7 Hills, 7 Scents: A Healing Ode to Istanbul at London Fashion Week

When science meets scent, and fashion embraces the wisdom of nature, something extraordinary begins to unfold—silently, but powerfully.

This September, London Fashion Week will play host to more than a runway show. It will become a stage for healing, heritage, and the enduring power of women’s collaboration. Enter the evocative “7 Hills, 7 Heals” collection—born from a partnership between Barrus, the revered Turkish fashion house, and Art de Huile, the aromatherapeutic wellness brand founded by pharmacist and aromatherapist Hülya Kayhan.

An Invisible Thread Woven Through Fabric and Memory

Inspired by the seven hills of Istanbul, each scarf and shawl in the collection carries not only colour and pattern, but also a fragrance story—a breath of the city captured in organic aromatherapeutic notes. Developed by Kayhan, who trained at King’s College London and brings over two decades of pharmaceutical and botanical expertise, the scents are infused into fabric using cutting-edge nanotechnology. Activated by body movement, they release subtle waves of aroma designed to soothe the senses and balance emotion.

No need for perfume—each garment becomes a wearable sanctuary.

A Fusion of Feminine Energy and Future-Forward Textiles

The collection is the brainchild of Barrus’s creative director Neslisah Yilmaz, whose signature aesthetic blends Ottoman opulence with sculptural modernity. In collaboration with Art de Huile, she introduces not only a visual language of flowing forms and layered textures, but an olfactory one too—each piece telling the story of a hill, a feeling, a healing.

“This is not just fashion—it’s medicine for the soul,” says Kayhan.
“We’re offering a reminder that what we wear can affect how we feel, how we relate to place, to self, to others.”

In a time when wearable tech is often associated with wires and screens, 7 Hills, 7 Heals proposes a gentler future—where biotextiles and emotion-led design guide us toward balance rather than distraction.

Royal Footsteps, Real Women

The collection will debut on 19 September 2025 with a high-profile runway show during London Fashion Week SS26, featuring none other than Lady Amelia Windsor, Lady Victoria Hervey, and Juliet Mayhew of The Real Housewives of London. Their presence is not mere spectacle—it reflects the collection’s ethos: beauty with depth, lineage with vulnerability, and style with spiritual intent.

“Having these women walk for us is a celebration of contemporary femininity,” Yilmaz notes.
“They embody complexity, strength, and a refusal to be boxed in—just like the city that inspired us.”

The City Stitched in Scent: A Manifesto in Silk and Scent

Each of the seven pieces in the collection carries:

• A distinct healing scent, rooted in traditional Turkish botanicals

• A colour palette echoing the mood and light of a specific hill in Istanbul

• A postbiotic textile treatment, aligning fashion with microbiome-friendly living

• A commitment to sustainability, women-led production, and slow luxury principles

It is fashion at the intersection of memory and modernity, echoing an Istanbul that is feminine, fragrant, and fiercely alive.