Dice Kayek (Q2920)
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Dice Kayek is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Dice Kayek |
Dice Kayek is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
The video Ece Ege made to present her spring collection was shot in her native Istanbul in a charming, slightly decadent school. The story goes that during a course of physics, the girls get bored stiff (not at all surprising) and start dreaming of playing hide and seek, transformed in their imagination into little princesses wearing colorful doll-like dresses.On a Zoom call from Paris, Ege explained that she was thinking of the digital classes students had to attend instead of in-person lessons during lockdown. Remote learning is a rather taxing experience for both teachers and students, but the designer believes that, at least for fashion, digital has huge potential. “We’ve entered a new digital phase of creative expression,” she reflected. Ege clearly enjoyed the making of the video, a collaborative experience that involved her entire community of friends, artisans, and technicians. “I love movies; they really convey your vision in the most expressive, all-encompassing way,” she said.Ege’s post-pandemic attitude is optimistic. Her sense of high fashion as a purveyor of mood-boosting self-confidence hasn’t wavered. A sloppy WFHtenueis not for her, as comfortable as it may be. The sculptural, exacting shapes she favors have stayed the same, only this season they’ve taken on a playful, ultra-vibrant shine via the use of lollipop brights—lime, sunflower, fuchsia, emerald. Humongous bows sprouted from Lolita-esque little dresses with origami-ruffled hems or were tied at the collars of printed shirts, worn under balloon-sleeve, high-waisted pouf pinafores.Lovely as they may look, who’s going to buy these dresses? “Women surely don’t need to add anything to their wardrobes now,” conceded Ege. “But every woman needs an uplifting moment of cheerfulness. Fashion can give you that, even if we have fewer social occasions. But you have to dress well for yourself. A beautiful dress always makes you feel happy, as it gives you an emotion, acoup de coeur.”
2 October 2020
Ece Ege designed her fall collection as a continuation of the strict masculine tailoring discourse she proposed for pre-fall; a sharp silhouette is what she favors, rarely wavering from it. Defining her cutting technique as precise is an understatement. Every piece has contours so neat and immaculate, it is as if it were almost bidimensional—like in a paper doll’s wardrobe. Actually, the template of her signature short dresses—a fitted bodice blooming into a corolla miniskirt—comes from her drawings as a little girl, when she obsessively sketched her primary school’s uniform.Black is a current fashion obsession, proposed in many collections this season. Ege has always used it in abundance, as a choice underpinning her design’s sculptural quality. While being defined as the absence of color, black gives out a powerful, authoritative vibe that resonates with the designer’s approach. It’s also required for all other colors to have depth and variation of hues. Playing on that note, Ege worked on a contrasting palette, having bold brights—emerald, sunshine yellow, turquoise, and fuchsia—set off in all their splendor against a pitch-black background.While pre-fall was mainly focused on daywear, here, the scope narrowed on occasion dressing. Shapes were kept accurate and architectural, rendered in precious taffeta, gazar, and shiny duchesse; however, the designer indulged her Turkish-heritage penchant for fabulous embellishments, tastefully done in black crystals on dark evening dresses. A black short evening number with a tight off-the-shoulder bodice and a doll-like flared skirt was entirely embroidered in sequins; it was demurely worn pinafore-style with a masculine crisp-poplin white shirt. It looked deceptively prim, as it was actually paired with embellished garter belts holding thigh-high matte black stockings in place. They were intended as a sort of “stretched-up masculine socks,” explained the designer. The look had a tongue-in-cheek elegance, embodying Ege’s idea of sensuality: Never reveal too much; do not flaunt your power of seduction. “I don’t do sexy,” she said. “I just hate the word.” She clearly isn’t keen on contributing to the objectification of women. Quite the contrary, her fashion sense seems to be rather appealing to women of character, strong enough to wear her sculptural pieces with confidence.
