How Burak Cakmak, Dean of Fashion at Parsons, Spends His Sundays
The Turkish-born school administrator starts his day off with espresso-induced exercise, followed by a ritual feast and a visit to a museum.
Burak Cakmak lives alone in the Financial District.CreditCreditGriselda San Martin for The New York Times
As the dean of fashion for Parsons School of Design, Burak Cakmak both oversees the school’s student body and various partnerships with designers and organizations around the world. Mr. Cakmak recently traveled to Kenya and Ethiopia to facilitate a collaboration between the United Nations and Parsons students commissioned to design absorbant underwear for women of menstruation age in refugee camps. Born and raised in Ankara, Turkey, Mr. Cakmak, 43, lives alone in the Financial District.
TURN THAT 6 UPSIDE DOWN Sundays are a day when I’m not rushed to get up, and I don’t bother to wake up until 9. On other days, I’m up by 6. I can’t function without coffee in my system, and the first thing I do is make a cup of espresso. I take it back into bed and read up on all the news happening around the world on my iPad.
CAFFEINE READY Two cups of espresso later, which is usually at around 10, I get out of bed, put on my workout clothes and hit my building’s gym. I try to exercise three times a week. I’m not always successful, but Sunday is a day when I make it. I do 20 minutes on the elliptical and then weights for another half-hour.
FEAST By now, I’m starving. Luckily, Eataly is right next door to my apartment and is the best place to grab food. I pick up a loaf of either walnut or olive bread, some aged yellow cheeses and maybe some chestnut honey, which is beyond delicious. I bring my groceries back home and make a little feast for myself. I combine the honey with some good olive oil and spread it on my bread and have the cheese on the side. I eat on my dining table, which has fantastic views of the Hudson River and Statue of Liberty.
CONNECTIONS Given that I’ve lived all over the world, I have friends all over the world. Sundays is when I catch up with them over FaceTime. Also, my twin brother, Burcak, lives in Montreal, and has 7-year old twin boys, who I adore, so I make sure to FaceTime with them as well.
STUDENTS IN STORES The designs of many of our students are picked up by a lot of small boutiques in the East and West Village, SoHo and Brooklyn, and I try to visit as many of these stores as possible on Sunday afternoons.
ART FIX There is always something happening in New York’s art scene, and I enjoy getting a flavor of the latest. I may visit the Whitney or the New Museum to see the latest exhibition or stop by some galleries in Chelsea.
IT DEPENDS ON THE WEATHER If the weather is nice, I like to go Rockefeller Park downtown, and lie down on the lawn and read a good book. I like both novels and nonfiction books. I just finished “Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow,” which is about how technology shapes the world. When it’s cold or raining, I like to see a show at one of the small theaters downtown.
SOCIAL HOUR I’m lucky that I have a group of close friends in the city, and Sunday nights is when we all connect. None of them are in the fashion world, and it’s nice to take a break and not talk about fashion. Sometimes, we’ll gather at someone’s house, but more often than not, we end up going out. Although we try new places, we have our favorites. Bar Bolonat is definitely one and has a great Japanese eggplant dish and an amazing chicken with pomegranate. Bar Sardine is another favorite. They have great cocktails.
REALITY SEEPS IN Back at home, I start thinking about the workweek ahead. I reply to emails that I haven’t yet, make a mental list of my top priorities for the week and look at what meetings I have.
ESCAPE I rarely watch TV, but Sunday nights are the exception. I have only one television, and it’s in my bedroom. I also have no cable so I watch shows on Hulu or Netflix. Right now, I’m into “The Handmaid’s Tale” on Hulu. I also love finding obscure series from around the world that no one has heard of. I watch till 12:30 or 1 a.m. and feel like I’ve had a total escape from everyday life.
Sunday Routine readers can follow Burak Cakmak on Instagram @burak_ny.
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