The Ubiquitous Evil Eye

Evil eyes are found all over Turkey. The blue charm, known as a nazar boncuk, is designed to ward off envy and it’s found on everything. People wear them around their necks, hang them from their doors, stick them on invitations and gifts... I stuck one on the bottom of this blog.

You name it, there’s an app for the evil eye.


From Burnt Amber:

As he closed the door after me, I noticed an evil eye embroidered on his back pocket.
“I’d want to protect that valuable asset too.” I teased.


As illustrated by the quote above, Mavi Jeans (double entendre - Mavi means blue) has adapted the nazar boncuk into their brand, so my favorite place for the evil eye happens to be on the back pocket of my jeans.

The Turkish brand is sending a message: We can be fashion forward and embrace our traditions at the same time. It’s an idea that Istanbul - the city on two continents - has adopted for centuries.

The clip below illustrates Istanbul’s YA generation and their outlook.


Mavi 2010 - Burası İstanbul reklam kampanyası from mavi on Vimeo.

"Evil Eye" is Good in Turkey