Dilara Fındıkoğlu Fall Winter 2023
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 20: (EDITORS NOTE: Image contains nudity.) A model walks the runway at the Dilara Findikoglu show during London Fashion Week February 2023 on February 20, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Cameron Smith/BFC/Getty Images)

Dilara Fındıkoğlu once said that her “job in this world is to make this world more beautiful.” Beauty, in all its unexpected and subversive forms, is at the heart of what the Turkish-born, London-based designer does with her clothing, which has quickly gained a cult following among fashionistas ranging from Bella Hadid to Emma Corrin. For Fall/Winter 2023, a collection which Fındıkoğlu unveiled in an East London chapel this afternoon, the eclecticism of her vision was evident before the show even started. The front row spanned everyone from Real Housewives icon Lisa Rinna to beloved British drag queen Bimini Bon Boulash, both wearing deconstructed pieces that are quintessential Dilara Fındıkoğlu.

The show began with a sombre tone, as the designer paid homage to her home country, which has recently been devastated by a series of earthquakes. “I feel helpless, I feel speechless more than ever after what mother nature caused in my hometown,” read the heartfelt show notes. “I have been drowning in the fine line between my craft and the disaster for the last 2 weeks, but I decided to do what I do best, use my voice as much as I can.” The notes included a QR code with a link to donate to earthquake relief funds

The show itself was thrillingly subversive, as models theatrically stomped along the runway, the taps of their stilettos echoing throughout the venue. The clothing played into the designer’s existing interest in sex and fetish—latex and leather featured heavily, be it the corsets that cinched together floor-skimming shearling coats, or the opera-style gloves that added compelling drama to skimpy mini dresses. Corseting appeared throughout, culminating in a remarkable black feather-embellished gown, and the final look—an evening dress covered in hand-glued silver knives. It no doubt took a lot of mental fortitude for Fındıkoğlu to see through the runway show, and the raw energy of her creative expression was palpable. Bravo.

Dilara Fındıkoğlu Fall Winter 2023
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 20: A model walks the runway at the Dilara Findikoglu show during London Fashion Week February 2023 on February 20, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Cameron Smith/BFC/Getty Images)
Dilara Fındıkoğlu Fall Winter 2023
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 20: A model walks the runway at the Dilara Findikoglu show during London Fashion Week February 2023 on February 20, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Cameron Smith/BFC/Getty Images)
Dilara Fındıkoğlu Fall Winter 2023
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 20: A model walks the runway at the Dilara Findikoglu show during London Fashion Week February 2023 on February 20, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Cameron Smith/BFC/Getty Images)