Tip from designer and painter Madeline Weinrib, whose atelier is located on the top floor of ABC Carpet & Home:
“For contemporary fashion inspired by old Turkish garments, I love Ark Butik. I’ve bought caftans and Ottoman-style pants there. The pieces are modern interpretations of ancient styles.”
Another local favorite is Arzu Kaprol (Gisele Bündchen is a fan). Her designs are made from Turkish silks, leathers and wools, and range in price from $300 to about $1,400 for her popular leather jackets.
Tip from designer and painter Madeline Weinrib:
“Her necklaces and brooches are a beautiful mix of ancient and modern inspirations. Some of her work is also for sale at Sofa Art & Antiques.”
This, along with Vakko, is one of the city’s premiere department stores. Beyman is more classic, similar to Bergdorf Goodman. Beymen’s Nişantaşi location also has a very popular café-restaurant with street-level seating in front of big windows.
This fabulous gallery sells locally made fashions and housewares from delicate silver spoons and colorful ceramic plates and tiles to fantastic crocheted caftans and sweaters— a showcase of traditional Ottoman crafts.
The city’s old-money socialites go crazy for Gönul Paksoy’s exotic creations—one-of-a-kind tunics and robe-like dresses inspired by Sufi whirling dervishes. A chemist by training, Paksoy dips the handwoven linens and silks in her self-made dyes, then pieces them together with antique fabrics she finds on her travels.
Tip from painter and designer Madeline Weinrib, whose atelier is located on the top floor of ABC Carpet & Home:
“Gonul Paksoy is a Turkish icon. She collects antique Anatolian textiles and Ottoman embroidery and stitches them into clothes and carries a fabulous selection of cookbooks, as well as antique Ottoman towels that she hand-dyes. She has two stores in Tesvikiye, across the street from each other—one for clothes, one for accessories.”
This small shop sells a unique and flirty collection of women’s ready-to-wear; it has its own fashion line along with a selection of Paris-based brands.
Tip from designer and painter Madeline Weinrib:
“Istanbul is also a great place to get jeans that are quintessentially Turkish. Hometown brand Mavi, known for its stretchy, sexy denim, is now an international phenomenon, but the Istanbul flagship store is not to be missed.”
Tip from Madeline Weinrib:
“Fashion designer Suzanne Simon, an expat New Yorker, makes beautiful dresses, blouses, and caftans in the lightest cotton, inspired by old fabric motifs. She has an atelier that is open by appointment.”
The city’s two premiere department stores are Beyman and Vakko. The latter is more fashion-forward, with a collection designed for the shop by Zac Posen.
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