The Turkish fashion industry wants to make it big with its own brands and no longer just act as a clothing manufacturer in the background. The Istanbul Fashion Connection (IFCO) trade fair, which took place for the second time from August 24th to 26th, should help here.
So far, Turkish fashion brands have been more in demand in markets such as Russia, North Africa and the Arab world. Now, however, the west with Europe and North America is also to be developed, where Turkish fashion companies have previously been active with their own designs and as producers – but more with the branding of another brand.
One of the driving forces to achieve this goal is the Istanbul Textile and Apparel Exporter Associations, which is behind the new fair, but also other projects such as a fashion school and new brands. According to its website, the textile association currently has 20,134 members. Membership is a requirement for local brands and producers to export their products.
According to IFCO, the current edition of the fair had 15,493 visitors from more than 100 countries – including EU countries, Great Britain, the USA and the Middle East. Of these, 2500 to 3000 were buyers.
“Turkish brands are changing their image”
Currently, the Turkish brands are aimed more at markets such as Russia, the domestic market and the Middle East. However, the European market, which accounts for 70 percent of Turkey’s textile exports, is now being targeted, according to Cem Altan, president of the International Apparel Federation (IAF). “Turkish brands are changing their image because fashion is reviving. They try to make more European designs than Eastern or Russian ones – younger, more modern, different.”
At the second edition of IFCO, however, this reorientation was not really noticeable. Only a few of the 300 exhibitors stood out – the exceptions came from outerwear and occasion wear – which could find a place in the European market. However, these were surrounded by classic robes, lots of real fur and overloaded kitsch. Names like Color Colucci and Narsace, which share similarities with already established brands, could cause confusion.
One of the brands that could be successful with their products in Europe is Ar-ma, a men’s casual brand. However, the Turkish brand is struggling to reach and understand the European market. Ar-ma sees western and northern Europe in particular as the “most difficult market,” said brand manager Berkay Melek. Northwest Europe is particularly competitive for the company. It is particularly active as a brand in North Africa, the Balkans and the Middle East. 90 percent of the capacity is used for its own brand, the remaining 10 percent of production for other labels in France and Germany. In addition, the behavior of European customers is different than in the markets where the company is successful with its own brand. Nevertheless, Ar-ma wants to open up this new market for itself and is researching consumer behavior.
2.2 billion US dollars clothing exports to Germany
Turkey’s garment industry exported $12.4 billion worth worldwide in the first six months of the year, figures from the Istanbul Garment Export Association show. Goods alone worth 7.7 billion US dollars went to the EU. In a year-on-year comparison, growth was 11.6 percent and 14.7 percent, respectively. This year, the association expects an export volume of 23 billion US dollars. The goal is to double these exports.
“As IHKIB, we have increased our goal after the pandemic. We aim to increase our ready-made clothing exports to US$40 billion in the medium term,” said Mustafa Paşahan, Vice Chairman of the IHKIB Board of Directors. The trade fair in particular will help to achieve the goal, according to Paşahan.
In order to promote exports, the Istanbul Fashion Connection also offers seminars and lectures dealing with sustainability, trends and export-related topics such as entering the international fashion market.
Germany ranks first in Turkey’s garment industry exports, ahead of Spain, the UK, the Netherlands, France and the US. In 2020, clothing worth 3.1 billion US dollars was exported from Turkey to Germany. The following year it was $3.5 billion – an increase of 13 percent. In the first six months of the current year, exports are already at 2.2 billion US dollars.
Five brands for Europe and the Next Gen
The Turkish fashion association not only wants to be more strongly represented with existing brands in Western countries, but also to establish new ones. The official goal is to build five new brands that will become the international shooting stars of Turkey’s apparel industry.
The Istanbul Moda Akademisi (IMA) has existed since 2007 to promote its own brands in their infancy. The fashion school was founded by the association with the help of the “Instrument for Pre-Accession Funds I”, an EU funding project for EU candidate countries.
In addition to fashion design, students can also study fashion management, fashion technology and product development as well as fashion communication and media at the academy. There are also some additional courses such as styling, modeling and fashion journalism. About three out of 20 graduates of the IMA design course found their own label, the rest applied for a job in the fashion industry.
Particularly outstanding talents are then promoted by the association and sent to London to study at the London College of Fashion. As part of the New Gen program, the designers will then return to Istanbul and present their collections at the ‘New Gen by IMA’ show during Istanbul Fashion Week.
Video: IMA via YouTube
In order to familiarize the industry with young designers and to bring them together with the fashion school, IMA is also represented with its own stand at IFCO. In addition to information about the training, there is also a trend zone at the fair, which is curated by the IMA. This time the area was divided into the four themes “Filter Reality”, “Unity”, “Belle Epoque” and “Metaheuristic”. The inspiring colours, shapes and materials not only delighted the visitors, but also attracted the exhibitors from their stands.
IFCO plans for February 2023
As with the first edition, the organizers are expecting more than 600 exhibitors for the next IFCO in February 2023. The February edition is larger than the current summer edition, with half the number of exhibitors and a significantly smaller presentation area, due to seasonal fluctuations – due to products such as jackets, which bring in more sales.
In addition, lingerie as well as bridal and evening wear will also be shown in February, which will be presented in a separate hall. The area is seasonally presented in Turkey only once a year. From February 2023 there will also be an additional hall for the sourcing area.
FashionUnited was invited to the IFCO by the organizers.