- Jan 11, 2022

Love is in the details

Actress, broadcaster, producer, model… Burcu Esmersoy is as indescribable and stereotypedefying as this issue’s focus, love. She believes it is the trivial details that make love indispensable. We talked about this imminent feeling with Burcu as she donned pieces from Özgür Masur’s Byzantium Collection inspired by historical glamour.

Blaise Pascal says, “The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of.” Do you think it’s possible to formulate love with reason?

Never. I don’t think it’s possible to do justice to love when there’s reason, but it’s true that love has its own set of reasons, an algorithm of its own if you will.

Do you think love is hidden in small details, or do you prefer big gestures?

Small details make love indispensable; little but meaningful smiles, brief eye contact even among hundreds of people, short banters, silent moments, and knowing that the other person paying attention to details - these are all very precious.

Do you think love is eternal, or do you think it has a certain lifespan?

Love lives as long as you let it live. It’s that simple.

When it comes to love, which dominates your personality: the romantic or the realist?

Neither. It’s a side of me that lives in the moment, enjoys her feelings, and is excitable.

What are the five best words to describe love?

Heart, butterflies, energy, desire, delight.

Can you tell us what you’re like when you’re in love? What do you feel, how do you see things? How does love affect and change you?

I’m already a positive person, but I think I become even more energetic and positive. I can describe it as a more peaceful state but also a feeling of not being able to contain myself.

What’s the craziest thing you ever did for love?

I think I did it for my first marriage - leaving my job and my country.

Your favourite love films?

The Lake House and La La Land.

What do you think is the best love song?

“Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?” by Bryan Adams.

Özgür Masur, one of the most prominent and innovative designers in Turkey, focuses on the concept of reality rather than beauty in his creative process. We talked about love and fashion with the designer who says, “I don’t like chasing after anything I don’t love.”

How would you evaluate your relationship with fashion? Is love a part of it?

I have a very emotional relationship with fashion. For me, it’s a space with no obligations where I can freely express myself… What I do and this life intertwined with fashion occasionally increases my heartbeat and sometimes causes a panic attack. It’s a very emotional situation since I begin the story with a conceptual narrative and work towards tangible data. Most of the time, love is a story that defeats you without inner clashes or ambitions. These truly are essential parts of love.

What inspires/feeds you the most in your creative process?

I have never been a designer who struggles to get inspired in this field. What I actually intend to achieve with my designs has to do with the kind of meaning or story I want to associate with the profile of the woman I create in my mind. For me, this happens with the birth of visual and mental accumulation in my visual memory over the years. Generally, research is the biggest part of my creative process. I enjoy doing research and getting to the bottom of things. You learn, and this process turns into an infinite ocean. You just need to know which perspective to adopt. And I think this requires experience. Perhaps, the story I wish to create is provided as a flow -which we call inspiration- into the work I want to construct. Since I don’t really like the word “inspiration” I try not to use it frequently in relation to fashion. I’m one of those designers who believe that you can reach the focal point of your mind with the right references. I move forward with questions such as “What’s your story? What kind of an ending do you want for this story? What do you need to achieve it?” If you advocate that what is true and real is more important than beauty, you can create timeless works. I’ve always followed this path. While including my character and spirit, of course. This spirit is explicitly what makes you stand out among others.

How does being in love reflect in your designs?

Being in love can be defined with several words such as taking possession, focusing, contemplating, and chasing. At least, that’s how it is for me. I don’t like chasing anything that I don’t love or embrace. I don’t think you can have true happiness without love. Love you feel for a person, a plant, nature, your job, and above all else, yourself. These are crucial. I don’t think I could have done anything else. You can never have a successful career if you don’t love, feel, miss, or envisage what you do. For me, this is as certain as “two plus two is four.”

How would you define love?

It’s such a grand feeling that I don’t think its definition varies from person to person. It even produces the same chemicals in all people. It’s a fabulous feeling. Longing, waiting, desiring… For me, it means not being able to stop thinking about that person or thinking about them until you lose sleep.

How much affinity is there in love?

While affinity can be felt for anything and anyone, to what extent is it possible for love? Affinity surely is one of the fundamental feelings of love. It’s one of the most decisive feelings you are left with even after you lose your love. However, when you lose respect, it reveals the true aspect of things. You don’t care about the memories and lose tolerance. I don’t believe in a feature that sets affinity in love from just affinity. It’s the same in everything. Perhaps what makes love special is the chemical attraction you pursue without questioning concepts like gender or race.