Who? Aylin Tomta
What? Neo.Fashion.: Graduate Shows and Awards
Where? Berlin Fashion Week
Why designs by Aylin Tomta matter?
The power of fashion lies in its ability to transform identity and culture. Fashion is right at the center in playing a role regarding one’s identity, but it’s not the traditional binary definition. The notion of who you are, finding oneself, or how your identity may change at any given moment, is playing out in the socio-cultural context of today – gender fluidity, genderless, non-binary, and polysexual are a few examples of the language. Aylin Tomta’s “Hylemorph” collection explores the different nuances in the spectrum between men and women. She says, “identities are fluid moments. We accept it, fill it and feel it. We always have to question and re-locate our own selves. Although the cultural transformations and social constructs of our society claim otherwise, identities cannot necessarily be aligned with current binary schemes.”
Tomta uses the fashion medium to shift our perception to the body and gender. Through experimental cutting and fabric manipulation, she takes an innovative approach in creating “fluidity” in her ensembles.
A “Look at EDGE”, a fashion library of the vanguard, curates a select few of Neo.Fashion.21 designers, like Aylin Tomta, whose collections make socially relevant statements and offer storytelling through a fashion lens we don’t often see. Curating the body, creating around bodies, is not a typical conversation or exploration in fashion, but Tomta’s body of work puts it at the forefront. Gender-neutral fashion is not new, but fluidity means freedom from labels and today’s youth has embraced this sense of freedom – 33 percent of those in Gen-Z identify as something other than exclusively heterosexual. Tomta’s collection makes a statement that fashion is free from gender norms, becoming relevant within this social movement.
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