While the fashion world braced for the celeb juggernaut of Pharrell Williams’s first show in Paris on Tuesday, a young designer was making his own modest splash with a debut below his own home. Burc Akyol might not yet have the means to shut down the oldest bridge in Paris like Williams was doing for his Louis Vuitton show, but for fashionistas in the know, he is just as exciting a proposition. The 34-year-old’s first show as part of the official Paris Fashion Week roster continued his unique blend of Eastern and Western styles that has already seduced the likes of Cate Blanchett and Cardi B — both of whom have worn his daring dresses.

“We’re not Vuitton, but it doesn’t matter, maybe we will be one day,” Akyol told AFP as he put the final touches to the show. For now, his Paris apartment doubles as his workshop, with a bedroom cluttered with designs. His show took place, as did his previous ones, in the courtyard of his building in the 8th district of Paris. “I find it important to bring my guests to my house, it’s very homespun,” he said. “We manage to make magic out of very little,” he added. One of his flagship dresses is an “all black, very simple lace”, he said as an example.

“We just inserted gold threads into it to be able to make it something special and give it a second life.” Like many of his generation, he sees gender divisions in clothing as pointless and his collection is for both sexes. He chose to present during menswear week because it is currently getting more attention, and is better timed for sales. “Clothing has no gender,” he said. Austere and sexy, Akyol’s outfits reflect his mixed identity. “I was born in France to Turkish parents. When I was outside my parents’ apartment, I became French... and when I was home, I ate and lived like a Turk.”

The son of a tailor, he grew up in public housing in Dreux, an hour outside Paris, with “many immigrants”. “We had a desire for beauty,” he said. He learned to sew at home where the whole family “patched clothes on Saturday nights while watching TV”. Though he grew his passion watching fashion shows on TV, he is happy things have moved online, which is more favorable to emerging talents. “We’re no longer forced to depend on the big media,” he said. – AFP