A Visit with
Designer Omar Baban
in Istanbul

(Maison Ë Visit) Istanbul is a city of opposites—modernity is mirrored by tradition, and secularism stands shoulder to shoulder with conservatism. Women in miniskirts and women in headscarves walk together, side by side. The dilapidated facades of historic structures stand next to newly built and opulent buildings. Ordinary citizens discover Byzantine relics whilst renovating their homes. Instagram influencers take selfies in newly opened cafes with a Japandi aesthetic.

Istanbul is everything at once, reinventing itself constantly.

From the historic Pera neighborhood with its European neoclassical architecture, we travel down to the Karaköy port, across the Golden Horn to Zeyrek, across the Bosphorus to Kuzguncuk—and beyond. Along the way, we encounter the people and places defining the pulse of contemporary Istanbul culture.

Such as designer Omar Baban, whom we visited in his Istanbul studio.