Hussein Chalayan

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Hussein Chalayan
Born 12 August 1970 (1970-08-12) (age 37)
Flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Nicosia, TRNC
Nationality Turkish Cypriot, British
Education Central St Martins
Labels Hussein Chalayan
Awards MBE, 1995 Absolut Fashion Award, twice named British Designer of the Year

Hussein Chalayan MBE (or, in keeping with the original spelling of his name, Hüseyin Çağlayan) (born 1970) is a British/Turkish Cypriot fashion designer who graduated from Central Saint Martins in 1993.[1]

Contents

[edit] Biography

Chalayan was born in Nicosia (Lefkoşa in Turkish) in 1970 and graduated from the Turkish Maarif College of his hometown. He moved with his family having moved to England in 1978[2], obtaining British citizenship and proceeded to study design in London. His graduate collection in 1993, titled "The Tangent Flows" in 1993, contained clothes which he had buried in his back yard and dug up again. [3] An instant sensation, the whole collection was purchased and displayed in luxury designer store Browns in London.[4]

[edit] Professional career

In 1995, Chalayan beat 100 competitors to clinch a top London fashion design award. In the contest, organised by the company "Absolut", Chalayan, aged 25, won financial backing to the tune of £28,000 to develop creations for the British capital's Fashion Week in October 1995.[5] In the fall of 1998, while still designing his signature line, he was appointed as a design consultant for New York knitwear label TSE.[6] His collaboration with them lasted till 2001 when the company decided not to renew his contract.[7]

Chalayan has always struggled witn sponsorship and funding, often receiving it from various other companies and his own country.[8] TSE's decision not to renew his contract caused further financial difficulties as the designer amounted 250,000 pounds in debt and was forced to go into voluntary liquidation.[9] Subsequently, he restructured his company and staged comeback collection in 2001 without a catwalk presentation, [10] and designed for high-street labelMarks and Spencer to make ends meet.[11] Italian clothing maufactuer Gibo also helped the designer as did British jeweller Asprey, who appointed him as their fashion director the same year. [12]

However, his achievements have not gone unnoticed. He was crowned 'British Designer of the Year' in 1999 and 2000,[13].and was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on 17 June 2006.[14] International recognition also followed, where he was awarded the Design Star Honoree by The Fashion Group International at their annual Night of Stars Gala, New York in 2007. [15]

Things continued to improve for the deisnger. In 2002, Chalayan expanded his design porfolio with his menswear line, [16], the exclusive rights of which were sold to internet retailer Yoox.com in 2007.[17] After going through financial woes including having to move his studio three times and working from home with his team in-between, he announced plans to relocate his fashion shows to Paris. [18] In 2004, he and added another diffusion line 'Chalayan' to his expanding list of design duties. [19]

A passionate fashion designer, Chalayan has made his feelings for celebrity-based fashion clear when he publicly announced how he felt about Kate Moss's collaboration with high-street clothing label Top Shop, calling the move "insulting".[20]

Collaborations do not stop with art and fashion for the designer, who is also a philanthropist. In 2007, he donated a showpiece to the Fashion is Art exhibition in aid of radio station Capital 95.8's Help a London Child charity which was sold at an exclusive auction in London.[21]

In early 2008, he designed a series of laser LED dresses in collaboration with luxury label Swarovski, showcased in Tokyo.[22] 28th February 2008, Chalayan was appointed as the creative director for German sportswear label Puma. [23] Puma have also announced that they have purchased a majority stake in his label. [24] The designer also collaborated with German hoisery and legwear label Flake to produce one-off footwear pieces for his Autumn/Winter 2008 collection show cased in Paris.[25]

[edit] Selected exhibitions where his work has been presented

  • 2005, The first large-scale solo exhibition. "Hussein Chalayan: Autumn/Winter 2005", The Groninger Museum, The Netherlands(17.04.2005-04.09.2005)
  • 2005: 51st International Venice Biennale (representing Turkey)
  • Museum für Neue Kunst, Karlsruhe (2004)
  • Institute of Contemporary Arts, London (2003)
  • Victoria & Albert Museum, London (2001)
  • F.I.T., New York (2001)
  • 7th International Istanbul Biennale
  • Tate Modern, London (2001)
  • Musée de la Mode, Palais du Louvre, Paris (1999)

[edit] References

  1. ^ hussein chalayan / fashion + video
  2. ^ Catwalk to Istanbul | Experts | Life and Health
  3. ^ MODERNA MUSEET - Hussein Chalayan
  4. ^ Hussein Chalayan | Official website
  5. ^ Turkish-Cypriot Online Museum of Fine Arts - Hussein Chalayan
  6. ^ Hussein Chalayan's High-Wire Act - New York Times
  7. ^ FRONT ROW; Hussein Chalayan Starting Over - New York Times
  8. ^ Style: He dresses the world, but Britain won't pay the price for | Independent, The (London) | Find Articles at BNET.com
  9. ^ Designer of Year forced to close with £.25m debts - Telegraph
  10. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/main.jhtml?xml=/fashion/2001/03/21/efhush21.xml
  11. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/main.jhtml?xml=/fashion/2001/01/17/efhussein17.xml
  12. ^ Chalayan takes to the international stage as he makes his debut on the catwalks of Paris - Europe, News - Independent.co.uk
  13. ^ hussein chalayan
  14. ^ eyesing: hussein chalayan retrospective
  15. ^ Night of Stars
  16. ^ hussein chalayan / fashion + video
  17. ^ Heard on the Runway - WSJ.com : 2007 : October : 03
  18. ^ THE DESIGNER: HUSSEIN CHALAYAN; Art and commerce | Independent, The (London) | Find Articles at BNET.com
  19. ^ http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=hussein+chalayan+diffusion+line+2005&meta=
  20. ^ Hussein Chalayan: Kate Moss designing a collection is insulting - Features, Fashion - Independent.co.uk
  21. ^ Fashion is Art | Dazed Digital Incoming from UK magazine Dazed & Confused
  22. ^ Swarovski Sparkles - Swarovski Communications & Creative Service Centre, London, UK
  23. ^ Hussein Chalayan named creative director of PUMA | Vogue.com
  24. ^ http://news.google.co.uk/news?hl=en&q=hussein+chalayan+moves+to+paris&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=news_result&resnum=4&ct=title
  25. ^ FALKE's sock boots for Hussein Chalayan | Vogue.com

[edit] External links