27 February 2020
Dice Kayek’s Ece Ege doesn’t like to be labeled, nor does she offer mood boards to substantiate her collections with some kind of more or less meaningful narrative—actually, she’s slightly annoyed when asked, “What’s your inspiration?” Yet this time, she conceded to the game of references so popular among designers. Delving into the rich history of Turkey, which is her birthplace, she wanted to “channel Ottoman dandies,” she explained, particularly the cultivated style of Osman Hamdi Bey, a multitalented genius living at the end of the 19th century: A politician, philosopher, painter, and archeologist, he founded the Istanbul Archaeology Museums and the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, and was always impeccably turned out in traditional Turkish garb, with elegant nods to the formal Western style of dressing.Masculine tailoring is often the foundation of Ege’s minimalist design, so it made sense for her to take a cue from the unisex appeal of traditional men’s caftans and sarouels. Tackling the gender-fluid conversation, she gave her spin on rigorous, streamlined construction to the elongated shapes of roomy tunics and drop-crotch loose pants. “Mixing heritage and comfort,” she said. To drive home her point, she had the collection’s lookbook shot on a pair of brother and sister models, almost identical in their angelic, androgynous looks.Yet Ege’s approach is deceptively simple; she loves an emphatic volume and, in her hands, even the cleaner shape becomes terse and crisp, almost as if filled with air. There’s also a subtle play on decoration, even if she doesn’t favor embellishments. In the Spring collection, the caftan shape was given as many iterations as possible, equally wearable by a boy or a girl. A classic long version in pearl gray or white was cut from fresh cotton poplin and worn with sarouels and sneakers, while more romantic interpretations had drawstring collars and broderie anglaise appliquéd bell sleeves. Voluminous sleeves demanded attention also on an ethereal tunic in virginal white gauze cotton, flourishing with an abundance of ruffles and dainty lace entre deux.Continuing the gender-swapping theme, the guy was assigned a black ankle-grazing pleated skirt with a stiff-collared striped silk blouse, while the girl paired a pair of black sarouels with a masculine oversize shirt. Red and white stripes played also on a silk caftan with a drawstring high waist, a unisex rendition of the nightgown wore by Ottoman aristocrats.
Exquisitely finished, with delicate detailing and Italian fabrics of excellent quality, the collection had a feel of clear-cut ease; folk accents were reduced to modern and comfortable shapes, which contrasted with a series of more feminine Japanese doll–inspired concoctions. High-waisted and pouf-shaped, a triumph of organza, broderie anglaise, and various lace appliqués, they suggested the childish charm of paper dolls’ cutout dresses. But they looked anything but sweet: “It’s a naughty Japanese doll though,” said Ege. “I don’t do sweet.”
28 September 2019
Dice Kayek’s Ece Ege doesn’t do girly—the mere mention of the word makes her cringe. Neither does she do sexy, the idea of which induces a rolling of the eyes in mock despair. Also: Her color palette is always implacably restricted to navy, black, and white. So it was somewhat surprising to see the Parisian showroom where the Resort collection was shown bursting with bright fuchsias, oranges, and emerald greens, and resplendent with brocade, silk gazar, silk duchesse, and mousseline. What happened? “I always love a good challenge,” was Ege’s ready answer.The designer hails from Turkey, and lives between Paris and Istanbul. References to her Ottoman culture were distilled in her penchant for structure and construction, and perceptible this season not only in the use of vibrant hues, but also in a more sensuous and joyful approach to shapes and silhouettes. Cases in point were ballerina dresses in bright, saturated colors swinging with triumphs of ruffles. A tunic in liquid white silk satin printed with black roses was draped sinuously around the body, and a billowy caftan in silk organza was printed with humongous emerald polka dots. It looked spectacular: “It’s djellaba couture,” said Ege.Inspired by traditional Turkish dowries, exquisite floral motifs were reprised on a shirtdress in sheer white cotton organza with puff sleeves and a ruched short skirt. Ege showed it with a matching mini slipdress made with origami-like folds, which could also be worn as a minidress or paired with jeans. Even if it wasn’t girly, it certainly looked adorable and delightfully feminine.
