Interview: Ataberk Kaçar

Hi Seçil, can we get to know you?

I am someone who loves to dance until I am out of breath, who loves to watch the same movie 3 times and try to figure out the director's mind, who lets the music pass through her, who lives with her passions. At the same time, I am an ambitious businesswoman who is stuck in the country she lives in, who feels lonely and mentally tired, who has just turned 35, who has many questions, many things she cannot understand and digest, who is learning how to run a company even though no one taught her, who also designs, who is always competing with herself.

I am someone who has many definitions such as challenger, judgement machine, bi dur abla. I am someone who loves to produce and work and never gets tired of working. As I get older, thinking has replaced physical work and this gives incredible pleasure. I am stubborn, I am not convinced but I never stop and I keep running.

What are you doing these days? Can you tell us about a day in your life? Are there any developments that excite you?

My biggest challenge these days is waking up at 6am :)

I wake up at 7 every morning, go to pilates at 8, dance for at least half an hour on the days I don't go to pilates (without exaggeration) and I'm usually at the office between 10-19.00. One of the most important things in life for me is my routines, they make me feel in control.

Since the preparations for the new season have been intense for the last few weeks, I have been frequently involved in the production side. Of course, my biggest excitement is the September product. Producing something new, thinking about everything down to the smallest detail is something I enjoy immensely.

What do you think about the future of the digital world? Do you think platforms like Instagram and TikTok will continue to grow?

I am more concerned about the dangers of sharing personal lives too much than the growth capacity of the digital world. As private life is shared, the walls are gradually being removed by the audience and this starts to create a very serious border problem and unnecessary encouragement. But of course, when social media is used correctly, we can say that it is the most voluminous system of our age. It would not be right to say anything since I have never been interested in Tiktok, but I feel very lucky especially because I have done a lot of work on Instagram and have seen the capacity from the kitchen. It is a new world, a new culture, and we are the first to discover it.

You have achieved many successes at a young age and continue to do so. What gets you back on your feet when you are demoralized?

I don't think I've accomplished anything yet, I've never seen what I've done as success. I don't see myself as having completed a successful job in everything I know I always have the potential to do better. There are many, many things I dream of besides what we've done. I think it won't remain a dream and we'll do it soon.

As a brand that is developing and learning, we of course make a lot of mistakes and in these situations, the person I am most ruthless with is myself. In some cases, I have to make very quick decisions and that is always a risk. When I make the wrong decision, I get a little demoralized, although not too much, it is true.

Usually, Sude is the one who shakes me out of this feeling and helps me get out of it. Then I put myself in silent mode for a while and just think. After a few days of slow motion, I pull myself together.

You have a close relationship with your sister Sude that every sister envies. Have you always gotten along this well, or were you the ones who would argue secretly with your mother in childhood and return home as if nothing had happened?

I wouldn't describe my relationship with Sude as intimate, it would be more accurate to say passionate. Since we were 10 years apart, I was almost always taking care of Sude, she had taken the place of my babies. We were the closest to each other at home and then I moved to Istanbul during my adolescence and then to New York shortly after. This devastated her a lot, now when I look back I understand better. When I returned to Istanbul she moved in with me after a while and our relationship continued more passionately than ever. We are both very dominant characters but our styles are very different, that's why we never had a calm and intimate relationship, we always fed off passion like two lovers :) But in answer to this question I can say that there is a very secret privacy between us and this is tied with a very tight bond. I am the one who understands her the best, Sude is the only one who understands me the best and it will continue like this.

You have a brand called '10:AM Shop', of which you are the founder and creative director. When were the first foundations of your brand laid, did you decide together with Sude, was it an initiative you had been dreaming of for a long time?

I come from an artist/curator discipline. So putting the pieces together is where I am most professional.

When I left the art gallery where I was last the director, it was time to do something for myself. We decided to give priority to Sude for the first few years, then 10AM came to life, and it has been going on for about 1.5 years. As we do many things together, of course we decided to open a brand together, and she was my biggest support in this process.

I have always maintained that it was my passion to experiment with my own potential and I am still very excited about the things I will do.

What is the motto of '10:AM Shop' in the future? Can you tell us about the DNA that makes you who you are?

The most distinctive feature of the 10AM DNA is its manoeuvrability.

We started the "Great Reset" campaign last August. 10AM is a brand that likes to update itself and reset when necessary, and I really want it to continue like this, we have more energy for dusty shelves. We plan to release limited number of monthly products starting in September.

We are starting with the motto "Unexpected transformation for all of us." for the "FLY ME" jacket that will be on sale this month during the back to school period. Even though we try to convince ourselves that we are back to normal with the return to school, nothing will ever be the same again.

Let's talk a little about fashion. What do you think about the position of Fast Fashion in today's fashion industry? Do you think it is a factor that affects the development of the brand?

I am not a fashion designer, I just bring materials and colors together and it gives me extreme pleasure. Art yes but fashion no, it is not a field I am an expert in. I can only say this; the world is changing very fast, perceptions are changing very fast, even in the last 2 years we have all seen how fast consumer habits are changing. It is inevitable for the fashion sector to adapt to this speed and change, just like every other sector. Let's think we are in a basketball game, seconds are important and you are on the field, those who cannot adapt to this speed can only watch the game from the side of the field. They cannot play this game even if they are very close to the field. In short, it is a choice, either you are in the game or you are not.

Now, let's come to our last question that excites us a lot... Can you give ALL readers special information about the latest member of the '10:AM Shop' family, the varsity jacket? (It can be said if sustainable materials are used etc., it would be great if there is a visual of the collection!)

I think that in the changing world, there is no longer a collection-season perception and as I said before, there will be a new product on the 10AM.shop page every month. This month, we have a varsity jacket, the representative product of back to school.

As nice as the idea of ​​returning to school sounds in our new normalized lives, we continue to ask questions in our subconscious and underline this as 10:AM. As we go through a process where concepts such as returning to school, returning to life, and normalization have become meaningless, we wanted to start our scattered world of thought with a colorful product. It looks like we will continue to be brave about colors.

In these days when we feel like we are on the verge of a radical change; We are waiting ready for flight with the “FLY ME” jacket, without knowing the answer to the question of what awaits us in the future!