Interview with Global Luxury Director at Financial Times

Neslihan Erkmenoglu by María Camnar

Neslihan Erkmenoglu was interviewed in her home in Brooklyn, wearing her Pamela and Paco. 

MC: What are your favorite objects to hold? 

NE: My coffee cup or small sharing bowls. 

I drink my coffee in this cup, I have a moment with myself before everything and anything begins. I actually found this cup, but I didn't buy it. It’s a beautiful cup made of a very specific color of clay. It broke a bit, which makes it even more beautiful. 

And bowls: they are the ultimate vessel of sharing. I’m Turkish. Our meals involve sharing. 

MC: What body part intrigues you?

NE: I don’t think I’ve ever thought about this. 

Hips, they enable us to walk and dance. They bring everything together and I love how everyone has different curves in their hips. 

MC: A book that has been on your mind lately? 

NE: Birds Without Wings. It's pure fiction. Everyone is living side by side,Turks,Greeks, Armenians. I didn’t necessarily want to give a policial answer, but I loved reading it. There was no distinction between them, making it so easy to fall in with anyone and everyone. 

Also the Unbearable Lightness of Being, it's so descriptive and depicting of the world, and the mindset of a person, of Milan Kundera. 

Neslihan wears the Pamela Blazer Melocotón with Paco Pant

MC: You are an admirer of beauty. I see it in your work, in your home and when I think of Turkey, one of the words that comes up is beauty, I'm imagining it's the same for you? 

NE: Yes. I see so much beauty when I’m there. I didn’t really grow up there so maybe I have a rosy picture of it but it’s the definition of beauty for me. The Agean sea has a lot to do with that, it’s aspiring and inspiring.That’s why those ceramics that I'm making are blue. 

MC: Did you move a lot growing up? 

NE: I did, back then I didn't really know anything different, but now I really embrace it - I had friends that didn’t like moving around so much, I did, but it was only with time that I realized how special it really is to meet so many people; so I decided to continue to io so in my adult life. It enriches me so much. 
Everyone has a different story and I learn so much from it. When my five year mark of living in NYC came, I had an itch of wanting to move, but I decided to stay still and stay because I knew it was a place that would add, New York always adds, even if you stay still. 

MC: A word that comes up as you share this is friendship. 

NE: It is a common thread in my life. I like to meet people. I have a pretty eclectic group of friends, and I like to make a home where people gather. I like to host, curate the food, the napkins, etc. New York can be challenging at times. We really need our people, and we want our friends to come through, and they do, just not always how we were expecting them to. And that's okay. 

MC: What is a place in the world that your heart deeply cherishes? 

NE: Bodrum, it’s  where everything started, and where everything comes together. Again, the Aegean sea. 

Neslihan at her home wearing 'El Closet'

MC: What is your favorite part of being the Global Luxury Director at Financial Times? 

NE: I love listening to stories. I like to sit down with people and listen.I like to relate to the parts of the brands that make it stand out and make decisions accordingly. Connecting with other people really enables me to be myself. 

When I’m listening, I'm understanding something, when I'm working I'm understanding what a brand does, and then I take the knowledge I have of the Financial Times and find the best way to share the brand's story to our audience. I truly enjoy being able to discover the special and unique parts of a brand, and sharing that. It’s always there.