Archive > Issue 34 > Power Dressing

Power Dressing

High fashion meets high politics in Washington’s fabulous kaftans. For boldness, colour and virtuosity nothing can compare with the golden age of the Ottoman kaftan. After months of conservation work to ensure that they could travel safely, the Topkapı lent the Sackler dozens of its mesmerising royal kaftans.

‘Style and Status’ at the Sackler Gallery.

For boldness, colour and virtuosity nothing can compare with the golden age of the Ottoman kaftan. After months of conservation work to ensure that they could travel safely, the Topkapı lent the Sackler dozens of its mesmerising royal kaftans. Here Nurhan Atasoy, the exhibition’s guest curator, unwraps six robes of rank from a show that swept the design world off its feet.

Other Highlights from Cornucopia 34

Land of a Thousand Mansions

A 40-page celebration of the architectural heritage of the Eastern Black Sea Mountains
And Where Shall We Begin?

Maureen Freely looks back on the life of the architectural historian Godfrey Goodwin, who died aged 84.
Championed by the Cavalry

Correct trimming of the stem is the vital first step. Instead of chopping off the hard stem caps, one should trim it into a cone shape, so that the pod then looks like a sharpened pencil and the juices remain trapped inside.
More cookery features
In the spirit’s wake

At last there need be nothing between you and the Bosphorus. Patricia Daunt tells the story of how two architects created Sumahan on the Water, breathing new life into an old Ottoman spirit factory. Photographs by Jürgen Frank