BORA AKSU SHOW IN LONDON! GAZIANTEP’S NEEDLEWORK CAPTIVATES THE RUNWAY
From the story of Mary Beale to the handwork of Gaziantep women… Bora Aksu’s Spring/Summer 2027 collection brought fashion, art and culture together on the same runway at London Fashion Week.
LONDON -One of the most remarkable shows of London Fashion Week took place today. Turkish fashion designer Bora Aksu presented his Spring/Summer 2027 collection to the fashion world at St Cyprian’s Church, Clarence Gate, one of London’s historic venues.
St Cyprian’s Church, with its historic atmosphere, hosted Bora Aksu’s striking designs this time. On the runway, romance, strong tailoring, feminine silhouettes, delicate fabrics and handcrafted embroidery came together to create a visual spectacle.
And one of the most special stories behind this visual spectacle was Gaziantep’s traditional Antep needlework embroidery.
GAZİANTEP’S NEEDLEWORK ON THE RUNWAY
In Bora Aksu’s Spring/Summer 2027 collection, Gaziantep’s traditional Antep needlework embroidery was reinterpreted through a contemporary fashion language.
The finely crafted embroidery was combined with designs in cream, pastel and romantic tones, bringing the elegance of traditional craftsmanship to the international runway of London Fashion Week.
The fact that some of the pieces took months to prepare also revealed the scale of the craftsmanship and effort behind the collection.
There was patience in every stitch and women’s craftsmanship in every detail.
FATMA ŞAHİN IN LONDON: GAZİANTEP WOMEN’S CRAFTSMANSHIP ON THE RUNWAY
One of the notable guests of the fashion show was Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Fatma Şahin.
Alongside Şahin, Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Secretary General Ahmet Ertürk, Deputy Secretary General Oya Alpay and Ayşe Ahi also attended the event.
Sevcan Ertaş, wife of Türkiye’s Ambassador to London Osman Koray Ertaş, was also among the notable guests of the fashion show.
Thus, one of Gaziantep’s traditional handicrafts appeared before the London audience not only as a cultural heritage, but also as a design element brought back to life within the captivating world of contemporary fashion.
NEEDLE, THREAD AND FASHION: FROM WOMEN’S CRAFTSMANSHIP TO THE WORLD’S RUNWAYS
The Gaziantep element of the collection stood out particularly for its story centred on women’s craftsmanship.
Antep needlework, preserved and carried forward by women’s hands for centuries, took on an entirely different appearance within Bora Aksu’s romantic design world.
Traditional embroidery techniques were combined with modern cuts, structured shoulders, shirts, waistcoats and romantic feminine silhouettes.
The result was a meeting between a handicraft inherited from the past and the fashion of the future.
FROM MARY BEALE TO THE WOMEN OF GAZİANTEP
At the heart of Bora Aksu’s inspiration this season is the 17th-century English painter Mary Beale.
At a time when women’s professional lives were largely defined through marriage and family, Beale established her own artistic career. Her story meets the themes of women’s independence and creative power in Aksu’s collection.
The collection’s second important story is the handiwork of Gaziantep women.
On one side, Mary Beale, creating her own art…
On the other, the women of Gaziantep, carrying their cultural heritage into the future with needle and thread…
Although the centuries and geographies are different, the two stories share the same point:
The power of women to produce, create and write their own stories.
“SOFTNESS MEETS STRUCTURE”
Aksu reinterpreted the codes of 17th-century menswear through romantic womenswear.
Tailoring details, structured shoulders, waistcoats, shirts and fastening details inspired by menswear were combined with delicate fabrics and fine embroidery.
The sentence that captured the spirit of the collection became almost a summary of the runway itself:
“Softness meets structure; masculine codes merge with delicate fabrics.”
Cream and pastel tones, fine lace, handcrafted embroidery and romantic silhouettes created a captivating image within the historic atmosphere of St Cyprian’s Church.
A MESMERISING FASHION SPECTACLE IN A HISTORIC CHURCH
St Cyprian’s Church is one of London’s notable historic buildings, with its Grade II* listed Victorian Gothic architecture. (St Cyprian’s Clarence Gate)
Today, this historic atmosphere merged with Bora Aksu’s theatrical and romantic fashion world.
As the models walked the runway, they seemed almost to become one with the architecture of the historic venue, while the handcrafted pieces added a fairytale-like atmosphere to the show.
Cameras flashed one after another, elegant silhouettes moved along the runway, and Gaziantep’s traditional embroidery dazzled on London’s international fashion stage.
GAZİANTEP’S NEEDLEWORK AT THE HEART OF LONDON FASHION
Bora Aksu’s Spring/Summer 2027 show became one of the striking examples of how traditional handicrafts can be reinterpreted through contemporary fashion.
Antep needlework, kept alive through the craftsmanship of Gaziantep women, told a new story today under the lights of London Fashion Week.
This time, needle and thread were more than just embroidery.
The culture of a city, the craftsmanship of women and a heritage passed down from generation to generation were transformed into fashion on the London runway.
And today, on Bora Aksu’s runway, one of the most applauded stories was the delicate threadwork extending from the hands of the women of Gaziantep all the way to London.
