion industry before launching her eponymous label in 2005.
Influenced by a range of styles, Eris’ garments exude a dark essence of Gothic, a feminine aura of the Victorian times, and a dose of punk and rock. Teaming up with Turkish photographer Celebi, Eris constructs images where every piece of garment is showcased in an unexpected and vivacious milieu, from run-down concrete walls to dark little back alleys, from cutesy homey buildings to vintage-looking cars. Eris and Celebi collaborate and invent single frames, each like a scene from an untold story.
“His and my work meshed perfectly,” Eris says. “We don’t work with a particular concept; we just go with the flow, and we inspire each other along the way.”
A lot of times designers are asked to elaborate on their aesthetic concepts behind their labels. Eris, when asked the question, is endearing in her honest answer.
“The truth is, I don’t have deep explanations for my designs,” she says. “Fashion is a kind of entertainment. It is a fun element in our lives. I like to design pieces that are fun and feminine, that’s all.”
As businesses are slowly recovering from the recession, how is Eris doing with hers? Surprisingly, she hasn’t been affected much. Eris has always been doing custom-made clothing. With the assistance of the Internet, she also is able to expand her clientele to a global extent. Her customers are largely based in London and Canada, with some in San Francisco and New York. Since this past September, her collections have been carried by a boutique in Istanbul, as well. Bridging Western and Eastern cultures with her designs, Eris confronts fashionistas around the world with a mixture of edginess, femme fatale, elegance, and playfulness.
Check out Pinar Eris’ latest collection at www.pinareris.com.
All images:
Photographer: Akif Hakan Celebi
Fashion Editor: Pinar Eris
Fashion Stylist: Merve Kirsan
Styling Assistant: Ela Aydemir
Make Up and Hair Stylist: Osman Nuri Buruk
Photographer’s Assistant: Ozgur Sahverdi
(Photo credit: Pinar Eris)
