The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2019 - Issue 26

bite fashion Design at De Montfort University in Leicester taught Sem- ra key research skills. This increased her intense interest in sustainability which she went on to base her dissertation on. The designer decided to further her education on the subject of Fashion Design with an MA at Kingston Univer- sity, London. Designers who have influenced her work are Jacquemus, Kiko Kostadinov, Monse, and Richard Malone. Looking through her sketchbook of research and illustra- tions, one can see photos of her parents in the Black Sea region in Trabzon, Turkey where Semra collated textures and a colour palette related to the dress style of her parents and the fishing culture of this community. From this, she adapted the craft to her own signature, creating a modern and on-trend feel to the collection inspired by the tradi- tions of Turkey and Istanbul. She further enhanced her ide- as by looking into the traditional bridal and groom wear from her heritage. A vast amount of textile research was required and ap- plied to her collection for her to learn how to hand-sew entire garments. This was important to her given her focus on sustainability. Fabric sourcing of cuts of leather for her final outfits came from Walter Redmond, located in east London. To work with leather she had to learn crafting skills specific to leather. Her final collection featured the technique of ‘rugging’ in which she looped fabrics with one another. These techniques made up her collection compris- ing of a hooded jacket, an unconventionally ribbed jumper with laces, a handwoven ‘netted’ effect jumpsuit, and lay- ered netting skirts. Dark blues and deep greens were used in the central fabrics that she contrasted with by knotting lime green, orange, and purple laces into the garments. Further evoking the concept of fishing communities, she used netting against shiny colourful leathers. Semra cast her models with her designs’ colour palette in mind, to ensure that the colours of a Turkish embrace popped against models of darker skin tones. Taking what these designers had discussed with us, mem- bers of the press were brought together to discuss our thoughts on their collections and judge for the competi- tion. It was important to consider factors such as timescales and the production times of each design, the innovation of design, costs and how the opportunity to present their final collections would impact each designer differently. Referring to each of our notes we assessed the differenc- es between the research processes and incentives of their designs. The group was torn in offering only one place to present in New York between these remarkable designers. However, given her focus on innovative techniques and how this could further implode with her Masters’ collec- tion and work after university, Semra Ozer was awarded Radical Designer of the Year. We salute both Alina Deordita and Semra Ozer and their beautiful journeys and cannot wait to see how they each blossom into their own signature of design. www.fdc-youngdesignerawards.com Ali Aslam debuted his first ever collection at FDC Awards 2019, named the ‘Carpet Collection’ Alina Deordita collection Semra Ozer was awarded Radical Designer of the Year 2019