GO!25 Borderless Award powered by Regione FVG

technical description

The design blends elements such as jeans with quilts and Çarşaf (Turkish Burka) with a turtleneck sweater. The overall shape is inspired by Semazen (Whirling Dervishes), merging this silhouette with a couture aesthetic characterized by an extended tail, which can be worn on the arms and transformed into a skirt or vest, revealing the hand quilting on the backside. The knitwear is crafted from deadstock yarns and reflective threads which flashes when exposed to light. The skirt is constructed from a combination of denim and traditional Turkish quilting.

concept

Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, also known as Mevalana, was a 13th-century poet, Dervish, Hanafi faqir, Islamic scholar and Maturidi theologian calling out to humanity with words such as "Come back, no matter what you are", to free humanity from discrimination, guiding it towards universal unity, friendship and tolerance. Such powerful borderless thoughts were the starting point for Turkish designer Mert Serbest, who also looked at the traditional Turkish Yorgan quilt. His project mixes references to eastern and middle-eastern traditions with references to the European Union and its borders. He developed a kind of surreal immigrant character, wrapped in a coat-like Yorgan quilt that opens up to become a blanket. About to cross the border between Italy and Slovenia, between Nova Gorica and Gorizia, he takes off his Yorgan coat as an act l of friendship, opening it up for the border police as a blanket to rest on, since they have no borders to patrol in 2025.