It would be fair to say that I met Murat Aytulum through this interview. In the fashion world – a space that can feel both remarkably small and surprisingly vast at the same time – crossing paths with certain people sometimes takes longer than expected. Our introduction came shortly after Aytulum unveiled his latest collection.
Founded in 2010, the designer’s eponymous label reflects a creative journey shaped far beyond the boundaries of fashion alone. Aytulum comes from a family from İzmir. As he describes it, his childhood was shaped by the Aegean region’s relaxed atmosphere and strong sense of aesthetics. From an early age, he found himself drawn to visual culture and creative expression.
“Rather than pursuing a single conventional career path, I was always excited by the idea of creating, telling stories and building an atmosphere,” he says.
That fascination ultimately led him to study set and costume design at Dokuz Eylül University. Looking back, Aytulum explains that his initial interest was not clothing itself, but the concept of character creation.
“I was interested not only in how people looked, but also in how they made others feel,” he says. “As a child, costumes, stage designs, old films and photographs always captured my attention. Design has always been a language of emotion for me.”
His university education provided a multidisciplinary foundation that continues to influence his work today. Students were expected to research historical periods, analyze characters, consider spaces and construct narratives rather than simply design garments.
“That’s why I don’t approach fashion design as something purely product-focused,” he says. “I believe every collection should have its own atmosphere, rhythm and memory. Unfortunately, this field has not always received the recognition it deserves in Türkiye, but it gave me a tremendously broad perspective. I still carry the influence of that education with me.”
Unlike many designers, Aytulum did not come from a fashion or textile background. After graduating, he worked across different areas of the industry, building experience before establishing his own brand.
“In the beginning, I worked in various disciplines – styling, costume design and creative projects,” he says. “I wanted to understand the industry from the inside. That process taught me not only design, but also production, communication and human relationships.”
In 2010, he launched his namesake label as a way to express his creative vision more clearly. Women’s fashion, he says, offered a particularly compelling platform.
“It always felt like a freer space for expression,” Aytulum explains. “You can build a more poetic relationship with silhouette, fabric and movement. I’ve always been inspired by the idea of a woman who appears strong without being excessive.”
After spending years working within different parts of the system, creating his own brand allowed him to communicate that vision more directly.
“When you have your own label, you can express yourself more freely,” he says. “Following seasonal calendars and organizing your work around them also keeps you creatively alert. Today, people aren’t only buying a season – they’re buying an emotion.”
That emphasis on emotion is evident in his latest collection, Others, where Aytulum sought to establish a deliberate balance between technology and craftsmanship.
“We used techniques that provided speed and new forms of expression on the digital side,” he says. “But ultimately, I wanted every piece to retain the feeling of a human hand. Sometimes the smallest imperfection is what keeps a design alive.”
As fashion continues to accelerate, he believes consumers are increasingly searching for authenticity.
“Technology has dramatically increased the speed of both production and image-making,” he says. “People are looking for more reality now. They want to feel the labor, the lived experience and the human touch within a piece.”
For Aytulum, fashion remains one of the few creative fields capable of preserving that connection, though he acknowledges it depends largely on the designer’s priorities.
“If you focus only on the speed of consumption, that spirit disappears,” he says. “But if you use technology as a tool while keeping the human story at the center, you can still communicate emotion. Fashion isn’t only about getting dressed. It’s about creating a connection. And the traces people leave behind remain the most powerful detail.”
The conversation inevitably turns to artificial intelligence and its growing influence on the fashion industry. Yet Aytulum does not see AI as a threat to originality.
“In the age of artificial intelligence, originality isn’t disappearing. It is simply changing form,” he says. “Today, everyone has immediate access to images, ideas and inspiration. Naturally, aesthetics begin to resemble one another, which makes personal perspectives even more valuable.”
Where originality was once associated with creating something entirely unprecedented, he argues that today’s challenge lies elsewhere.
“It’s no longer just about creating a new form,” he says. “The real question is how strongly you can communicate your own point of view.”
While AI can generate visuals, offer references and even build compelling compositions, Aytulum believes it cannot replicate lived experience.
“It can produce images and present countless references,” he says. “It can even create very powerful compositions. But it cannot create the feeling of lived experience on its own.”
Rather than diminishing the role of designers, he believes artificial intelligence may ultimately highlight the value of authentic creative voices.
“I don’t think AI will make designers less valuable,” he says. “On the contrary, it will make it easier to filter out work that lacks character. Production is becoming easier, but personality remains the hardest thing to copy.”
DAILYSABAH
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