Well-known in American music circles, she has appeared onstage at New York’s Lincoln Center production of “The Threepenny Opera” as well as having been part of several successful and long-running off-Broadway shows. She sang Schubert’s “Ave Maria” in the film “Prizzi’s Honor” directed by John Huston and was with the San Francisco Opera Chorus for five seasons. Now living in İstanbul, Ivanoff has turned her hand to a new career: clothing design. Joining the ranks of İstanbul’s exciting fashion scene, she will be taking part in İstanbul Street Style’s next Tahane on Oct. 27 at The Hall in Beyoğlu. Today’s Zaman caught up with Ivanoff as she is preparing for the upcoming Levi’s Design Challenge, a competition to create haute couture using three meters of Levi’s denim. Ivanoff will be the only non-Turk participating in the competition. She is busy preparing her designs which will be featured in two runway shows alongside nine up-and-coming Turkish designers.
How and when did you get started in fashion design?
I spent virtually all of my life in the music business, as a performer on Broadway and off-Broadway in New York, arranger, teacher, producer, concert presenter, and publicist. My last extended contract was the San Francisco Opera, in the chorus for five seasons. While the music making there was truly glorious, I have to admit I had I strong fascination for all the historical costumes we used. I used to sneak up to the costume department and ask everyone how they made everything. I’m sure I was a total pest. After a friend -- actually, a Turkish man -- saw my fabric collection at my house, he said “What are you waiting for?” So two years ago I enrolled in a school in San Francisco to learn pattern drafting. That changed my life. I started to get a sense of where I could go with my inspiration, now coupled with real technical knowledge.
Where do you draw your inspiration from? Do you research in museums, books, paintings? What periods draw your attention?
Seven years ago I camped out in a museum in Vienna to study Secessionist art examples. That was my first exhilarating design brainstorm--looking at the Viennese art posters from 1900, seeing how they revolutionized perspective and detail from what was the established norm of the time. My strongest inspirations right now are the beautiful paintings of the harem ladies and the sultans’ courts in the paintings (circa 1750) of Levni and Buhara in Topkapı Sarayı (Palace), as well as all the pictures of Queen Elizabeth I and Henry VIII of England. That royal clan set the fashion tone for centuries in northern Europe of the most opulent, over-the-top style; employing the kind of painstaking details that have subsequently rarely been duplicated.
Are your creations one of a kind? Are they off the rack, or made to order individually?
At this point, they are only samples. I’m still deciding which direction to go in with the collections, which are not really complete lines. Just a month ago, I started designing for Sultan House in Sultanahmet, to come up with a design line that would be appropriate for the customer base there, as well as satisfy artistic sensibilities, with a Turkish flavor. I’m discovering that my heart is in haute couture, but the job is injecting me with a healthy dose of practicality. There I have my own atelier and the customers are people from all over the world as well as locals. It’s a total dream come true. I’m the most productive I’ve ever been.
As the only foreigner selected for the fashion show on Oct. 27, do you feel any extra pressure?
The only pressure I feel is from within myself, to create something truly awesome. All the Turkish designers are extremely talented and accomplished. I’m thrilled to be in their company. My stuff is perhaps a bit different than theirs, in that it draws on fashion’s past in a more obvious way. It’s nice to be the one that is less about defying tradition and more about using something unique about it.
What challenges do you face with the Levi design challenge?
Will I rise to the challenge? Will it be fabulous? Will Levi’s’ eyes pop out when they see my stuff? Will the audience gasp? I’m such a perfectionist; I drive myself crazy with details, even if a seam is crooked. No, it’s a challenge to outdo myself.
How long do you have to create the designs for this show?
I got the three meters of denim on Oct. 7. The show’s on the 27th. Yikes!
For more information on the Levi’s Challenge and associated events please go to: www.istanbulstreetstyle.com/sahane
Alexandra Ivanoff’s designs are available from Sultan House, Divanyolu Caddesi 60, Sultanahmet, İstanbul; Tel.: (212) 511 9597. For more information on her clothes and background go to www.historicalvogue.com
Benzer Haberler 