30 June 2019
Ece Ege’s Dice Kayek is a wholly wholesale animal, but this June, after nearly three decades in business, it will set down its first retail footprint. The new store will be conveniently positioned across from Café de Flore in Saint-Germain: a godsend for any casual diner in urgent need of a knit-backed, black, lace-fronted tutu dress with a cinchable drawstring at the waist, and who has the requisite €2,200 easily at hand. Ege, who is good company and kindly dispenses Turkish delight at her appointments, said that she had looked at the full span of her collections over the years to give inspiration for this one. The petal-necked shirting hailed from 1992 and the prominently shouldered gray greatcoat from 2002, for instance.Fresher inventions included a belt that came with two attached embellished pockets that acted as both peplum and portage. Said Ege: “It’s for women who hate carrying handbags, like me. There is room for everything you need: credit card, keys, phone, and cigarettes.” A pleat-backed track top in black jersey featured a gently ruffled collar and an arc of fringing across the chest—athleveningwear. A crepe purple dress featured a neckpiece of huge chain links in Swarovski crystals, from which apparently dangled two huge heart charms, also in Swarovski. Inspired by bling jewelry, Ege said they were easily unpoppable for lower-key days or to spare your dry cleaner a headache.Considered in their creation to be considerate of the customer, it will be interesting to see these clothes inhabiting a retail homeland.
28 February 2019
The consistency of Ece Ege’s Dice Kayek collections is remarkable. She never wavers from the concise, pristine shapes she favors—not that they lack imagination or a subtly abrasive sense of humor. When asked for her inspiration, she usually gets slightly annoyed; she doesn’t revert to muses or elaborate mood boards. “I get inspired by people, how they live today; it’s very contemporary,” she said, brushing off the question. But for Pre-Fall, she did have a very personal memory in mind: the uniform she wore when she attended private primary school in the Turkish city of Bursa, where she’s from.To elucidate the point, she sketched it on a piece of paper: a delightful pinafore in black-and-white cotton vichy with a ruched little skirt, a starched white shirt, and a red satin bow at the collar. Its almost archetypal feminine shape was the template for the collection’s silhouette, rendered with Ege’s succinct neatness and gracing an elegant daywear wardrobe. “It’s soigné; it’s not casual!” she said in mock horror.The designer riffed on her beloved sculptural volumes and shapes; exact tailoring and geometric cuts were sustained by the consistency of high-quality Made in Italy fabrications, which helped define the contoured lines of short wool trapeze coats or abbreviated flounced jackets, worn with doll-like ruched miniskirts. A play of textures between pied-de-poule and pied-de-coq patterns added a touch of Parisian chic, as in a razor-sharp tailored pantsuit with an hourglass-cut blazer, or in a schoolteacher-pleated midi skirt paired with a graphic logoed wool sweater.The rigorous approach to substantial volumes peaked in Ege’s version of the classic trenchcoat that every French woman keeps in her wardrobe. It was cut imaginatively with precise couture-ish folded sleeves and mismatched buttons. The waterproof fabric was so thick that Ege called it the cardboard trench. It could have stood upright by itself in the Paris rain.
28 January 2019
Ece Ege has designed a new Dice Kayek logo in which its initials are translated into a graphic, angular stamp. It’s just perfect as the basis of a monogram, so this season, Ege created just that—and didn’t spare the horses when it came to applying it.“I’m so proud—like a kid—that I have a monogram finally, so I put it everywhere.” That’s not strictly true—there were monogram-free zones in which Ege let her gravity-defying silhouettes do the talking—and given her 27 years designing DK, it wasn’t unreasonable to use this new decorative option with gusto. Pants, silk twill shirts, and triple organza gowns got the monogram treatment before we diverted to stripes in wide, stitched panels of monochrome organza and broken-stripe, semi-check, smock-y tops. A fine-looking black crepe smoking jacket came teamed with slimmish, vertically striped drop-crotch pants—“peasant pants,” Ege said they are called in Turkey. After a volumized cape reasserted the monogram, we saw a black skirt upon which was attached two pink extensions on the front and back: The idea was that it resembled an upside-down tulip, which it kind of did, while also resembling two stapled-on pairs of shorts.Ege’s anti-gravity ruffles and hems became increasingly soaring, but it was not all about rule-the-room eveningwear. She called a red jersey top with a powerful peplum both at the hem and shoulder a “jogging top.” This, it most certainly wasn’t, but day-appropriate it absolutely was. What looked like a sort of minimalized parka dress with a cinched arm and neckline came in a pink moiré silk and seemed an ideal piece for contemporary Zsa Zsa Gabors to loll in. A pointed-shoulder suit, teamed with a matching shirt and tie in monogram yellow, was inspired by a Terry O’Neill portrait of David Bowie and bore the comparison, while a blue suit featuring a frock coat folded at the tail was a pleasingly ornate piece of menswear-based womenswear.At the end, we returned to the prime raison d’être of the brand with a “bee dress” whose black jet crystals lined the arms of a full-thorax yellow mikado body, a ruffled pink mikado cape, and another longer cape made of golden wide-weave bouclé. Ege’s designs are made for display, and these worked well as unabashed attention-grabbers.
