Founders

MOTHER DAUGHTER DUO

Our story is about a strong bond between a mother and a daughter, who have been through some though times and come out stronger together. For us life is all about family, sharing, love, trust, dreams and happiness, and we manage to find all that in making hats and sharing them, with wold. We are two entrepreneur women, who started a dream in Istanbul, 2013. The dream grew bigger and with the strength of our bond and belief in each other we packed everything and moved to London in 2016 chasing our dream. We know how lucky we are to have each other and have such an amazing relationship so we try to reflect that to all our projects but especially to our hats.

LOVE OF HATS

As a mother and daughter, we are both vintage style lovers. From the 1920s “flappers” to the 1960s “modern women”, the styles and the details in everything are something to be adored. We have a keen eye for detail when it comes to tailoring, thanks to our grandmother, Kubra. Hand stitching and good quality fabrics mean long-lasting garments.

We started our story to create garments with quality over quantity in mind. The truth is, we have some amazing designers and tailors in Turkey, so it was impossible to compete with that. Well, while we were working on different aspects of fashion, the empty space for hats in the Turkish Fashion world and the freedom of hat-making were irresistible, especially because we both loved hats anyway. So we decided to set up our business.

GRANDMOTHER

Even though she left us before we launched Merve Bayindir millinery, it would be unfair not to mention Grandmother Kubra, who taught both of us how to tailor. She graduated from a kind of ladies' school called an institution back in her time in Turkey. The school was for teaching ladies how to be tailors and cooks, and to take care of their households as well as themselves. Grandmother made sure to pass these on to her daughter and granddaughter.

MOM

Yasemin Bayindir, daughter of a veterinarian father and a graduate of the Institute of Villages (a finishing school for young women at the time in Turkey). Born in Passinler, 16th of September 1957. Graduated from Bogazici University with a degree in Industrial Engineering in 1980. She is a strong feminist who loves oil-painting portraits, making stuffed toys, baking, and coming up with new business ideas. She is a true entrepreneur. She is a mother of two and a grandmother of another two. She has an elegant, sleek and refined taste that reflects on the brand.

DAUGHTER

Merve Bayindir, daughter of an interior designer father and an industrial engineer mother. Born in Istanbul in November 1980. Graduated from York University with honours in Psychology and Humanities. Loves all animals, writes children's stories, and was the mother of a dog. She has a constantly changing style in accordance with her mood, but always with a touch of vintage inspiration that reflects on the brand.