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I love patterns. The moment I saw this pattern I was immediately drawn to it
When I found this Iznik tile in The Met's archive, I didn't want to just reimagine it. I wanted to build around it the way a fashion house builds around its signature.
A 1578 piece for an Ottoman Sultan's bedroom — I got a little obsessed with how it was actually made. Because it wasn't just one craftsman working alone. The Ottoman Empire had this entire creative studio called the Nakkashane. Designers, calligraphers, artisans — all under one roof, working together, taking one visual language and carrying it across everything the empire made. Tiles, textiles, architecture, manuscripts. The same pattern, different voices.
That felt so familiar to me. That's just how a fashion house thinks.
So I thought — what if I did that with this tile? What if I treated this pattern the way Versace treats the Medusa, or the way any great brand treats its signature? Not just put it on one thing, but build an entire world around it.
So I made it the signature of the brand ; OTTOMAN
I made the typeface the brand would use. I designed the architecture that would house its pieces. I put the pattern on a runway. I made the editorial cover that would introduce it.
The way you turned a single Iznik tile into a full brand world is beautiful—especially the consistent pattern, type, and editorial art direction across the applications.
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[ 🕰️ Relics Of Time ] - bringing the past into the present
before wristwatches became a part of everyday life, pocket watches were one of the most popular ways people carried time with them. but what always fascinated me was that they were more than just timekeeping objects. their beautifully crafted cases, intricate engravings, ornamental patterns and little details made each piece feel like a work of art.
i've always been drawn to objects that carry a sense of history and craftsmanship, so i wanted to explore what would happen if those details found their way into the watches we wear today.
for this project, i explored historical references from the met museum collection, including antique jewellery, pocket watches and decorative objects. i was particularly inspired by their rich textures, colourful patterns, gold detailing and handcrafted elements. instead of simply recreating historical pocket watches, i wanted to take the essence of their design and reinterpret it through contemporary wristwatches.
using these references, i created a custom style in recraft and experimented with bringing antique textures, engraved surfaces, ornamental patterns and vintage colour palettes into modern watch cases, dials and straps.
the collection explores different interpretations of this idea, from rectangular dials with colourful beaded straps to ornate gold cases, detailed engravings, roman numerals and decorative metalwork. each design has its own character, but they all share the same inspiration: the beauty of old-world craftsmanship.
the thought behind this project was simple: what if the artistry of antique pocket watches had evolved alongside modern watchmaking? i wanted to create something that feels nostalgic yet contemporary, as if a little piece of history had found its way into the present.
references: the metropolitan museum of art
#recraftstyleschallenge #recraftai #productdesign #vintageinspired #designexploration #horology #18thcenturydesign
Project Title: Atelier Passo, Luxury Footwear & Heritage Sneaker Identity
Description: Created a complete visual identity and campaign direction for a luxury sneaker and heritage footwear concept. Designed around 1970s warm analog aesthetics, full-grain Italian leather detailing, and premium buyer positioning.
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SILEH KHANA: The Royal Armoury, Reopened
I’ve always loved how much care went into the things Indian royal courts carried into battle. A shield wasn’t just a shield. It was lacquered, painted with flowers, and studded with gold. While digging through The Met and the Cleveland Museum of Art, I kept finding these pieces: a painted shield from Bundi, a lacquered Rajasthani dhal, gold-inlaid helmets with chain mail, a Jaipur necklace, a jewelled turban ornament, and a gold-leaf turban cloth. In the Rajput courts, all of this lived in the sileh khana, the royal armoury. That made me wonder: what if the armoury had a streetwear label? I built one custom Recraft Style from eight of these objects and asked it to design the clothes we wear today. The result is an eight-piece collection, each piece shown next to the archive object it came from.
Recraft project: https://www.recraft.ai/project/583b1a1b-6020-4892-9356-fee838a6092d
Social post: https://lnkd.in/p/dAcBnK6Y
Archive references:
