HAKAN AKKAYA’S “JUSTICE” COLLECTION – NYFW FALL/WINTER 2020
Hakan Akkaya makes a strong statement of feminine strength and cultural melding for Fall/Winter 2020-2021.
As the crowd looked on in amused awe, forty-five models made their way around the lengthy U-shaped runway at Pier 59, Stage C on Saturday, February 8th. It was, in a phrase, “a provocative feast for the fashionable-eyed observer.” The Istanbul based designer, now a fixture on the runways of NYFW, filled the cavernous, raw, black space to the brim with an audience dressed to impress, perfectly complementing the show-stopping looks that walked ON the runway.
Akkaya stated his inspiration as “Amish Meets Punk”. The inspiration was clear throughout the collection from the first look to the last. Akkaya created a collection that reinterprets the iconic clothing of the Amish sect who, to this day, turn their backs to the Modern Age, while merging it with the attitude and detailing of the Punk Subculture. The cameras & phones went a-flutter when the key looks appeared (48 in total!). In his words, Hakan Akkaya says, “t his season, my collection attracts all of the attention of femicide, justice, revolt and equality. Women who rock the runway – Women who rock the world!”
The collection also strongly embraced the most note-worthy trend of recent fashion weeks – androgyny. Many of Akkaya’s men wore dresses, skirts and tunic blouses while many of his women donned suiting and collared shirts, each referencing the garb traditionally found in the opposite genders’ closets, yet there was something different about the trend in the hands of a designer of Hakan Akkaya’s level of talent… the looks actually seemed like they have a chance of being worn as designed, unlike many others creating in this vein.
Hardware also played a major role in defining the collection with garments pierced in a wide variety of places like caps of shoulder, up and down the legs and princess seams of jackets and dresses, as well as through the fingertips of the black latex gloves that completed nearly every look. The hardware was not strictly ornamental, but rather crossed the line to integrally function as part of the garment itself.
As the finale walk-around commenced, the entire audience shrieked their approval, only to ramp it up even more when designer himself, Hakan Akkaya, appeared, nearly floating with pride as he blew kisses to his legions of fans, new & old alike, all the while wearing a black lace mask, which he tied onto his face during a stop on the runway. The crowd approved and Akkaya soaked up every single crack of applause and adoring shriek in a manner that is becoming his trademark.