Twinkle in a blush rose. Springtime ushers the bountiful harvest of floral profusion. Synonymous with sartorial elegance and crowning accessory of Royal Meeting, the Royal Ascot attracts over 300,000 guests each year. A perpetual play between structure and femininity, Merve Bayindir is renowned for the couture headdress service. Celebrating 10 years of the power of grace from her bourgeoning atelier with her mother in London.
An incarnation filtered through moments of translucence, flickering pops of mandarin red and electric blue invade the garden. In 2017, Bayindir was granted invitation to the Royal Ascot Guide with socialities wearing Bayindir’s crowning accessory including Francesca Cumani, Maya Jama, Sofie Dossi and Munroe Bergdorf.
Story by Rocio Frausto
Copyedited by Sarah-Eve Leduc
Royal Ascot is synonymous with sartorial elegance. This is upheld by the Royal Ascot Dress Code, which invite guests to take inspiration from the summer season’s key trends. Tell us about the final round of concepts you presented to the committee at Royal Ascot regarding hats? How much creative freedom did you have in the development of hats for the Royal Ascot?
The committee invites you to be part of Royal Ascot millinery collective and ask you to design and present a sketch with details to the committee. If they have any suggestions they let you know other wise you have complete freedom.
You only make two copies of the hat, one to be used for press purposes and archives, and the second one to be sold exclusively. This, I believe, is the most difficult element; you want to design something memorable, something that stands out, but also something timeless and reflective of you. The occasion is so important that you want to make sure your hat is worthy of being among the best in every way.
My biggest challenge was having too many ideas, my partner and mother Yasemin had to be the sound of mind and help me through my process. It was a big deal for me since being a part of it was a major milestone in my journey. The Royal Ascot is a grandness when it comes to hats. Being chosen for the style guide is a tremendous honour for any millinery, but being invited to the Royal Ascot millinery collective and having your high fashion hat moment is an amazing experience.
Celebrating 10 years since founding your couture millinery brand, you also presented the crowning accessories during London Fashion Week. Tell us about the technical processes and techniques that determined your aesthetic approach to these collections for LFW?
Well, I learned all of my basics during my shows at MBFWI, but I must add that back in Turkey, I had the advantage of being the only millinery designer, so it took some time to find our balance here because the process is quite different. My methodology, I feel, is similar to that of other designers in that after you’ve finished one collection, you start thinking about the next. For example, I’ve been enamoured with classic movies and old Hollywood glamour for the past eight months. Now, everything I create has a strong sense of that. Presenting at LFW or any other fashion platform begins far earlier than anticipated.
I explore my ideas with sketching, flower making, colouring, material selection and the application of new techniques. In my mind I have to come up with something new to show my clients, buyers and press and while also ensuring that my line is powerful enough to stand out in terms of design and technique. Every season something new can be a flower with a new technique or a more secure headband or whole new way of embroidery application on a hat… anything but definitely something new to show them that the brand is not standing still..
Cohesiveness is important not just for one collection but all the collections you make, when you are changing, improving, you should always keep your roots. Quality is very important and so is being timeless, you need just the right amount of classic and modern.
My aesthetic changed overtime. It used to be more contemporary with more geometric details, whereas now, after my move to this country, it became softer, somehow more feminine and elegant . Merve Bayindir Millinery was, is and will always be a couture luxury brand but more importantly it will always have high quality and fare trade.
Merve Bayindir millinery is for people who are elegant, feminine, not reluctant to express themselves, open to try new things and be the person that they want to be, even if it is just for a day, and who understand the importance of quality above quantity.
An introduction to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and style soirees with socialities and aristocrats have adorned your hats during the last 10 years including Royal Ascot, London Fashion Week and Wedding Celebrations. What special anecdotes or memories do you have from creating hats to these events?
Well, I believe meeting HRH Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is one of the most incredible experiences. I had certain dreams at the start of this journey, back in Istanbul, when we were just getting started with our hat business, and I chose not to be afraid to voice them out loud. One of them began as a phrase in a meeting room at my PR firm in 2011, when I declared, “One day, I will meet the Queen, and not only meet her, but I will meet her because of my hats, and I will present her with my hats.” Nobody knew the Queen was coming to see us on that particular day. It was near the end of my last day of fashion week, and a team of people began cleaning and inspecting each booth to ensure that we were up to code in terms of how our stands looked. We were told that the person who would be arriving was a very influential person.
It turned out to be the Queen, and we were eagerly anticipating her visit to our booth. While waiting for her, I looked about and didn’t see anyone else curtsying, so I told myself not to do it because it wasn’t really a thing. I did courtesy with her and must say that she is quite nice, courteous, and elegant. I was blown away by her strength and posture, and I have a huge amount of admiration and respect for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Despite the fact that I have many other incredible tales with renowned and intriguing people, this is the ideal one to share because she is someone everyone knows and can understand and image how I felt.
A dreamscape of rebirth and promise of eternal spring inspired by Turkish heritage enrapture Couture collections. How has your fathers architectural background and mothers studies in industrial engineering inspired your own trajectory as a designer? How would you describe the relationship with your mother who is also the partner of your eponymous brand?
I want to start with my Turkish Heritage, there is a reality that Turkey actually has a very colourful and eclectic history which reflects itself in every part of our lives from food to architecture.
I am a product of every place I have been, every new food I taste, and everyone that touch my.. It is an evolving product as you can imagine because there is so much more to experience.
Of course my father being an architect, he was quite insistent on us seeing not looking at things. Also we were encouraged to build things, paint things and his colourful pens helped a lot to be honest. I especially learned a lot when I was working with him as I saw what it takes to create just one chair. That is how I learned my ability to see something in 3D and put it apart in my head, then construct it with real materials.
To be honest it was more my mother that encouraged my artistic side. My mother, who is also my partner, is not only my best friend, but also my most valuable asset. Her business knowledge, practical thinking, and the way she works to get things done in the most efficient way possible are just a few of the numerous advantages and benefits of having my mother. It’s also true that I learned aesthetics from my mother, and even though our styles are very different, we use the same terminology. My mother chose to believe in my dreams and sacrifice a lot to help me pursue them. I must point out that she is a business plan guru who can plan and anticipate almost any scenario and always has a contagious plan.
At the end though I have to thank my fathers father for reading poems with me, my father for caring all the sample stuff to home for me to build things, my mothers father for sharing his oil paints and always encouraging me to dream and last but never least my mother, who is actually the real person behind all this choosing to support me by making it our dream.
What are the future plans of your studio in relation to millinery and bridal couture?
Hopefully, we will have our showroom/studio in central London by summery of 2022 which is a reasonable plan. We really want to expand. We were doing two seasons a year, AW & SS we always had few bridal pieces in, and as of this year we have separated it end turn it into a collection of its own which I personally love. In a few years, we’d like to launch a separate casual line for a little more everyday wear, but our couture hats will always be our main focus.
We both want more collaborations with other designers and runways are always fun. There is also the met gala and not to mention my own runway. It has been five years since I had my last runway so I do plan on one over the next few years but my partner is slightly more strategic on that and refuses to do it till she sees it is time. We have a lot of projects and we both love chasing our dream. Well we have chased her to London and we have not regretted a day thus wherever she takes us as long as she is growing we are with her.