27 September 2018
Dice Kayek’s Ece Ege has a thing for ladybugs: “In Istanbul, where I’m from, we believe that if it happens that a ladybug rests on you, it’s a good omen; it will bring luck and prosperity to your family,” she said. The bug’s graceful, rounded shape and the little black dots on its carapace served as a starting point for Ege’s Resort collection, which made use of black-and-white polka dots as a positive-negative graphic motif.Ege definitely doesn’t go in for kawaii; prettiness seems to get on her nerves. She favors firm, architectural shapes;flouisn’t a word that enters her vocabulary. Yet contrary to her sculpturally assertive approach, Resort was infused with a feminine flair, which smoothed the edges of what she called her “Japanese naughty dolls.” Black-and-white polka dot–printed, pouf-sleeved, empire-waist dresses with flounced balloon skirts looked fit for a princess, retaining their neatly designed shapes via full-bodied materials like silk gazar, mikado, and triple organza. Despite the consistency of the fabrications, they felt surprisingly light. A starched white cotton voile mille-feuille dress with a crinoline underpinning that nodded to Victorian wedding dresses was embroidered with layers of fine ribbons of Valenciennes lace. It looked as finely chiseled as it did fluffy, “like a Pavlova,” Ege said.A masculine approach was at play in a few easygoing, summery tunic-and-trouser combinations. But mostly Ege likes the powerful posture a structured dress can give a woman, and she doesn’t mind a bit of corsetry; her lack of decoration is quite peremptory. Case in point: a boxy thick-cotton shirt, cut with surgeon-like exactitude and paired with matching straight-leg pants.
2 July 2018
The inspiration behind Dice Kayek’s pre-fall collection was a very popular Netflix series that designer Ece Ege wasn’t keen to mention during our appointment. No matter how much I insisted, she obstinately remained mum. As the French say,tant pis. Sometimes it’s refreshing to let the clothes do the talking—no references needed.Ege riffed on the season’s ubiquitous masculine tailoring trend, yet she did it her way: sculptural and sharp, cut with an uncompromising, almost surgical precision. Ege likes to give women posture and presence. The über-chic three-piece suits she designed, loosely based on British formal tailoring in vogue at the beginning of the 20th century and made in dry Italian wool, had a confident aplomb. Even when blazers were more shapely, they looked strict and rational. Ege doesn’t usually favor feminine designs,powerfulis the adjective she’s after. Carcoats were designed with the same exacting fastidiousness, often worn over the aforementioned three-piece pantsuits; equally severe trench coats had detachable capelines or short vests to be layered over.The collection’s contrasting note was provided by an all-over animal print on pouf-shaped nylon coats, lean trousers, and blouses. In Ege’s rigorous hands it looked almost pristine—a quality not often associated with such an ostentatious pattern. But “women adore” animal print, as she pointed out, and when women adore, designers oblige.
27 January 2020
Ece Ege has been proposing variations on her silk gazar blouse with puffed sleeves for so many years that certain clients have now accumulated sizable collections. “It’s the Dice Kayek fan club,” she quipped. For a designer, repetition can be essential to crystalizing brand codes; but at a certain point, even a winning idea can start to feel rote.Nonetheless, she reissued the blouse this season in colorful oversize houndstooth—deep green or purple with gray—and it landed on the right side of eccentric. Ege confessed that color isn’t her cup of tea, but that retailers constantly ask her for options beyond black and navy. Not one for half-gestures, she proposed coats and dresses in hot hues of red, magenta, and mustard, and they summoned up the palette preferred by Alber Elbaz, though Ege said any likeness was coincidental. (It’s been said here before that a passing resemblance to Lanvin works to Dice Kayek’s advantage.)News came in the form of bonded leather—and not just a requisite biker jacket, but a grouping of modernist doll dresses. Highly graphic in alternating black and white, they sleekly demonstrated Ege’s skill for sculpting. What’s more, they one-upped her usual art party attire, as did the pieces fringed with glass beads. The cocoon-shaped cape happened to be so heavy that Ege seemed challenged to hold up the hanger. Curious how it would feel, I tried it on. In fact, the weight distributed evenly from the shoulders, and attitude seemed to emanate from every strand. For hard-core members of the Dice Kayek fan club, it would qualify as a collector piece. For initiates, the spongy, bonded suiting and a chic yet versatile windbreaker boasting the latest statement sleeve would be welcome starting points.
