RIFAT OZBEK (Rıfat Özbek)was born in Istanbul, Turkey in JULY 11,1953... moved to London in the 70s and studied FASHION in St. Martin's School of Art and graduated in 1976... served in the National military service in Turkey, 1977.
went to Italy to work for MONSOON in 1980... established his own company in 1984. In 2012 he launched a new business called "YASTIK" (means cushion in Turkish).
Ozbek is currently decorating Robin Birley's new nightclub, Rupert's,
which is scheduled to open in 2012.
He lives between London, Istanbul
and Bodrum, where he resides with his partner Erdel Karaman and his
niece Sara-Ella Ozbek, an aspiring writer who has also followed in her
uncle's footsteps having worked at Vogue and currently at Next Model
Management.
Paralleling his coup in the perfume
market, Ozbek did not hesitate to clash publicly with Thierry Mugler for
professional sabotage in block-booking such top models as Naomi Campbell
and usurping Ozbek's space on the fashion calendar with an
unscheduled showing.
Ozbek asserted his individualism in 1997, complaining that the
era's design standards forced him to think of his hobby as a
business.
To old friend writer-interviewer Rupert Everett, who labeled
Ozbek "an independent, an inventor, and an inveterate puncturer
of pomposity," he said, "I still love designing, but it
just moves too fast. Fashion has become sort of a relentless Ferris
wheel, and you can't get off it— you know, it's one
collection after the other."
 |
| actress Kelly Rutherford in 80s Rifat Ozbek rainbow dress |
Ozbek joined English stylist Christopher Farr's stable of carpet
designers in 1998 and added vibrant prints reminiscent of Ottoman tile
motifs to his clothing line.
For city silhouettes, he stressed long
romantic skirts mixed with energized, sporty jogging pants in Polartec
fleece. He declared his exuberant, sensual chiffons, flocked velvet,
devores, jerseys, and metallics a return to his Turkish roots. His line for POLLINI was also a success.
His BREAST-EXPOSED collections were so memorable but dubbed as "too much with less".
Known for his skilled cut, unconventional use of color, and surface decoration,
Ozbek designs clothes that are poised between fantasy and reality, and evoke,
as he himself says, “Eastern European travelers, Anatolian peasants, [and]
Cockney rebels .
YASTIK cushions :http://www.notorious-mag.com/2011/05/26/rifat-ozbek-cushion
*** Fashion Designer Encyclopedia
No comments:
Post a Comment