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Creativity and art has no nationality – that’s what we strongly believe in FOXYLAB NY. Our contributors of different origins collaborate together on this platform to deliver to our global community the visions of talented and ambitious. The protagonist of our story today was born in Turkey. Under the lucky star, we must say, as Gozde Arig inherited her creative nature from her parents. With her dad being an international award-winning caricaturist and her mother owning a textile company, Gozde had naturally developed a passion for art and design at a young age. In 2011 she graduated from London College of Fashion and went on to train under Emilia Wickstead and Charles Anastase. Using this precious experience to hone her skills, she decided to go out on her own and launch her fashion brand: Filiarmi was born. Modern and feminine at the same time, this Turkey-born internationally oriented label acts as a cultural bridge between western and eastern world. It reminds us of timeless values. Where style prevails regardlessly the ever changing trends.
Here is Gozde Arig, founder and creative director of Filiarmi exclusively for FOXYLAB NY.
You were born into a very creative family. How would this bio impact your own career?
I grew up seeing my father’s drawings and art materials everywhere around our house. Naturally, I was very interested in art and all sorts of creative activities since my childhood. My mother encouraged me as well by letting me draw freely on the walls of our house. Definitely, not all kids are allowed to do that! 🙂 There was a huge coridor wall full of my drawings. My mother owning a textile company also helped me to undertand the fabric materials and the overall business side of it. After my graduation I had an opportunity to visit many well known fashion brands’ headquarters around the world. That was a priceless experience. So when I founded Filiarmi, I just basically put all the pieces together, all my memories and experiences that I obtained from my family.
After having graduated from the London College of Fashion you went on train under Emilia Wickstead and Charles Anastase - two designers with quite distinctive style. How this experience did influence your own signature and brand?
They are both wery tallented designers and artists. Working with them, I learned the importance of being unique and staying true to yourself, which I also apply in Filiarmi.
How would you describe the DNA of your brand?
Filiarmi is for any woman, who would like to enhance her own beauty with creative, minimal and feminine cocktail dresses.
Your brand was born in the midst of the pandemic (March 2020). Was it challenging to launch it in such a controversial context?
It was really difficult and tiring. However, I didn’t want to stop or quit for good. I tried to motivate myself by thinking that if we get over it, at the end we will come out way stronger than we were before. And that’s exactly what has happened- what doesn’t kill you does make you stronger! 🙂
Would is the position of your brand toward gender-fluidity?
In my opinion, genders shouldn’t have specific images to categorise people. A person of any gender may like any style of garment to wear. Thus, anyone, who just simply likes our feminine delicate styles, are welcome to pick one!
Where do you draw you inspiration for the collections?
I’m inspired mostly by modern art, styles of past decades and women that I see around.
Can you share with us any art references which might inspire you in your work?
Jean Arp, Sonia Delaunay and Barbara Hepworth are some the artists that I adore.
What would make your brand sustainable?
From my point of view, sustainability is a very broad and delicate topic. That’s why there are some many different ways of being more sustainable brand. At the same time it’s impossible to be perfect at everything. Thus, at the moment I, as a Founder of a brand and the brand itself, focus on specific elements, such as: creating well balanced, healthy and self-improving working environment, where team members feel as it’s their second home; making most of by using mainly local fabrics and manufactures; carefully selecting styles and production orders in order to minimise waste and overproduction as much as possible and we also send samples and extra clothes to Turkish Association for the Disabled.
Can you share with us your plans for future development?
As a brand we are still very young, sort of at an infant’s stage at the moment. We are growing rapidly, discovering something new with every new collection and forming/mastering our identity. Last year we started to work with K&H Communications, PR and Showroom, what helps us grow and build strong relationships with top influencers/VIPs we look forward to our first Press Breakfast Event, which is going to happen in London just after the Paris Show [this interview was recorded previous to that event, which indeed took place in London and has a great success]. Shortly saying- the sky is the limit and we are very optimistic about the future.
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