Designer reflects tribal spirit

MELİS ALPHAN

When founding her brand Kith & Kin, Turkish designer Serra Kefeli’s inspiration came from Africa. The name of the brand means: “feeling a common emotion as a tribe.”

Upon her graduation from the Izmir American high school, Kefeli’s education continued in the Izmir Faculty of Fine Arts, where she graduated as an honors student majoring in Fashion Design. Kefeli started her career in the fashion industry and moved with steady steps.

After finishing her MA in Fashion Design at Domus Academy in Milan in 2006, Kefeli participated in the research program of Fashion Communication and Styling at the Milano Istituto di Design. After acting as a stylist for photo shoots with a variety of different domestic and overseas artists, she decided to continue her journey as a designer with her own brand: Kith & Kin.

The brand emerged from Kefeli’s interest in Africa. While conducting research on tribes and tribal life, she found out the meaning of “Kith & Kin,” and based her first collection conceptually on tribal people. The collection reflected the tribe’s light-hearted spirit.

For her second collection, Kefeli continued to take inspiration from different times and places, and for her third one (Spring-Summer 2012), she took Pyramids of Egypt.

The Spring-Summer 2012 collection is based on the idea of a sexy woman tracking the mystery of the Pyramids on the Egyptian desserts.

Based on common sense
As in its previous collections, Kith & Kin’s coming Autumn-Winter 2012-2013 collection is again based on a “common sense” from Africa. The story of Africa’s locals’ rejecting swimming in the sea due to their fear of sea beasts is the starting point of the collection. Jackets referring to mythological sea beasts, geometrical cuts, and drapes on the trousers reminiscent of sea waves, using materials such as crepe, silk, and satin with lycra and leather.

The colors used in the collection also reference this mythological story and the sea: purples, greens, blues, browns and whites.

Signature hand-made details of Kith & Kin add a couture touch to the collection and, as in the previous collections, pleated pieces and even flounces bring a sense of motion to the designs. Bodysuits and capes meet bold colors and strong cuts to bring the fighting spirit of African women to life right in the middle of the city.

Kith & Kin’s unique designs have aroused significant interest among celebrities in Turkey, and they are famous TV star Songül Öden’s first choice for special events. For instance, in March 2012, during the International Maskat Film Festival held in the Sultanate of Oman, Öden and the sweetheart of Middle Eastern women, Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ, were the stars of the red carpet. Because their last project together, the T.V. series “Gümüş,” is very well known in the region.