From Past to Future: A Special Collection

Senior students from the Department of Textile and Fashion Design, Izmir University of Economics (IUE) have created a special collection inspired by the works of legendary painters such as Édouard Manet, James Tissot, John Singer Sargent, Gustav Klimt, Tamara de Lempicka, and Frida Kahlo. Drawing inspiration from iconic portrait paintings ranging from the Renaissance to Modernism, the young designers presented their creations to art enthusiasts and industry professionals in an exhibition titled ‘Intertemporal Dialogues of Fashion and Portrait’. The students took representatives from the Aegean Clothing Manufacturers Association, the Aegean Ready-to-Wear and Apparel Exporters’ Association, professional designers, and all guests on a journey through time, earning high praise for their unique perspectives.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şölen Kipöz, a faculty member and studio instructor at IUE Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Department of Textile and Fashion Design emphasized that fashion draws heavy nourishment from art. Noting that the students embraced the process with great passion, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kipöz said, “This project has further deepened our students' sensitivity toward art and cultural heritage. Beyond simply using artworks as a source of inspiration, our students strengthened their research-based design skills to produce fashion collections that are both original and conceptually powerful.”

“NOT JUST A COLLECTION, BUT AN IDENTITY”

Stating that the exhibition offers a look at both classical and modern art, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kipöz said, “Fashion frequently draws from its own past and repeats itself. During the project, we moved forward by examining the costumes, the ways painters expressed their subjects in portraits, and the identities they created. Each student built an identity, a person, while creating their collection. Bringing these identities together actually reveals an artistic production that spans from the past to the future. We wanted to let our students, whom we see as the designers who will shape the future, experience the ‘intertemporal’ memory of art and the evolution of fashion into the present and beyond.”

“SHAPING THE FUTURE OF FASHION”

Mentioning that the project will continue in the second semester with a contemporary concept, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kipöz said, “In the second semester, I plan to incorporate responsibility, sustainability, and ethics into the design work. By the time our students graduate, they will have built their own design identities and charted a path to lead the fashion world. We will see how the seeds of these identities have grown at our year-end fashion show.”