Dilara Findikoglu S/S 2023 London

[vogue28]

VOGUE.COM

 

[YohjiAddict]

Few have copied McQueen less successfully: the feather work applied to dresses with exaggerated hips and shoulders, the distressed pseudo-Victorian looks, the dress with hair encapsulated in it…

 

[Cocteau Stone]

This is that person where in fashion school they make it clear that they’re “really into dark gothic sh*t” but it’s the same references as the last batch of campy McQueen/Westwood/Galliano copycats.

She’s never been able to understand the nuance of such themes (much like Harris Reed, Matty Bovan or Richard Quinn) so it all looks like one huge parody. This is what CSM generates nowadays though, so they’re part of the problem.

 

[jeanclaude]

McQueen/Galliano/Margiela copy and paste. As a whole, it looks like the wardrobe for a horror-p*rn B film.

 

[WAVES]

^agree with the above. I even see Vivienne Westwood.
not very good anyway.

 

[Phuel]

The student gothy CSM McQueen editorial-baiting for i-D/Dazed/SHOWStudio clout is so so so predictable but understandable. To her credit, her reductive creativity is saved by her capable, skilled construction and tailoring, and an understanding of the underpinnings of what makes a solid foundation for something grander. Unfortunate that all the looks resemble just that: The underpinnings and foundations of something grander LOL Going by the only 2 designs that seems rendered complete— the black feather top and scarlet feather dress and shrug (a tad eye-rolling in its reference BTW but at least it doesn’t resemble a 1-hour DIY challenge that so many of these new designers are only capable of). Hopefully she’ll evolve to showcase more completed looks designed with actual ready-to-wear rather than editorial fodder in time. (And leave the silly hair and makeup behind while she’s at it.)

Maybe it’s just the low standards of a sea of oversized walking garment bags and flat shoes that’s placed London on the same level as NYC now. There’s this constant whiff of overcast grey everyday-is-like-Sunday depression and the stale, greasy residue of fish-and-chips lingering over these offerings. Even the supposedly more mature designs just resemble bland Marks & Spencers destination. Or it’s the insufferable shapeless, infantile fetish that’s more gross than charming… At least with NYFW, there’s some veneer of high fashion-y sleekness with Proenza/Peter Do/Khaite. I feel so overwhelmingly depressed looking at LFW, not charmed. So much for the home of bespoke.

 

[LadyJunon]

The difference between Dilara and McQueen, Galliano and Westwood is that they have a wide range of references that add to their Gothic/Victorian/Punk aesthetic. She is so focused on herself and her immediate interests that she dooms herself to produce the same derivative work each season. This can be said of several other London based designers.

 

[Phuel]

^^^ Oh god— she’s not comparable to the Greats, not even by leagues LOL But playing devil’s advocate— even the first collection(s) of the Greats mentioned aren’t exactly worthy of remembrance— once removed from the context of their names. She’s just starting out, but unlike so many, if not all LFW brands, she’s maintained a very specific POV. I don’t feel it’s a fresh and original POV, but in these days, even the remaining Greats don’t seem capable of anything remotely resembling fresh/daring/innovative. This is just not that era.

If she’s still at the same old same old 2 or 3 collections later, then I’ll get the message. More than anything, I appreciate an Englishwoman referencing these Anglocentric designs at the least, at a time of gentrified fashion and presentation that’s the equivalent of malls and condominiums.

 

[Cocteau Stone]

Unfortunately, she’s been around since 2015/2016 and it kind of has been the same thing with each collection, it’s just the quality has gotten better. Because the quality is better, the references are more obvious. Once your quality goes up your dream of doing the exact thing you reference/look at becomes easier to do.

The midi length leather (?) dress is actually rather good especially in motion, but on its own it isn’t very compelling.