If fashion journalists had a dime for every collection inspired by the Parisienne, we’d all be wearing Cartier Love bracelets. But when a designer like Burç Akyol tackles this mythical creature, the exercise takes on a new dimension.
Akyol, who was born in France of Turkish parents, arrived in Paris when he was 16. Now 37, he has gained a cult following for his blend of flawless tailoring with oriental panache.
Last year his brand scooped up the Pierre Bergé Prize at the ANDAM Fashion Awards, marking a victory for the designer who was once told he wasn’t French enough to win the prize. This season’s theme was another form of revenge.
“I remembered how when I arrived here, I didn’t have a chip on my shoulder and I still don’t. In fact, that’s the beauty of Paris: it welcomes you,” Akyol said backstage. “I feel like the city belongs to me, and that’s why I wanted to rediscover it.”
There was a smoky eroticism to his draped suits, jersey dresses slit to the hip bone and stem-like skirts that gave the models mile-long legs. Akyol toyed with clichés, working black vinyl into a draped LBD, and leopard print into a scoop-neck knit column dress.
He added a dash of androgynous allure with jackets and coats with linebacker shoulders, and oversized sweaters in black marabou feathers or army green ribs — suggesting that more than a style, the Parisienne is a state of mind.