4 March 2018
If she hadn’t decided to work as a fashion designer, Dice Kayek’s Ece Ege probably could’ve been an architect or a sculptor, and a talented one at that. Her clothes are so precise and sharp, they look like beautifully cut carapaces; no wonder that her lucky charm is a bug.The designer called the collection the Dark Side of Cute. “My style is sober, strict. Structure and romance, yes. Femininity? Not really. And humor,” she explained. Masculine tailoring is definitely the foundation of her design; in 1992, when she started her label, she presented a small collection of just a dozen or so white shirts, in crisp, sculptural reinterpretations of the classic men’s shirt. Her disciplined approach has stayed much the same: “Of course, there’sl’air du tempsin my collections, but my style has always remained consistent.”She favors fabrics that are quite dry to the touch; they help retain her signature sculpted shapes, which she molds as if they were malleable putty. For Pre-Fall, a pair of high-waisted, wide-leg trousers were made out of a textured wool normally used for polar coats; scuba jersey was applied for hooded sweaters with balloon-ish batwing sleeves. Denim was the most raw and unwashed that Japanese textile fabrics could provide; it was tamed into a trucker jacket with ruching on the front and a trapeze-cut back, and paired with ultra-slim pants. A series of signature black short cocktail dresses had structured frills and folds kept in place by thick bonded duchesse. With their crystal bow appliqués, they had grace and were quite exquisite in their exact design; but please, do not call them feminine.
25 January 2018
If you’re surprised to see Dice Kayek lettering on various pieces throughout this collection—the Turkish label steeped in Parisian flair is never one for trends—it might help to know that these are individual brooches you can customize according to your own name or slogan urges. Each has been delicately embellished with some random tiny thing: a salamander, a butterfly, a ringed planet, a crown, and so forth. On any of the crisp poplin shirts or oversize bonded sweatshirts, they appear cute and jewel-like—certainly more special than your average pin or patch.For a brand that presents as impeccably polished, designer Ece Ege is always determined to signal its playful leanings. This explains why, for Spring, she pointed to the swingy shirtdress with oversize red polka dots as her starting point. “It’s joyful yet constructed,” Ege explained, ostensibly summing up the contents of the art gallery turned showroom. And with additional shades of pink, dusky blue, and yellow—somewhat Lichtenstein-esque in scheme—added to her default black, white, and navy, she was clearly thinking about how to propose her couture-like volumes with modulated freshness. The enlarged windowpane patterning on a ruffled Panama blouse and wrap skirt, for instance, might appeal to a different client than the one who turns to Dice Kayek for eveningwear, with its formal, flattering shapes. The cape layers with varying degrees of sculpt and surface detail would be welcome in anyone’s wardrobe, whether to address upper-arm concerns (Ege says she hears this a lot) or as a tailored jacket alternative.This much is clear: Women who were loyal for so long to Lanvin and have given up hope for the foreseeable future should consider Dice Kayek to fill that gap. With full respect to Ege—her aesthetic is her own, as it has been for more than two decades—but her clothes look similarly deluxe and wearable; the fringes of sequins and pearls plus asymmetric tulle, all in the ease of a T-shirt suggest as much.
28 September 2017
Without any context, the emphasis on white throughout the Dice Kayek Resort lineup could be seen simply as calm and cool—a fresh look forward to the season ahead. And while this is true, the statement also looks back to 1992, when Ece Ege proposed her collection comprised of 15 poplin shirts. Now, as she approaches the 25th anniversary of the brand she shares with her sister, Ayse, she felt this acknowledged the milestone in the most authentic way possible. “It was our first signature thing,” said Ece. “And a quarter century in fashion—that’s not nothing.” This time, for each different expression of dramatic, exacting volume, she chose the fabric that best corresponded, which meant thinking beyond poplin. The gabardine of an angular tunic with balloon sleeves may have seemed weighty to touch, but she pointed out how it wasn’t remotely transparent and that its fixed A-line shape was actually optimized for airflow. “It’s like couture cotton; I swear you don’t feel it, not even in 50-degree [Celsius] heat,” said the Turkish designer, who knows whereof she speaks, given summer temperatures.On the flip side, she used a sheerer silk organza to soften the effect of a men’s blue check shirt. Her offbeat personality came through in the appearance of insects—scarabs, crickets, and other unidentified critters. They were so vividly rendered as a custom print or in embroidery and beading that you’d hardly mistake them for entomology studies—least of all the embellished ant crawling up a shirtdress that seemed Dali-esque. Yet to hedge against the ick factor, she also offered sequin-scaled fishes, pearl bubbles included. On a gray sweatshirt in fine neoprene, the effect wasn’t just playful; it also signaled the rarefied aspect to the clothes. You need only glance at the two black dresses with their architectural contours to sense something decidedly couture.
