For Tarik Gül, style goes far beyond clothes. As a stylist working with some of Turkey’s most recognisable names, he sees fashion as a form of communication: a silent language that can reveal confidence, character and even the parts of ourselves we keep hidden. But away from the world of image, glamour and status, his dog offers a very different perspective on what matters. In this conversation, Gül talks about personal style, unconditional love, the meaning of luxury, and why the way we treat animals can reveal more about us than any outfit ever could.
What do you think personal style represents beyond clothing? What can the way a person dresses tell us about their character?
Tarik Gül: "For me, style has never been just about clothing. Style is really about how a person presents themselves to the world. Sometimes, a jacket you wear, a colour you choose, or the way you carry yourself in an outfit can communicate something you never actually say. I have been dressing people from different backgrounds, with different personalities and from different worlds for years, and I see one thing very clearly: the better a person knows themselves, the more defined their style becomes. To me, true style is less about following trends and more about knowing what you choose and why you choose it. From the way a person dresses, you can read their courage, their need for control, their self-confidence, and sometimes even the sides of themselves they are trying to hide. I see clothing as a kind of silent language."
If you ask me today, ‘What is luxury?’, I would say it is not only the things we own, but also the time we are able to devote to the living beings we have truly formed a connection with in our lives.
You work in the world of fashion, glamour and luxury. Has having a dog in your life changed your understanding of luxury or a good life?
Tarik Gül: "Absolutely. My work, by its very nature, surrounds me with beauty, aesthetics, beautiful fabrics, beautiful spaces and worlds that appear flawless. But when you live with a dog, you are confronted with a much simpler truth: To them, it doesn’t matter where you are, what you are wearing, or what you own. What matters to them is that you are there. And that teaches you another definition of luxury. Time, for example. A quiet hour spent together. Having someone genuinely waiting for you when you come home. An unconditional bond. If you ask me today, ‘What is luxury?’, I would say it is not only the things we own, but also the time we are able to devote to the living beings we have truly formed a connection with in our lives."
What has your dog taught you about yourself that you had not realised before?
Tarik Gül: "I think my dog has shown me that I have a much more protective and emotional side than I realised. I have spent most of my life working, creating and constantly thinking about what comes next. Fashion is, after all, a very fast-paced world. A dog constantly brings you back to the present moment. What happened five minutes ago or what will happen tomorrow doesn’t matter to them. My dog has taught me to slow down a little, simply to be present, and that love does not always have to be expressed through words. Sometimes, just sitting quietly next to each other is enough."
Do you think a dog’s character says something about its owner’s personality? And what does your dog say about you?
Tarik Gül: "I think that over time, you inevitably take something from each other. Sometimes you don’t even know who has transformed whom. If my dog could speak about me, he would probably say that I am much more emotional than I appear from the outside. That I am a little selective, somewhat in my own world, but once I form a bond, I form a very strong one. Perhaps that is something we have in common. We don’t open up to everyone immediately, but when we love someone, we truly become devoted to them."
Today, many people place great importance on image, success and status. How do dogs remind us of what really matters?
Tarik Gül: "Because they have no idea about any of those concepts. They don’t know whether you are successful. They don’t know how many people know you, how much you earn, or what you are wearing. When you come home, they don’t greet your title; they greet you. I think that is a very powerful reminder. Because sometimes we can get lost in the world we have created for ourselves. Achieving more, showing more, looking better. A dog can suddenly make all of that meaningless. They remind you of a few very fundamental things: love, trust, loyalty, affection and time spent together. I think those are probably the things that remain in our memories at the end of our lives, too."
I think this is precisely where one of the measures of a civilised society becomes evident: being able to build a system that protects people while also protecting the vulnerable.
Turkey has recently seen a highly controversial and emotional debate around stray dogs. What do you think a humane solution that protects both public safety and animals’ right to life should look like?
Tarik Gül: "I don’t think that approaching this issue from only one side will lead us to a solution. On one side, there is the safety of people, especially children; we cannot ignore that. On the other side, there is the right to life of living beings who share the same world with us. We cannot see them simply as a ‘problem’, either. The solution I would like to see is a system that does not present killing animals or leaving them uncontrolled on the streets as if they were the only two options. We could establish genuinely effective sterilisation and vaccination programmes, a registration system, sufficient and properly supervised shelters, much stronger incentives for adoption, serious penalties for people who abandon their animals on the streets, and a structure in which the work carried out by municipalities can be monitored transparently. I also believe that decisions regarding animals that pose a danger or suffer from severe illness should not be based on generalisations, but on scientific assessments made by veterinarians. I think this is precisely where one of the measures of a civilised society becomes evident: being able to build a system that protects people while also protecting the vulnerable."
If your dog could describe you in just three words, which three words would he use?
Tarik Gül: "Protective. Hardworking. Emotional. I think he would especially mention the third one. Because there are sides of you that people sometimes cannot see, but you cannot hide them from animals."
Do you believe that the way a person treats animals reveals their true character?
Tarik Gül: "I largely do. Because when the living being in front of you is weaker than you, has nothing to gain from you, and cannot provide you with any status or advantage, the way you treat them says a great deal about you. I believe your true character reveals itself in situations where you have no expectation of receiving anything in return for being kind. Our relationship with animals is exactly such a space. Compassion is not a weakness to me; on the contrary, I believe it is one of the strongest qualities a person can possess."
