For its Fall/Winter 2021 collection, LES BENJAMINS takes racing culture as the starting point and marks a return to its cultural roots.In this sense, the collection designed by Bunyamin Aydin, LES BENJAMINS’ Creative Director, explores Turkish rally culture from the 70s and 80s and pays a tribute to Turkey’s rally icons Renç Koçibey, Serdar Bostanci, and Ali Sipahi. Les Benjamins women’s collection was inspired by a fusion of Turkey’s rally heritage and French pilot Michèle Mouton’s iconic style.
Classical racewear codes are subverted to set new standards, and, as such, the dynamism of motorsport-inspired clothingis merged with athleisure to create a new sense of proportion and function.
Defined in two chapters —‘’rally-style’’ and ‘’crash & repair’’ —the collection’s garments narrate the entire cycle of a rally, from the pilot’s mental preparation to the actual race. In this context, style and performance are the collection’s spiritual and functional pillars and are translated into a rich range of tailored silhouettes, experimental textures, and bold patterns in earthy hues with eye-popping dashes of magenta.
Juxtaposition is key this season, which is why vintage racing uniforms are reinterpreted with a sharp street culture twist. The track clothes mimic the actual rally in its boldness and stark contrasts: while going through this Fall/Winter 2021 collection, one can perfectly imagine how heavily-modded cars emblazoned with bright sponsor logos engage in off-track racing punctuated by jaw-dropping, wild landscapes and occasional wrecks.
