At Cachè Istanbul, you can find a skateboard designed in hand-woven carpet motifs or a rug woven in Kütahya. Cachè Istanbul takes its inspiration from Anatolian lands.
Inspired by Anatolian heritage, Cachè Istanbul carries the intertwined stories of these ancient lands into its collections with the clothes they design, especially hand-woven carpets and rugs. We talked to Recep Bozgöz, the founder of the brand, about Cachè Istanbul, inspired by these lands.
Actually, we know you as a director. Tell me about your story.
I grew up in Central Anatolia and I came to Istanbul to study cinema with great excitement, encouraged by the movies I watched in my childhood, without fully understanding what cinema is and how it can be done. And in the intervening 12-13 years, I made short films; they were shown in many countries in Turkey and abroad and received awards. I am currently preparing for my first feature film. Long story short, I am interested in storytelling, and I see myself as a kind of “storyteller”. Sometimes the medium is cinema, sometimes photography, sometimes carpet. Exploring after the stories I am interested in contributes to my self-esteem.
How did you find the Cachè Istanbul?
During the preparation process of this movie was taking a long time, I was thinking about what else I could do. Because I enjoy life when I am involved in more than one creative process. With this question, I had the opportunity to look back to my childhood, to my “essence”. Thanks to the question, I had opportunity to look back to my childhood, to my “essence”, I remembered that my mother and the house I grew up in wove carpets. I remembered that the house I grew up in wove carpets, that my mother wove carpets. And without doing any other research, I instinctively wanted to go on an exploration with “hand-woven carpets”. So, the first seeds of Cachè Istanbul were sown in August 2022.
Where does the name come from?
Cachè comes from the film of the same name by Haneke, one of my favorite directors. Cachè means “hidden” in French. Cachè came together with the idea of incorporating into modern life whatever is hidden and idle in Anatolia, in our common culture.
Tell me about the production and creation process.
The idea starts to grow and form itself at the moment it comes to mind. Then the production process begins with our producers in many cities and villages in Anatolia. Hand-woven carpets and rugs reach our hands at the end of the weaving process, each of which takes an average of four weeks with great labor. For us, they are unique “artifacts” rather than products.
Your collections include carpets and rugs. Did you work with local producers from Anatolia?
Hand-woven carpets and rugs are our starting point. Our aim is to keep this culture alive and proudly represent the modern Turkish carpet all over the world. We want to tell modern stories with the deep-rooted techniques of hand weaving. All our producers are artisan women from Kütahya, Uşak, Osmaniye and Konya. We believe that we created this story together with them and we want to make them feel this story by sharing it frequently on our social media accounts.
How would you summarize Cachè Istanbul in three words?
Can it be four words? “Same Anatolia, New Cachè!” This is our motto. “Make Anatolia Great Again!” is another motto that reflects our fun in the story.
What kind of pieces do we see in your new collection “Rug Dealer”?
The idea for Rug Dealer came out of the interest in our hand-woven carpet designs. Inspired by our carpet and rug designs, we made many different products that can harmonize with them. We made Nazar Blazer, Nazar headpiece, handcrafted ceramic plates, lace shirts. New here, in collaboration with Pia Yuli, we made jewelry handmade by artisan craftsmen in the Grand Bazaar. We combined carpet and rug motifs in all products such as necklaces and earrings.
How did you come up with the idea of working with skateboards?
The idea of making skateboards out of carpets came about because I thought it would reflect the vision of the brand. When we think of hand weaving, we usually think of floor exhibitions. We wanted to show that we can combine everything with this culture.
What impresses you about Anatolian culture?
In Anatolia today, people continue to produce with techniques inherited from their elders. And when they produce them, they do so with the same stability and serenity they have for centuries. Far from the ambition of the city, they produce because they cannot think apart from their own essence. I believe that the most important compass of human beings is the “essence” within them. For this reason, I always keep an eye on the human stories of Anatolia, our common value, and the value they add.
Do you have any new projects in the near future?
We are preparing a new mini collection that we are very excited about. As Cachè Istanbul, we want to be present in every field, especially in areas that attract people’s attention. I can say that we will see the slogan “Make Anatolia, Great Again!”.
