The enchanting craftsmanship of Göbeklitepe turned into a new collection with Başak Dizer Tatlıtuğ’s designs…

We have a mini-interview with Başak Dizer Tatlıtuğ, the designer behind the new Göbeklitepe Gold Collection.

Come and discover this delightful and fascinating collaboration with us.

Who is Başak Dizer Tatlıtuğ?

After completing her fashion design education at Milan Moda di Burgo, she studied fashion design at London Saint Martins. She started working as a male design assistant at Vakko/Vakkorama after returning to Istanbul. After 3 years, she moved to Bilsar as a designer and prepared special collections for many years. Together with Deniz Marşan, she established a styling, showroom, and style consultancy company called Room Showroom in 2013. They are still providing styling and collection consultancy for popular TV series and movies on TV & digital platforms, collaborations with famous artists, advertising campaigns, and brands.

What does jewelry mean to you?

Everything is part of a whole for me: fashion, design, trends, art, and architecture. Jewelry is just another part. First, as a designer and then as a stylist, I know how important an accessory is and is a must-have element to the entire outfit. That’s why jewelry is a passion and a point of curiosity for me. I consider jewelry as a work of art like small sculptures you can wear on your body. They complete the outfit and it’s always fun to design and wear. They have a sentimental meaning that will carry on for generations.

How did you come up with this collection?

I was already a fan of the first collection they made about Göbeklitepe and was using it myself. I was deeply moved by the magnificent ruins we saw when we first visited the place. It’s fascinating to think that humanity actually started on these lands… I wanted to be a part of the collection as a designer when I was first introduced to the new figures that belong to this culture. We turned them into a different and flamboyant collection with people who are masters at this work. They supported us in different regions of Türkiye. We have amazingly valuable masters in gold and diamond crafting. I became even more enthusiastic and courageous when I saw what they could do.

Luna Merdin's gold collection and Göbeklitepe theme are like the starting point of valuable artifacts that will be carried on from one generation to another. Our reference is also the miraculous symbols that have been hidden for centuries and have just shown their face to us. They come to life in a different dimension when we added gold and diamond to their beauty. Now we can wear them and feel the mystery on our aura. A magical collection that extends from the hand of the masters of Mardin to the present day as jewelry.

You set out from the ruins of Göbeklitepe and used new figures and talismans. Can you explain that a little bit?

The figures we use in the collection were selected from the remains found in the region and from the works of historians and scientists who researched Göbeklitepe. The ruins here are thought to be a temple built for a belief system. For the first time in history, a hunter-gatherer society built a temple before it settled down. Every figure and every symbol used on this temple has a meaning. Historians have some
predictions for these symbols, although the exact meanings are not specified.

We have selected five figures for this collection. We call them talismans.

  • Bird Man, Power Amulet,
  • Snake, Life Energy Talisman,
  • Diamond, Talisman of Balance,
  • Hands, Novelty Talisman and
  • Spike, Talisman of Harmony.

Which talisman impressed you the most?

The talisman that impressed
me the most is Spike because this figure is very important for this land. The first people who came here to worship settled down thanks to the wild wheat
here. They used beverages fermented from wheat obtained from wild wheat here in
their rituals. Spikes can bend and stay afloat in any storm. They symbolize flexibility and harmony. We believe that the spike talisman of this ancient
civilization can make you survive by bending and flexing in difficult
conditions in your life, and you can adapt without breaking and falling apart.

The main material of the collection is gold. What materials and stones did you use in addition to gold?

Yes, we used gold. Gold is the most important mineral that balances body energy. Natural stones are also believed to increase body energy, Crystal Quartz and Onyx are one of the prominent materials in the collection.

Crystal quartz helps you feel energetic by preventing the loss of strength and vitality. It balances your emotions and clears your energy and aura. It boosts concentration.

Crystal Onyx encourages positive thoughts. It’s good for depression and provides motivation. It’s effective against stress as it is a grounding stone.

We specifically left the backs of the stones open. You can feel the energy more when you let them touch your skin. We draw on these natural stones with special pencil handwork. We increased their brightness by using white and black diamonds on the jewelry and used black and white colors as enamel. Black and white colors dominate the collection.