Reckless Heart

"Every designer kind of puts their own soul into the brand. I like imperfection, twisted things, playfulness, recklessness, contradictions," says Istanbul-based designer Gul Gurdamar of her label, Eternal Child. Never immature or ironic, her knitwear rescues the complexity of femininity with the celebrated moxie spirit of youth—a narrative that continues to evolve with each season.

Since its premiere in the spring of 2006, the Eternal Child collection has been noted for its eclectic fine knit structures and unexpected texture combinations. With a background in graphic design, Gurdamar's jacquard prints mark the line's signature style, alongside a seasonally specific woven fabric to complement the knit focus. The designer credits her neighborhood in Istanbul, home to advanced knitting ateliers and a bustling community, as an influence. "The Old Galata district, which is both historical and cosmopolitan, is probably the best place to observe street style," she says. "When you live in such ah intense place, it's not just a residential location, it becomes a part of who you are."

The fall line is called Tea Party, but imagine a get-together full of guests inspired from both 18th-century portraits and Karen Klimnik paintings. The line's child-woman heroine is prim and proper but with a subtle punch, seen in two-piece looks with unexpected volume exaggerations on the sleeves. Allover jacquard knits and intarsia placements were present in the spring line, as well, but the fabric combinations and palettes have changed for the fall. While the spring collection used silk as a complimentary fabric and fluorescents and tans, fall's complimentary fabrics are silk chiffon and lace, and the colors are more pale pinks and plums with grays and blacks. As in Gurdamar's words, "If summer was a lighthhearted St. Tropez lovechild, the winter woman is a
brooding Victorian problem child."

Eternal Child's storytelling knits are fit for the modern girl.