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Les Benjamins: A Success Story
Les Benjamins has long become a phenomenon that everyone has heard of and has come to dominate. Behind Les Benjamins becoming a global brand within 10 years lies a wonderful and delightful success story. Let’s take a closer look at Les Benjamins.
Which Country’s Brand Is Les Benjamins?
Although there’s a French touch in the brand’s name, Les Benjamins is a truly Turkish brand. One of the most curious and frequently asked questions about the brand is: who does the Les Benjamins brand belong to?
Les Benjamins was founded in 2011 by Bünyamin Aydın with a capital of 10–15 thousand euros.
How Was Les Benjamins Founded?
Bünyamin Aydın is a Turkish citizen born in Germany, just like millions of Turks, because his grandfather had gone there as a guest years ago. In migration situations, a cultural shock is quite common. However, Bünyamin Aydın’s family kept Turkish culture alive at home without ever losing it. For Bünyamin, it was like being in Germany when he went out, and being in Turkey when he came home.
When he moved to Turkey with his family at the age of 12, the Turkish culture and country he had only known from afar captured his incredible interest. His admiration for Turkish motifs kept growing within him.
As his education life took a bit of a winding path, his family fully supported him and gave him a small amount of capital so he could set up his own business. With that money, he bought a ticket to Berlin and a small collection stand, laying the foundation for Les Benjamins.
Including Turkish motifs in his stand and collection designs, Bünyamin Aydın received an order from the famous luxury brand Harrods—an incredibly motivating event. That moment became a turning point for Les Benjamins.
After returning, Aydın set up his company and started and finished the designs. He was always chasing bigger goals. Studying advertising and marketing made it easier for him to apply event analyses and marketing strategies. He wanted to sell his brand and his designs.
Later, with an incredible runway show he held in Milan, he managed to make a name for himself all over the world. This intriguing show featured whirling dervishes and entirely Turkish motifs, and it was discussed in Vogue magazines around the world. This helped him grow even further, and he received an offer from Nike.
Bünyamin Aydın is the first Turk to design for the Nike brand. Staying true to his line and style, Aydın created a design for Nike’s most loved and best-selling AirMax model. After combining the AirMax 97 model with the VaporMax sole, he crowned it with a Turkish carpet motif.
After that, he also started working with famous brands such as BMW, Magnum, Beşiktaş, and Coca Cola.
What Does Les Benjamins Mean?
The origin of the name Les Benjamins is a pretty lovely story. In Germany, Bünyamin’s friends used to call him “Benjamin.” He initially wanted to open the brand as Benjamin, but since an American music group had already taken it, he added “Les” to give it a French touch.
The Mystic Journey Collection
The name The Mystic Journey, which he gave to his 2022 Spring/Summer collection, comes from the fact that this year’s collection was truly designed with a mystical atmosphere. This year, Aydın wanted to add a mystical feel by featuring topics such as deserts and oases in his designs, where he highlighted Middle Eastern figures in a very direct way.
Font Change
Until today, the brand had never changed the writing font of “Les Benjamins.” This year, within the scope of Mystic Journey, it made changes to the typeface in some of the designs, though not in all.
In the designs that resemble an Arabic version of the Latin alphabet, the brand name Les Benjamins and the motifs accompanying it stand out quite a lot.
Staying True to the Classic
Although Bünyamin Aydın put his signature on a different and amazing design with Mystic Journey, he also has hundreds of customers who love the classic and simple style of Les Benjamins. In his 2022 Spring/Summer creations, he also included classic Turkish motifs and simple designs.