Burç Akyol’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection, Gülistan, borrows its name from the rose: a symbol of rebellion, dignity, and hope that runs deep through Eastern traditions. More than a floral reference, it becomes the prism through which Akyol refracts poetry, politics, and memory – fashion as an act of resistance.
Rooted in his personal encounters with the Roma community, charged by the theatricality of Galliano’s 2000s spectacles, and softened by the sensual generosity of his mentor and one-time boss, Esteban Cortázar, Akyol’s garments feel both intimate and declarative. They seduce, but they also speak, dissolving the binaries of gender, time, and seasonality.
On the runway, structure met sway. Tailoring – sharp, lapelled, with exaggerated ‘80s shoulders – was undone and retied around the body, offering a more bohemian cadence. This motif of twisting and reconfiguring reappeared throughout: knits tucked into flounced skirts, mini and maxi dresses bound at the bust or hips with taffeta or jersey, each piece reconsidering how garments might hold and release the body.
The rhythm accelerated in bold chromatic clashes: emerald silk blouses melted into beige wool trousers, secured with belts in electric pink; navy satin skirts swayed against crimson tops, their tension punctuated by a flash of gold ruffle. It was flamenco reimagined—not as costume, but as attitude, a choreography of fabric and colour.
Threaded through, Akyol’s signatures – black sheerness, nocturnal elegance – remained present, anchoring the new propositions to a familiar lexicon. Yet here, they were less about ephemerality than about endurance. Gülistan insists on beauty as a form of permanence, generosity as a design principle, and layering as a refusal of cultural erasure. It is a collection that blooms, thorns and all.
Words by Martin Onufrowicz