30 June 2017
The only real giveaway that this collection marks Dice Kayek’s 25th anniversary is a striped poplin shirt covered in doodle-esque embroideries and emblazoned with a red crystal heart. Shown with a giant tulle party skirt, it features a birthday cake; stick figures of Ece Ege and her sister, Ayşe; postcards of Paris; and other twee souvenirs. But those unfamiliar with the Paris-based line wouldn’t be mistaken for gleaning a festive, party vibe from several of the other looks with their jeweled flourishes, accents of gold (namely, an unapologetically gaudy gilded blouse edge with ruffles), and volumes best suited to special occasions. But this is pretty much standard fare for the Turkish designer who doesn’t shy away from styling her elegant creations with a faintly goth twist. “It’s important to propose things that are exceptional,” said Ege, whose most basic shirts boast bulbous or bishop sleeves and striking plastrons.Newness this season came from a modified Prince of Wales check in blue and red. As a crisp Mikado unlined coat or slim trouser, it felt less like suiting and more like a piece revived from the 1950s. There was also a beautiful bronzed brocade with a backstory (briefly, it was custom made by a textile manufacturer in her native city of Bursa) that rendered it especially unique. Amidst the label’s best-selling black and navy cocktail looks, which Ege summed up as “beautiful and sober,” she introduced a small grouping in khaki green wool, which she cut with poppy red blouses. Not all women will want such dramatic shapes for day, but to see her unwavering commitment to well-constructed volumes is to know that couture values are alive and well in ready-to-wear today. And while Dice Kayek isn’t planning much in the way of celebrations, it was easy enough to conclude that the collection’s two novelty prints—colorful glass marbles and an interpretative Lego block motif—as shown on a puff-sleeve blouse and maxi skirt, respectively, were gifts that remain forever fun.
5 March 2017
The heather gray Loden coat in Look 3 owes its striking bell-shape structure to one of Dice Kayek’s previous couture styles. Indeed, glancing at this lineup gave the impression that head designer Ece Ege understands how to dial down her dramatic silhouettes to manageable new volumes. She name-checked early-20th-century German photographer August Sander as an influence for Pre-Fall, noting that his sober aesthetic informed a white poplin shirt under a black oversize A-line coat in bonded flannel. It was one of a few compellingly masculine looks in a lineup that veered feminine judging by the high ratio of dresses. But showing them repeatedly with tough boots updated and expanded their perception beyond precious. See also: the strands of metallic sequins fronting a skirt and vest that were added in a way to evoke chain mail rather than lavish embellishment. Meanwhile, and likely to the relief of long-time customers, both the cape coat and the balloon-sleeved, panama silk gingham blouse paired with the crayon red pencil skirt, signaled that Ege has not moved away from certain mid-century codes of couture.To those who find her silhouettes a tad outward nonetheless, a long, gauzy tulle dress with a satin overskirt—an “apron,” as she called it—offered elegant evidence that she can work in all dimensions. The coat embellished with bands of grosgrain and crystal factored in here as well, especially as showed with an ample pant. Of the latter, when the petite designer and her sister, Ayşe (who oversees the business side), insisted that being tall was not a prerequisite since the waist is cut high, her rigor elsewhere would suggest she’s worked this challenge through, too.
