HÉROÏNES

The nightmare of feeling stuck in an unchanging world symbolizes every woman’s struggle for change. For her final project at IFM MA Fashion Image, Ayse Kaya created a story and its art direction, applying it to three different luxury brands. Ayse Kaya proved that fashion brands can showcase their products with a feminist vision, tackling three distinct fashion houses for each of her Héroines.

Héroïne #1 was inspired by water’s mythologies, think Médusa, Venus and Shahmeran. She portrays feminine sexuality and the struggle it is, for anyone who feels feminine, to address it. And who better than Ludovic de Saint Sernin to address sexuality? The symbolism through mermaids, ice cubes or snakes, hints at the idea of the Héroine’s hidden sexuality. A sexuality that is genuine and sacred to her, yet one that it is not easy to address when it comes to the rest of the world. Ludovic de Saint Sernin’s mystique aura brings a darkness which gently uncovers into a unique fragility. The authentic portrayal of an intimate struggle through fantasy is executed gracefully. It leaves a bittersweet feeling, reminiscent of the reality of intimacy in every individual’s reality.

When I asked Ayse about her transition from fashion design (she had studied fashion design before joining IFM), to fashion image, she said she felt that in today’s world, images were the strongest at telling a story and transmitting emotions. And a story it is, as the Loewe project felt close to home for the artist.

Héroïne #2 referenced warriors such as huntress goddess Diana or the Amazon, contrasts the fight for change with the feeling of powerlessness due to the constraints the world imposes upon her. This Héroine is eco-feminist : She feels passionate about the animal cause, yet she feels so distant from it due to the system in place. She is not anybody, she is an ode to Ayse’s aunts : “My aunts are smart women who are very educated and passionate about the planet and the environmental urgency. But they are housewives, and they can not do anything about it, as they have to care about house chores.” The playful character of Loewe’s brand identity was essential for Ayse’s creativity. The project, featuring adorable animals as the Héroine’s only friends, visually describes the feeling of being stuck. It is also an ode to nature, inviting the viewer to question the essence of animals in our society.

While discussing the reality of the fashion industry in different cultures, Ayse reckoned it was the same anywhere. The male-gaze is very much still dominant in fashion images across all regions, despite recent trends in the industry suggesting otherwise. With this project, Ayse offered a new way to look at a couture house through the female gaze and through her own heritage, whilst staying faithful to each fashion house’s DNA.

Héroïne #3 references motherhood. With research of mythological icons of fertility such as Gaea or Cybèle, the Alaïa images (entirely made through AI), bring back the mythological representations of womanhood and motherhood through different ages and bodies. This is a reference to the woman who creates life while building the future. This Héroine has no age if not every age, she has no body type if not all body types. The grace, femininity and assurance from Alaia’s brand universe evoke the third and last Héroine perfectly.

Through a bird, a horse, or even a flower, these images tell the story of the creation of the world by a Héroine in the Gobekli Tepe temple, true to Ayse’s Turkish heritage. Ayse’s project was originally based on a nightmare she had herself several years ago after visiting the Gobekli Tepe temple in Turkey, her homeland. Whilst feeling powerless and depressed about the news regarding women’s place in society, she saw the goddess of Gobekli Tepe in her dream, who was urgently trying to wake her up and save her from a nightmare.
This nightmare felt like a reawakening indeed, as Ayse was inspired by the sensation of emergency in her own nightmare, to embed it in her own reality. How? By applying feminism in the stories and the making of her fashion images.

“At fashion school, the educators trust us with our vision and we are given the best tools and advice, making us feel encouraged. The majority of creative fashion students are women, yet when you enter the job market, most photographers and art directors in big brands or magazines are men. What happens there?”.

It is as much in the storytelling as what goes on behind the scenes : according to her, a real feminist project is also a project where women creatives are given equal opportunities. Her team was 80% composed of women creatives. By giving opportunities and collectively collaborating with fellow women creatives, she is able to feel less stuck in the male-dominated fashion cycle, enabling her to progressively break the chain. One chain at a time, she is therefore able to turn her past nightmare into tomorrow’s dream : a woman’s dream