Watch: up close with Dilara Findikoglu’s gothic gang

After staging her debut LFW presentation in a Soho strip club, designer Dilara Findikoglu brought her brand of punk femininity to the neoclassical Sir John Soane’s museum for AW17. The heritage features of the building, once the home of the famous architect and collector, provided the perfect backdrop for the designer’s dark, historical clothing. Of course, it wasn’t all rooted in the past – Findikoglu also premiered a collection of merch for none other than the Lord of Darkness himself, Marilyn Manson.

With its appropriate dark metal soundrack by Ghold, a new film by fellow CSM graduate Alexander Ingham Brooke gets up close with the collection. Complete with a red hue (the designer’s signature colour) and decaying roses, the film captures the clothing’s ‘Welcome to Purgatory’ essence, with the presentation styled by Another Man’s Ellie Grace Cumming. Mixing evocative images of dying roses with cuts of the clothes and painted faces, it could easily be the opening to a Manson music vid.

The film is an ode to Findikoglu’s refreshing anti-establishment energy – the spirit that has made her so interesting to follow (and earned her a nomination for the prestigious LVMH Prize). As she told Dazed in our latest issue: “I feel more comfortable when I fight for it, (when) it’s not given to me. Everything I’m doing is questioning the system and going against it. I think that people are a bit scared to come near me!”

Watch the video below. Music “Despert Thrang” written and performed by Ghold. Published by Ritual Productions.@dilarafindikoglu | @asturinghambrooke