Les Benjamins
Spring/Summer 2023
‘The Horse of the East’

JUNE 22, 2022 → WORDS ADRIÁN GOMIS EXPÓSITO

The Istanbul-based lifestyle brand Les Benjamins presents its Spring/Summer 2023 collection named The Horse of the East, which draws inspiration from the Western design codes of horse racing and the dressage of its Eastern lineage adding a twist to reinterpret the ceremonial aesthetics with fluid and relaxed streetwear cuts and shapes. 

“When I was living in Dubai, I was in Business Bay, and my house was really close to Meydan, where all the big horse races take place”, says Bunyamin Aydin, the brand’s Creative Director. “Lamia [my partner] would always tell me about her childhood, and how she was inspired by dressing up for the horse races she would attend, and create custom pieces for. It’s just like a fashion show, everyone dresses up.”

Some of the pieces from this incredible collection include the iconic bomber jackets, gorgeous knee-length shorts, corset-shaped tops, a bralette accompanied by a matching maxi-skirt, streetwear shapes everywhere, and of course the brand’s signature Turkish carpet print in relaxed-fit performance shapes as well as in tailoring pieces. The search for the intention behind the ceremonial dress in horse racing is another theme of the collection, seen through tailoring, and hand-crochet details, ceremonial flowers and embellishments. 

The accessories presented in this collection are also incredibly good. We are talking about the metal plates, horseshoes and tassels which are dutifully stitched onto tailored pieces, which allow the designer to juxtapose the aesthetics of Western formality of horse racing with the Bedouin lifestyle. 

“That’s why I called the collection ‘The Horse of the East’, it’s a mysterious approach to who and what the horse is, and what it is about. The horse race and the ceremony”, concludes Aydin.