FOUNDER ZEMRA ACARLI
Nickname ZEMZEM
(BBC Feature: Turkish Traditions & Trade)
" Zemra Acarli always dreamed of owning a fashion line that bridged both cultures."
A dream, a label operating mainly between Zürich and Istanbul.
By starting her own label, ZEMZEM ATELIER, Zemra Acarli born and raised in Germany with a Turkish background, fulfilled her childhood dream. The brand, found in 2010, combines the traditional Turkish needlework techniques with the modern vision of luxurious Designs in an extraordinary way.
Zemra Acarli majored in Diversity Management in her Masters of Business Administration studies. She worked for several years in the Marketing business with her own company in Austria and Switzerland. After deciding to make a new start with the fashion label as her lifelong dream, it was always her aim to combine her marketing and management skills with her fashion sense. To establish not just another fashion label that surrenders to the merciless fashion cycle was her initial goal. With getting to know the people around her and being curious about the ancient handcraft methods of centuries, the design signature of ZZA was in the making. "In a time where mass production all over the world took over, and handcrafts are likely to disappear, ZZA brings back the tradition of handcrafted items. The aim is to renew the appreciation for handworked products in order to give the user an understanding of beauty." Zemra Acarli explains her intentions.
In every collection, she includes an open and curious way of perceiving things is reflected. It is also the expression of the creative richness that Zemra Acarli is carrying in herself as a modern nomad wandering between the cultures.