Interview with Dilayla Kopuz Co-founder, Creative Director & Chief Designer of Imperfectionists interviewed by Fernanda Ondarza Dovali GLITCH Founder & CEO.
What motivated you to initiate your brand Imperfectionists?
I wanted to create a life which I do not need a holiday from. The only way to achieve it, was to do what I loved & passionate for.
I was watching an interview of Anna Wintour being asked questions about fashion’s impact on our environment, I got curious and started doing my own research. Which the results got me terrified.
In first year in college, I’ve met with my business partner Olina, whom we share a lot of common interests we always wanted to do something together and for few months it was just an idea until one day in our Easter holiday we took a trip to Cromer, UK and got our coffees and started writing down the idea.
Where does the name Imperfectionists stem from?
[IM]perfectionists both refers to imperfections that we have on ourselves, but the square brackets also enable people to read it in the way they want to. Such as “I am perfection” or “I am perfect”
I believe that what we see as a scar on ourselves is also a strength if we know how to create a good out of it. That is the story behind the name
Who is your brand for?
All our product portfolio is unisex & our sales currently take place in Scandinavia only.
We also like to explain sustainable issues, so we don’t expect our customers to be fully informed on sustainability. We like to be on our journey together towards a sustainable future.
You mention your brands vision consists of Innovation, Sustainability and Ethicality. How are you approaching these individually and how do they uniquely come together?
My creative vision is inspired & led by these three, which also makes [IM]perfectionists core values.
Innovation: We constantly innovate and research at [IM]perfectionists to provide maximum quality for our customers & minimum harm on our environment
I like authentic textiles such as Seaweed fibre and pineapple fibre. My current designs are made from Hemp. I am always in search for the most innovative and least impactful textile.
Sustainability: at [IM]perfectionists we make sure that our production & items have minimum harm on environment. As a designer I don’t use any synthetic fibres due to their contribution to microfibres and by doing this I am aiming to support UN’s sustainable development goals no 14: Life under water.
We only use natural fibres. I have even made sure that our yarns are cotton & all dyes that touches my designs have OEKO-TEX certification.
Ethical production: Our production takes place in a small atelier owned by a married couple in Istanbul, Turkey. We are proudly and ethically produced in Turkey. By being ethical, our aim is to support UN’s sustainable development goal no 1: No poverty. We are a transparent slow fashion brand.
You can see who made your clothes by our website or simply by scanning the QR code on my designs which will lead you to a page that shows step by step how the items is made and by whom it’s been made. Website
On the topic of innovation, how does Imperfectionists define innovation, what makes your brand stand out amongst other brands?
Innovation stands for finding the most beneficial solution which will enable us to provide better quality with least harm on environment.
I do not limit the word innovation just by technology or other words, we constantly innovate at [IM]perfectionists in every single aspect needed. From creative vision to administration.
We like “new” so we aren’t afraid of adjusting ourself to the future.
You mentioned your brand uses 3D campaigns & softwares to minimise waste, how will your brand use technology further to tackle sustainability?
I’ve collaborated with two exclusive 3D designers (Emily Switzer & Gulistan Kavvasoğlu) for creating a full 3D launching campaign.
We currently use CLO 3D prototyping & digital pattern creations to create less samples meaning less wastage caused by wrong prototypes, to achieve much higher quality earlier-on in the cycle, and ability to make decisions based the results. Finally, to reduce carbon footprint.
For the future, we’d like to cut the carbon footprint caused by return rates. Our return rate is low. However, not zero. Therefore, I am currently working for finding the best Virtual Reality try-on options which we can adjust to our website and it can enable our customers to try my designs prior purchase.
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