Thursday, August 27, 2009

B-Turk: Relics of the Ottomans on Tees

Several weeks ago, I featured an article on three menswear brands of a Turkish manufacturer called the Orka Group. The labels included Damat, Tween, and ADV.

Since then, I have kept you in suspense about a fourth line that the Orka Group has recently launched. It’s called B-Turk, and I have waited, knowing that the concept would be very fitting to our discussion on the history of the Mediterranean isles. In the company’s own words, B-Turk defines itself as:

“a cosmopolitan culture that has survived through thousands of years, inheriting a multicultural, multi-religious, and multilingual structure…bringing the legends of authentic and ethnic Turkish values, symbols, and objects that have evolved throughout national history together.”

The designer is Reha Erdoğan, a graduate from the Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts, Graphics Department, where he received both BA and MA degrees.

B-Turk is radical Turkish design that embraces music, fashion, cuisine, and much more. The fashion line encompasses 50 designer t-shirts, which showcase cultural and historical symbols of the Ottoman Empire.

Sometimes known as the Turkish Empire, the Ottoman Empire lasted from 1302 to 1922 and, with Istanbul as its capital, spanned three continents: southeastern Europe (the Balkans), western Asia, and North Africa. In essence, it is the successor of the Eastern Roman Empire and Byzantium.

While the Ottoman Empire absorbed many cultures, cuisines, and styles of architecture, dress, and music, the Empire also enfused the peoples within its borders with the same influences, leaving a lasting impact that can be seen, heard, and felt today.

So, if you wanna B-Turk, then buy B-Turk!



Photo Copyright Orka Group.
Slideshow Copyright
Orka Group.