Contact
guen@guenselistudio.com
00905327989112
Guen Seli Studio is a multidisciplinary design studio with expertise in fashion, textile, home textile design, trend research, and concept development. Operating as a hybrid design studio, we curate a talented team of international fashion and textile designers, visual artists, and producers to provide customized and comprehensive design services for each project or client. We specialize in fashion design, creative direction, art and fashion projects, brand collaborations, textiles and home textile design, print design in collaboration with artists, as well as photography and film production, bringing artistic versatility, technical prowess, and imaginative depth to every endeavor.
Guen Seli (Gunseli Turkay)
Guen Seli, an internationally renowned innovative avant-garde fashion designer, holds an MA in 'Textile Innovation Design' from Accademia Costume é Moda in Rome. With a background in economics from Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey, and fashion design from Accademia Italiana in Florence, Italy, Guen Seli combines art and design to create remarkable and collaborative fashion collections.
Guen Seli's artistic collaborations and creative conceptualization have gained recognition for their ability to merge various art forms. Inspired by art movements, Mediterranean botanics, Parisian influences, and experimental breakthroughs in art, photography, music, and film, Guen Seli's work reflects her own involvement in these creative endeavors. Her collections exhibit a focus on perceptual phenomena, employing light, volume, and scale, often using transparent, translucent, or reflective materials. She strives to innovate new plant-based materials through partnerships with industry leaders, seeking to shape the aesthetics of the future.
Dedicated to social and environmental sustainability, Guen Seli consciously selects low-impact and innovative plant-based materials, shedding light on the conservation of plant and animal biodiversity. Her commitment to a better future for all is evident in her work.
Guen Seli's talent lies in collaborating with diverse artists, resulting in collections that span womenswear, home textiles, and fabrics. These collaborations include artists such as Bora Akıncıtürk, an abstract painter from London; Alper Derinboğaz, an architect from Istanbul; Refik Anadol, an internationally renowned mediartist; Reuben Wu, a NatGeo photographer and PhaseOne Global Ambassador; and Burak Soley, a cinematographer from Istanbul, among others. These collections have been showcased at prestigious exhibitions like 'Who's Next,' 'Premium Berlin,' 'Berlin Fashion Week,' 'Istanbul Fashion Week,' 'Beymen in Istanbul,' 'Premier Vision & Maison Objet in Paris,' and have been featured in renowned locations such as 'Harrod's London.' Additionally, the collections have achieved significant commercial success, being sold in approximately 50 designer boutiques and department stores worldwide.
Time Line
Guen Seli Studio
Trends, Brand Strategy, Fashion Design & Sustainable Textile Innovation Consulting Studio
Creative Director for Art & Fashion Projects I Fashion Designer I Textile & Print DesignerI Founder
Jan 2017_Present, Istanbul
Since 2009 I initiated projects aiming to bring various kinds of creative people and brands to experiment together. The idea is to give ideas to brands and artists for collaborations and special projects. I try to explore the future of retail and how a brand can create relevant and meaningful experiences in stores and collections through curation and collaboration with the attitude of permanent renewal. My joy is to create a garment that fuses and balances art, beauty, craft and function, a garment that can perform well and continue in time to become part of life’s story. I enjoy juggling with colors, textures and light.
Specialty in;
.Creative Direction for start-up and established brands
.Womenswear & Menswear Design
.Art & Fashion Projects _Artist Collaborations
.Design and development of fresh concepts for collections and special projects
.Research inspiration from; multiple trade shows, showrooms, stores, design biennales, modern art museums, art movements, fashion & textile history museums, illustrators today and yesterday, street, and youth culture, ancient and contemporary cultures, anything...
.Develop creative direction and create artwork in collaboration with the best artists
.Fabric research and development with suppliers
.Sample development with suppliers
.Create artworks, and design collections for Textile & Home Textile
.Work closely with suppliers across different categories such as apparel, accessories, textile, home textile and playful lifestyle consumption to develop samples and translate ideas .Search solutions to support the creative fashion industry in its eco-responsible transformation
.Production and Art Direction for Fashion Campaigns, Curating Photo Shooting Team
Latest Project; Creative Director and Designer for Kutnia Between 2017_2023
I worked as the consultant creative director and fashion designer for the start-up brand Kutnia. I developed the initial ideas and design methodology to revitalize the traditional fabric for a contemporary lifestyle brand. I created the concept and the special collection by re-imagining an abstract expression of Zeugma Mosaics by artist collaboration which became the best-selling cult line for the house. My role included creative direction, textile design, womenswear design, and home textile design for the first five years.
Günseli Türkay Brand
Contemporary Womenswear Brand of Artist Collaborations, Founder
April 2009_Feb 2017, Istanbul
Drawn to an eclectic mix of high fashion and edgy streetwear the brand employed a concept
that fuses art & fashion with fields of contemporary art, culture, architecture, nature considering environment, human and animal rights. I tried to push and introduce things we haven't yet seen. The brand was a mix of artists work and mix of events.
Runways & Fairs(attended with Günseli Türkay Brand) Who’s Next, Paris, between 2014_2016
Paris Sur Mode, Paris, 2013
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Istanbul, Runways, between 2009_2014
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin, Runway, 2012 Premium, Berlin, 2012
Art & Fashion Collaborations
Dohee Kwon_ Kimchui Super Power, Illustrator from Seoul, 2019
Tuğberk Selçuk, Sculptor from Istanbul, 2017_2019
Reuben Wu, Visual Artist and Music producer from Liverpool, 2014_2016
Alper Derinbogaz & Refik Anadol, Architect and media artist from Istanbul and LA, 2012 Bora Akıncıturk, Artist from London, 2009
Pasaj Istanbul Fashion, Textile, and Print Design Studio
Fashion Designer and Founder
July 2006 – May 2011, Macka, Istanbul
I created Pasaj Istanbul as a design office in Istanbul for fashion design, print design, concept development, sourcing, fabric, and material research for brands and suppliers.
Customers:
Abuissa Holding, Qatar (Creative director and designer for a start-up brand for Traveller Menswear Brand)
Urban Outfitters through Cherry Field Sourcing Agency in Istanbul,
Zara Woman and Zara Kids through jersey suppliers Örma Tekstil and Inteks Tekstil, Istanbul Only Jeans through denim supplier Realkom and jersey supplier Finteks in Istanbul
The Resource I Sourcing Agent of Mexx
Fashion Designer I Fabrics & Material Research and Development Specialist January 2003 – May 2006, Istanbul
MUDO
Menswear Designer
July 2000 – December 2002, Istanbul
Mudo is a lifestyle brand with 130 shops in Turkey.
EDUCATION
Accademia Costume é Moda, Roma
Masters in Fabrics Innovation Design, Feb 2020_May 2021
Rilievi Embroidery, Bologna, Embroidery Crafts and Design, April 2021
Accademia Italiana, Firenze
Fashion Design, 1999_2000
ODTÜ I METU Middle East Technical University, Ankara
B.A., Economics, 1995_1999
AWARDS
Full Scholarship for Master in Fabrics Innovation Design
Accademia Costume é Moda, Roma, 2020
Mediterranean Fashion Prize, Maison Mode Mediterranean (MMM), Marseille, 2016
Re-Imagine Design Challenge for C&A, Madrid, 2012
Nominated for Young Fashion Designer, Elle Style Awards, Istanbul, 2010
First Place in Young Fashion Entrepreneur Award, British Council, Istanbul & London, 2010
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