Erkan Coruh | Modem Mag | modemonline.com

We met Erkan Coruh, who is showing in Milano Fashion Week his SS 12, when he just won the "Who's on next?" competition. This was the occasion to best (re)discover his world.

He’s one of the latest names to come out of the ‘Who’s on next?’ competition and is ready to take on the runways of Milan.

From the class of 1976, originally from Istanbul and with a degree in Fashion Design at the Accademia di Belle Arti as well as a masters in Fashion Design from the prestigious Domus Academy under his belt, Erkan Coruh is the latest to have won the prestigious ‘Who’s on next?’ competition, promoted by AltaRoma and Vogue Italia, where there was a poetic but forceful femininity. It isn’t at random that the designer claims that fashion is a creative journey to reach a sophisticated beauty. Even on the runway his women are like warriors, ready to fight after some traumatic event - at the AltaRoma AltaModa show in January, for example. The designer never forgets the sartorial element of a garment or its wearability. We meet Coruh on the eve of Milan Fashion Week, where he will be showing.

How did you come to create a line under your name?

Erkan Coruh It was always a dream to have my own line and to be able to communicate through my own clothes. After I’d studied in the fashion sector and collaborated with big fashion names, the Erkan Coruh collection came to life in March 2010.

The ‘Who’s on next’ adventure was surely important. How did you get into the competition and what memories and feelings to have of it?

E.C I took part in the competition set up by Vogue Italia and promoted by AltaRoma Altamoda with a different maturity. It’s thanks to ‘Who’s on next?’ that I decided to come out. I felt balanced within myself and I wanted to share that with the fashion industry. as for the competition, I put in my passion, lots of sincerity and all the feeling that the collection aroused in me.

You recently showed at AltaRoma. Talk to us about what went down the runway.

E.C For the AltaRoma show my muses were spiritual warriors, always feminine, always elegant, women prepared to protect the spirit of the Erkan Coruh label. I also took inspiration from Carvaggio’s paintings. The collection was developped around the notion “Traumatic Elegant”, I enhanced this aspect which I think also has the ability to portray the dramatic and complex story of a woman.

In general, what sort of woman are you designing for, who do you have in mind when designing? A where do the inspirational inputs come from?

E.C My woman is a strong, elegant figure, feminine and fundamentally classic. Inspirations come from real women and how they live through life experiences, always carrying with them this light, which I then looked at putting in my collection. In fact it’s this light which gives me courage. I’ll also tell you that the strongest inspiration comes from God. But inputs can arise from any element, to be inspired I draw on what I try, what I live, what I observe in society and everything that goes on around me. And I couldn’t neglect my studies in the artistic field, they too provide me with much inspiration.

In what way are your designs influenced by your origins?

E.C My origins are my roots and therefore couldn’t not influence me. I was born and raised in Istanbul, a most interesting city, where many different cultures live together – the bridge between Orient and Occident has forever maintained a subtle balance between two polar opposites. I think that this also translates in my creativity and in my work.

What other projects do you have in mind? Will you show at Milan Fashion Week, for example? Can you give us anything to look forward to?

E.C Milan will be another adventure. It will represent the new start for our “post trauma” line. The Erkan warriors are finishing the war and getting back to their internal peace. Follow me and, along this path, I’ll tell you their story.