Hussein Chalayan | |
---|---|
Born |
Hüseyin Çağlayan 12 August 1970 Nicosia, Cyprus |
Nationality | British, Turkish Cypriot |
Education | Highgate School and Central St Martins |
Occupation | Fashion designer |
Awards | MBE, 1995 Absolut Fashion Award, twice named British Designer of the Year |
Labels | Hussein Chalayan |
Hussein Chalayan MBE (/huːˌseɪn ˈʃʌləjɑːn/; given name Hüseyin Çağlayan, Turkish: [hyseˌjin ʧaːlaˈjan]) (born 8 August 1970) is a British/Turkish Cypriot fashion designer. He has won the British Designer of the Year twice (in 1999 and 2000) and was awarded the MBE in 2006.
Chalayan is currently teaching at University of Applied Arts Vienna
Hussein Chalayan was born in Nicosia in 1970 and graduated from the Türk Maarif Koleji of his hometown. At that time the population of the island was divided because of the constant struggles between the Greek and Turkish authorities. Ethnic conflicts between the Turkish and Greek Cypriot communities eventually led to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus and led to human right abuses towards the civilian from both sides. For this reason Chalayan and his family were forced to move to England in 1978. After Highgate School he studied for a National Diploma in fashion and clothing at Warwickshire School of Arts, and proceeded to study Fashion Design at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London. His graduate collection in 1993, titled "The Tangent Flows", contained clothes which he had buried in a back yard and exhumed just before the show where they were presented with an accompanying text that explained the process. The ritual of burial and resurrection was said to give the garments a dimension that referenced to life, death, and urban decay. The work attracted the attention of the Browns fashion boutique in London who borrowed the collection to feature in their window display.