Ali Tanriyar, fourth year, B. Arch. student shares his journey..."One Gogh"

Ali Tanriyar, fourth year, B. Arch. student shares his journey..."One Gogh"

“I have always had a passion for art and fashion, and my desire to combine both interests and have my own Brand, have always been a dream of mine. Since childhood, my art skills have garnered great attention. I got my first offer for an art gallery show when I was in elementary school. Moving to Miami and experiencing the interest in designer apparel grew my interest in the fashion industry, and I started to closely investigate the different graphic printing techniques being used. With time, I asked myself what was holding me back from not starting my own brand? I realized that by combining my art and my passion for fashion I could get the chance to make a name for myself and compete in the larger, global market.

Although everyone around me loved my designs and for years, classmates and friends wanted to create a brand with me, I got let down several times. I had times I felt insecure about my talent. For many, my effort towards starting my brand was just an 18-year old’s “hard to achieve dream”. Yet, I wasn’t going to give up on what I believed I was good at; I kept working harder, regardless of other’s opinions. I created an expansive, step-by-step plan and I kept doing what I believed in.

The first step I took, was to learn Photoshop to design graphics for my t-shirts. My plan was to start by designing prints for t-shirts and then expand to different types of clothing as I became more successful. I wanted to make unique designs that would affect people’s senses, using different details so that when you touch the t-shirt it gives you the feeling that the object in the image is there in front of you. I worked endlessly, mastering my methods and creating new ideas. By combining my artsy side and my fashion-sense I formed different pieces, each inspired by different themes. I used diverse strategies such as different textures, embossed printings and attached materials to make my designs have / give different feelings. As an architecture major, I had to spend a lot of time in the studio.  Most days I would divide my time working on my architecture project and use my breaks to design new ideas. By the end of sophomore year, I had around 70 designs.

When I went back to Turkey during Summer, I was ready to take my second step – to work with a textile firm and learn how to produce high-quality apparel. I knew the textile firms in Turkey are very developed, so I asked everyone around me for help in identifying the best. While searching for this firm, I was interning in one of the best architecture firms in Turkey, Emre Arolat Architecture.  One day, during a meeting organized by the businessmen club within Galatasaray Sport Club, (a major Turkish club), I networked with businessmen from various industries. During this event, my grandfather gave a speech about his memories of serving as President of the club. This experience gave me an opportunity to network more and work towards my goals. Weeks later, while working on an internship project of designing an airport lounge, I received a call from a businessman I had met at the reception. He told me he really liked my designs and wanted to help me. He arranged a meeting for me to meet with Vahap Tanriverdi, the owner of Mil-May Textile, a big textile firm for well-known, global luxury brands. I was thrilled to hear someone finally saw my potential and believed in me. I met the owner of the firm and he gave me the opportunity to learn more about the industry.

During the meeting, Mr. Tanriverdi guided me through the production process. It was exciting to see the gigantic size of firm and the technology it employed. I really wanted to learn more about all the new machines available in the industry and see how I could use them to produce the embossed, unique printings I had envisioned.  After the tour, we talked about my projects.

I knew it was hard to convince a mega-firm to work with a new producer, but after our talk, Mr.Tanriverdi saw how passionate I was and said that if I really want to be successful in this business I needed to work a lot and learn every step from scratch. He let me go to his production firm and analyze the steps of the process.

While my family was on a 3-week vacation, I stayed in the city and focused on making my dream happen. I used my Summer break to learn more about the fashion industry, worked all Summer without a break and spent long hours every day in the warehouse, examining every detail, closely analyzing all the popular brands and researching how to create my Brand. By the end of the Summer, the prototypes of my t-shirt collection were produced. I received a lot of positive feedback and support. I was very happy to see that people around me were recognizing the uniqueness of my designs.

As my junior year in University of Miami began, I started to focus more on the business side of my Brand, working on advertising, the website, Instagram account and its ultimate launch. I scheduled appointments with numerous retail stores and kept creating new designs. One day, a friend at Harvard University contacted me and told me about Harvard’s fashion show “Identities Fashion Show” and how a show organizer had seen my designs and really liked them. I was invited to participate in this show.

Two weeks later, I flew to Boston for my first fashion show. I was very excited and nervous as this was my first opportunity to present my collection, publicly. When the show started and models walked in with my designs on, I felt very humbled and proud when I heard the audience cheer for me. I had an amazing experience at Harvard and I really enjoyed the event. After the Fashion show, a student approached me and expressed his enjoyment. He said he is the grandson of Emilio Pucci, A Fiorentine Italian fashion designer and politician who founded the luxury Brand, Pucci, and that he could help me get more experience by offering me an internship in their headquarters.

As my senior year is about to begin, I plan on launching my Brand and my two fashion collections to the world. I will keep working on my designs and business model and I am hoping to be part of more fashion shows around the country. I am currently in the process of getting a trademark for my fashion brand name “One Gogh” which will be part of my Tanriyar Inc., my very new company! With time, I am planning to expand my company further and combine other similar industries. When my senior year begins, I will join fashion shows around the country to expose my two collections and get meetings with luxury stores and boutiques. I am also thinking about organizing a fashion show in University of Miami with other students who would like to expose their artworks and designs.”

 

At U-SoA, we are confident that Ali’s tenacity, resilience and keen design sense will make him (and “one Gogh”) a globally renown Brand, very soon!