‘Kutnia’ is a brand project which aims to revitalize traditional hand crafted fabric Kutnu which belongs to Gaziantep, Turkey. Kutnia is an initiative of Julide Konukoglu which is one of the most influential women of Gaziantep for creating positive social impact. KUTNIA adapts the traditional Kutnu fabric to the modern way of living. It appreciates Kutnu’s almost forgotten value and aims to transfer its heritage to following generations. Kutnu had been used for man and woman clothes in the Ottoman period, also used for furnishing in large cities like Istanbul. Kutnu Fabric can be found in trade agreements of the Ottoman Empire in the early 1900s.
Günseli Türkay has been the creative mind behind Kutnia as the creative director and designer for the fabric, apparel and home textile collections for creating the new world of the fabric as a new brand with soul to create social and environmental positive impact. Her strength lies in her way of merging the traditional fabric along with fresh modern shapes, dreamy colors and silhouettes.
Kimyon is a collection inspired from spices of Gaziantep such as cumin, saffron and turmeric.The idea was to give the mystic east feeling of the spices to the soul of the collection.
For the embroidered items Günseli Türkay has thought of re-imagining the ceramics of Zeugma Museum. Zeugma Mosaic Museum, in the town of Gaziantep, Turkey, is the biggest mosaic museum in the world, containing 1700m2 of mosaics.The museum's mosaics are focused on Zeugma, thought to have been founded by a general in Alexander the Great's army. 'Photos that have been coming out of there show that the mosaics are very rich, very elaborate and truly extraordinary,'' Ms. Kondoleon who is the curator of Greek and Roman Art at the Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts, said. ''It would be a huge shame if we lose this site, especially if we never even see what's there. The whole thing is really upsetting because this is a great, great treasure.