27 January 2017
A visit toDice Kayek’s Left Bank pop-up shop and temporary showroom began with an invitation to indulge in specialty rose-petal lokum (Turkish delight) and ended with a discussion of the recent coup d’état attempt in Turkey. Between the sweet and the serious, cofounder Ece Ege gave a charismatic walkthrough of her collection; and in their own way, the clothes bridged sweet and serious, too. There were signs of a seaside theme—the meticulously sequined parasols floating from a white shirt in crisp Swiss cotton, and a watery blue trapeze dress with a swirl of frontward ruffle that too obviously conjured a wave. But the creative director was eager to show off her take on denim, which combined Japanese fabric with chambray on flattering jumpsuits and jacket-dresses, as well as her continuing exploration of dramatic silhouettes constrained to black and white. Ege’s comfort zone is full skirts, staggered frills, and stacked volumes that present a certain theatrical flair; all this is possible thanks to her fixation with fabrics that hold their shape (“I’m a fabric maniac,” she quips). If her couture urges occasionally get the best of her, this collection showed she’s no longer holding firm to her dark-fairy-tale aesthetic.The boutique will remain open through FIAC, the annual contemporary art fair that draws elites of all stripes, and it’s easy to imagine women swinging by for some one-stop shopping: the denim jacket with a pleated taffeta underlayer, a couple of shape-shifting white shirts, the denim culotte skirt, the shimmery silk tulle dresses (ideal for packing), and the tuxedo pants might end up among the purchases. Because as Ege homes in on that sweet spot between the brand’s haute history (Dice Kayek celebrates its 25th anniversary next year) and retail viability, these looks made an impression of money well spent.
28 September 2016
Normally, Ece Ege would be in the final stages of preparing herDice Kayekcouture collection. From a gallery turned showroom, the designer explained why she was showing her first Resort offering instead. Apparently, this was her way of resolving the positive interest following her Spring couture show—and the frustration among potential customers that the collection was so out of reach. Here, she revisited many of those dramatic volumes in a realer way. Her distinctive balloon sleeve made a successful leap, whether applied to a gingham trapeze blouson or a white shirt that seemed as well constructed as its couture counterpart. Whereas much of that wardrobe seemed destined for a film about a royal family in a parallel universe, these boxy blazers, mixed-material blouses, and carrot-cut jeans were undoubtedly refined, yet also reasonably relaxed.Throughout the visit, Ege pointed out how nearly every garment addressed the complexes women have about their bodies; a shirt was long enough to cover the bum, or a skirt hit immediately below the knees—all while avoiding the opposing forces that leave a mumsy impression. Dresses often featured fabrics pairings—silk and organza taffetas, two types of lace, silk organdy and cotton—to enhance surface interest without embellishment; in stores, this thoughtful workmanship will be well-received. Some will also gravitate towards the pieces glitzed up with hearts, birds and starbursts in crystals and sequins, or else the sweatshirt dotted with pearls. Several T-shirts featured “Love” in embroidery, which seemed a bit trite compared to the dark mood of Ege’s couture. The ravens in that collection were more imposing than the doves in this one. But this outing wasn’t weighed down in any way—and that’s worth a lot.
3 July 2016
Dice Kayek’s cofounder, Ece Ege, loves fables and fairy tales. She also wishes she had studied architecture. With her latesthaute couture collection, she made a compelling case that these two interests are not mutually exclusive. The show opened with a coatdress in the faintest pink bonded crepe, its neckline tilting backward to accentuate the décolletage just this once (assuming you don’t count the ravenesque feathers spiking chestward from a strapless velvet number).Broad creative license lifted the historical weight of several looks, as if Ege’s dreams had produced visions of a French count crossed withAudrey Hepburn, or an androgynous Belle Epoque bon vivant. The one outfit in allover red seemed obliquely Little Red Riding Hood and Roman cardinal, its sleeves molding inward like cake fondant. As for physical weight, most designs were more buoyant than they appeared, which, for Ege, represented a considerable technical accomplishment. “A fight against gravity,” was how she summed up the sculpted shapes, none supported by any internal framing.With its exaggerated peplums, belled silhouettes, caped jackets, and crisp white plastrons, the collection felt ceremonial and at times cinematic. More than 600 feet of lace went into creating the decadently tiered final look, a nightdress worthy of a modern Marie Antoinette. Ege noted a surrealistic aspect and described certain shapes as “floating.” Yet she was adamant that they were rooted in reality. Which, in the realm of haute couture, is relative. Despite the reworked baroque formality, the models all wore pointed flats.
25 January 2016