Style & Design
Originally published on Tuesday, 16th June 2009
Graduate Fashion Week 2009
A degree in Politics & Philosophy may seem like an inauspicious start for the 24 year old winner of this year’s GFW Menswear Award, but it took an existential crisis following university for Mehmet Ali to realise the inevitable: he wanted to be a designer.
After a stint apprenticing for a former Savile Row tailor, Mehmet completed his course at Ravensbourne College of Design & Communication in a speedy two years, culminating in his first collection shown last week under the watchful eye of GFW judging panellists Matthew Williamson, Giles Deacon, Lorraine Candy (Editor of Elle) and Richard Bradbury, Chief Executive of River Island.
UJ talks to Mehmet about his winning collection and what’s next for the young designer.
On Menswear…
I’ve always loved tailoring and when it comes to menswear there’s always going to be a strong foundation. I begin every process with the techniques used by traditional tailors, but I’m fascinated by where things evolve beyond that point – things can be impeccably well made and feel beautiful on the body, but I never want them to appear ordinary or uninspired.
On his collection…
I began thinking about the Icarus myth as it’s always been a story that really intrigued me. In some ways I can empathise with the hubris of the tale, and was deeply entrenched in the myth when I started out and my designs were extremely conceptual. I worked to bring the image of wings and modern wings like parachutes into the silhouettes, and really enjoyed pairing off the modern and functional against the ancient and mythical. I worked the theme through gathered pleats which looked like the bones within wings to the split-back trench, which parted like a pair of wings just before flight.
Colour-wise, I wanted to reinterpret a modern man’s palette. I’ve always loved colour, but needed everything to feel sun-bleached – which would evoke Icarus too – and to feel really organic, as though it could have come from the earth. I dyed the pieces myself too, which I really enjoyed, and I think that fundamentally, it’s the colour which makes this collection so cohesive.
On winning…
It feels great - the whole experience has been amazing. The prize money was £1000 and hopefully there will be some mentoring too in the next few months.
On the Mehmet Ali Man…
I imagine him as a young romantic traveller; his head is always a little bit in the clouds, but he's still savvy and smart. I also wanted to design for someone without the time to labour over their choice of outfit each and every day - I hope the pieces feel effortless and understated.
On his dream retail space…
It would be amazing to see my collection retailed anywhere at all - seeing it on a rail would be such a thrill! But if I had to pick a single spot, I'd say Dover Street Market, as that's such a unique space.
On the future…
I'm really looking forward to working on something new. I have been chatting to various fashion houses and there has been talk of me working on some one-off collaborations, but I'm very much waiting to see where my heart leads me! I would ideally like to continue this journey with another collection and show somewhere next year. I never thought anything like this would be possible so I'm still just stoked to be doing something I love.
