My Favourite Brand

Dilara Findikoglu

Dilara Findikoglu, founded by Turkish-British designer Dilara Findikoglu after she had graduated from CSM in womenswear. Dilara is bold and in dire need of creating a statement through her garments whilst mixing statement- making fashion with her own deeply personal journey. Using her experiences and influences from gothic romance and feminist politics, Dilara has been able to rewrite and create her own narrative on femininity and sexual desires – away from the male gaze and the male-led narrative. The reoccurring theme of entrapment within the physicality of the clothing, specifically the Dilara Findikoglu AW23 ‘No Man’s Territory’ show, emphasizes her reclaiming control over her body and women as a collective. The title itself also suggest a duality to this collection, with connotations of both war/conflict and ‘territory’ exclusively for women, which is likely referencing the body explaining the use of lingerie and corsetry throughout her collection. Her carefully constructed shows and garments allow Dilara to play with her audience’s heartstrings by creating an intense but solemn atmosphere allowing her work to speak for itself and taking us along for the ride through her pain, frustration and sensuality. Overall Dilara’s artist-level construction and her heavy use of lingerie brings me into awe of her work as her perspective of femininity is a breath of fresh air from the over-sexualized, unrealistic image force fed to us by the media and patriarchy. We can see how many resonate with the brand and Dilara’s political statements as her rise to success has been quite sudden but well deserved as she is   now one of the most sought-after designers during LFW and has gained a committed celebrity fanbase boosting her popularity within recent years.