At a time when escapism is the order of the day, we journey back to the psychedelic rock movement of Turkey circa 1970, courtesy of Les Benjamins.

Luxury streetwear has been all the rage for the past few years, but just as we saw its popularity wane ever so slightly, it bounced back with a vengeance in 2020.

Because, yes, coronavirus. The pandemic has changed a lot about our daily lives, and our shopping habits are no exception. We’ve swapped our suits for sweatshirts, our stilettos for sneakers. But these ups and downs in the realm of athleisure have nothing to do with Bunyamin Aydin. The founder and creative director of Les Benjamins started out humbly – with a project centred around 30 printed tees, to be specific – and quietly rose through the ranks, eventually showing at Milan Fashion Week and partnering up with the likes of Puma.

Today, in the midst of a relentlessly complicated year, the luxury streetwear label has a lot to celebrate, the recent launch of its online store and unveiling of its Autumn/Winter 2020 collection included. Entitled Wild Wild East, it stays true to the Istanbulbased brand’s interpretation of the East from a unique point of view.

Here, subtle nods to Anatolian culture can be found via colours that range from icy grey and pale yellow to pomegranate and denim blue. As an ode to the red tulips of Istanbul, they are traced in thread embroidery across velvet or printed over cotton shirting, and the signature Les Benjamins carpet motif becomes jacquard knit dresses, scarves, and plush sweaters. Meanwhile, the contoured panels of sleeves and trousers in a collage of textiles recall the psychedelic graphics of 70s vinyl covers. And since Bunyamin reminisced on distant teen dreams of rock and roll stardom and reimagined the potent energy of youth to create the collection, rock tropes continue in archetypal details and silhouettes – think: smooth leather trench coats, fringed sleeve trims, appliqué crystal detailing, and shaggy faux fur. Like the talent behind it (Bunyamin has lived in Turkey, Germany, and Switzerland), Wild Wild East may have Turkish roots, but it seamlessly blurs the lines between East and West. ✤

SHOP THE STORY AT WWW.LESBENJAMINS.COM