About Elif Kavakci:
Elif Kavakci was born in Ankara, Turkey . In 1988, along with her family, she moved to Dallas, TX. She completed her education at the University of Texas at Dallas where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. She is currently enrolled in fashion design classes at El Centro College. Her hobbies include horseback riding, ice skating, and riding roller coasters. She is married, and a mother of 2 beautiful girls, Janna and Sidra.
A Message from the Designer:
Assalamu Alaikum, Peace Be Upon You
Welcome to Kavakci Couture! Everyone is curious to know how our label evolved. I was born in Ankara, Turkey. My parents were both highly successful and respectable professors at Ataturk University in Erzurum, Turkey. My mother was forced to resign from her position at the university in order keep wearing her hijab, or Islamic head scarf. However, she wasn't the only member of my family who was effected by the scarf ban. My oldest sister Merve, was prevented from completing medical school for the same reason. After completing her education in Dallas. My sister Merve, in order to fight for religious freedom in Turkey, ran for elections for member of parliament. She was once again prevented from taking her oath and becoming a Member of Parliament because of her hijab. (www.mervekavakci.net). She became an internationally known heroine for her strong stand and her fight for religious freedom in Turkey. Because of our strong religious beliefs and unwillingness to compromise our religion for anybody, my family decided to relocate to Dallas, TX , a place we now call home. When we moved, I was only 12 years old. Having realized the beautiful freedoms of living in America, I decided to start wearing hijab.
Living in the states, it was almost impossible to find clothing that allowed me to cover my body, as my religion mandates, and to also be modern. I was young and active in sports as well as extracurricular activities. Since I was the only girl wearing hijab at my school, I wanted to be stylish as well. Since people were already staring at me, I wanted to show them that I could dress Islamic and look chic at the same time. It has been my dream since I was a little girl to design fashionable Islamic clothing for women. I experimented with different combinations of clothing and materials, and different ways of wearing my hijab to make it look much nicer. Through this process, my own style emerged. I had several influences which included my Islamic heritage, my Turkish origin, my American lifestyle, and my upbringing in a house full of strong women. All of these elements played an important role in allowing me to be free and innovative in my designs.
In May of 2008, Peacemakers Incorporated requested me to do a fashion show in order to fundraise for their organization. I was ecstatic. This had been my life long dream. I now had the opportunity to show the world that the Muslim woman can look stylish and elegant, and is always proud of her Islamic attire. Because this was a project too big for me to handle on my own, I asked all my friends and relatives to help make this dream possible. As our numbers grew, we became a team, a team we liked to call Team Kavakci. I am grateful to our team and very thankful that with the help of Allah we could bring about a life long dream of a young Muslim girl who decided to honor her religion through hijab.
We named our first show "Covered in Style". This show is targeted towards an audience that wants to know the real face of the Muslim girl. Our clothes will be modeled by young Muslim girls who are active in the community. They come from different backgrounds, cultures, and upbringings. They are the real faces of the American Muslim women of the 21sth century.
Come and join the fun to experience a collection that has never been done.