I've been following the thriving career of Bora Aksu for a while now and I am glad I had the chance to attend his shows during London Fashion Week. This season, as part of my partnership with L'Officiel Italia, I had the huge pleasure of stepping into his backstage for the first time, creating a quick sketch based on his new collection.

For Spring/Summer 2020, Bora Aksu drew inspiration from Persian princess Taj Saltaneh of the Qajar Dynasty. In spite of her title, Taj Saltaneh was a true activist, working for equal rights for women in Iran at the beginning of the 20th century.

The collection is then inspired by her transition from princess to activist, presenting a contrast between simplicity and opulence, hard and soft, feminity and masculinity.

On the other hand, the colour palette is based on the work of Colombian artist Maria Benno and includes shades of coral pink, burnt orange and powder pink.

For SS20, Bora Aksu creates also a capsule of handbags, while sunglasses, provided by Linda Farrow, give a contemporary feel to the silhouettes.

This sketch, created backstage, is part of my London Fashion Week SS20 live illustrated coverage for L'Officiel Italia.