80-year-old Ali used to be a Turkish doctor and later turned into a tailor in Berlin. He owned 80 suits and never wore the same outfit twice. When a photographer, Zoe Spawton, saw him walk past, dressed stylishly every morning, she decided to capture his outfits. Ali is now the star of the blog What Ali Wore.
Ali, the father of 18 children, has been living in Berlin, Germany for 44 years. He used to be a doctor, now turned into a successful tailor. One day, in 2012, a photographer named Zoe Spawton, who used to work in a cafe in Neukölln, saw Ali, a well-dressed elderly, walking past the window, early morning, around 9.05am. “He was always dressed so stylishly that it was obvious he had put a lot of thought into what he would wear,” revealed Zoe in an interview with Spiegel online.
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Initially, both Ali and Zoe would smile at each other. But after eight weeks, Zoe asked him whether she could take his photograph. Speaking litle english, and broken German, Ali felt proud about it and said yes. “However, somedays, Ali would refuse to be captured, maybe because he would be in a bad mood or he felt like he’s not perfectly attired,” said Zoe.
The photographer didn’t posses any specific interest in fashion. But the fact that an elderly was so well-dressed, that too early morning, told her that it had something to do with his profession.
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Ali is now a star of the blog, “What Ali Wore,” where Zoe would upload his photographs, allowing readers to enjoy Ali’s warmth and creativity. Over the years, Zoe received many messages from readers, saying that Ali reminded them of their grandfather or uncle and how happy it made them to see his photos.
Sadly, Ali moved back to Turkey, and in 2020, Zoe received an unfortunate news of Ali passing away. While in disbelief, Zoe shares a heartwarming post (a last post) on What Ali Wore, expressing how grateful she has been to have cross paths with Ali, and how she would forever remember the joy on his face when he realised that he had become famous.
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| Credits: What Ali Wore |
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| Credits: What Ali Wore |
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| Credits: What Ali Wore |
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