Turkey has been a supplier country for a large number of international fashion companies for decades and is also structured in the trade fair sector in such a way that manufacturers who not only produce clothing but also have their own brands can present themselves to the audience – especially buyers from the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
The fifth edition of Istanbul Fashion Connection (IFCO), organized by Itkib, the Istanbul Textile and Clothing Exporters Association, ended on Saturday, February 10 in Istanbul. The next edition will take place from August 7th to 9th, 2024.
FashionUnited was invited to the trade fair and had the opportunity to get close to this market and talk to producers and designers who were guests at the event. Over 600 exhibitors and brands gathered on 100,000 square meters of exhibition space with their collections for women, men, babies and children as well as denim and activewear, underwear and hosiery, occasion wear as well as bridal wear, leather and shoes.
Türkiye is the EU’s third largest supplier of clothing and textiles
The organizers expected more than 30,000 visitors, including buyers and industry experts; however, the final figures have not yet been announced. What is certain is that Turkey represents an important reference point for the fashion industry and trade in Europe.
As the third largest supplier of clothing and fabrics to the EU, Turkey offers clear competitive advantages, emphasized Fatih Zengin, deputy secretary general of Itkib, the Istanbul Association of Clothing Exporters. “I’m talking about short lead times, manufacturing quality and customization,” says Zengin.
In the “The Core” area, 25 Turkish designers presented themselves who export their small productions to the USA, Europe and the Middle East. This also included the Nej brand, founded by Nej Nejla Güvenç. A pioneer of the vision of “sustainability in fashion” in Turkey, the designer was part of the design teams of various Turkish brands for many years and later founded the sustainability-inspired brand Nej in 2002. The Itkib-backed designer also works as a consultant for Turquality, a government program aimed at promoting companies’ own brands, not just increasing exports.
Gots certified fabrics (Global Organic Textile Standard) and EcoBamboo are among the materials used for the Nej collection presented at IFCO. The items of clothing cost between 160 euros for a sweatshirt and 400 euros for a coat.
Other brands that were represented in “The Core” area also include Armine, Gizia, Kayra and Viola&Vesper. Viola&Vesper, founded by Ece and Ozge and characterized by evening dresses and glamorous pieces that can be made more everyday by combining them with jeans and more sporty pieces, exports mainly to the Middle East. Ece, the label’s creative soul, told FashionUnited that she graduated from Parsons School of Design and continued her career with Vera Wang, Zac Posen and Yazbukey.
“Sequins, rhinestones, feathers and extravagant details are the basic elements of our timeless collections. Viola&Vesper represents two opposing personalities that live in every woman. Sometimes they can feel like Viola, inspired by Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, mystical, natural, passionate and determined. At other times they can feel like Vesper, inspired by James Bond’s one true love, Vesper Lynd, bold, flamboyant, spontaneous and fearless,” the founders explained.
Trend area is dedicated to introspection
IFCO has dedicated an ad hoc section to Trends designed by the Turkish fashion school IMA (Istanbul Moda Academy), a member of the International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes. The theme for Fall/Winter 25-26, “Introspect,” dominated the room. Individual commitment to creating a better version of ourselves, combined with assistive technologies and artificial intelligence, should serve as an accelerator for ideas and creativity. The focus was on design psychology.
In addition to an area for designers, IFCO hosted a pavilion dedicated to the most established brands and manufacturers. Including Cebir Giyim with the Maraton Sportswear brand. Founded in 1992 by four brothers led by Celal Kaya, the company started in a small tailor shop in Laleli and began producing tracksuits.
Subsequently, Cebir Giyim took over the Maraton Sportswear brand in 2000 and the men’s group design team was founded in 2001. Today Maraton Sportswear has over 100 employees, 5 stores in Laleli and Merter and a growing market share. “We are opening up new markets,” confirms Neze Hat Aksoy, export, import and legal manager, highlighting the company’s work to make the garments intended for sports increasingly comfortable through the use of high quality materials, many of them Italian like Fulgar.
“We also work with many of Nike’s suppliers and decided some time ago to print the labels in bas-relief directly on the fabric to prevent the heel tabs from interfering with skin contact.” The manager added that the company is working on the The introduction of the digital passport is working: “It will also prove to be very useful in combating counterfeiting.”
In Italy, the Camomilla brand has as a customer the Turkish company Yüksel Textile, which also produces the Aj 81 and Yxl Collection brands. Nury Yüksel from Yüksel Textile Group explains: “The first market for our company is Germany, followed by the USA, Belgium and Ireland.”
Children’s fashion brands are increasingly focusing on sustainability
The Turkish company Ozmoz Clothing offers children’s clothing and until last year counted several Italian children’s fashion brands among its customers. “With this new collection, we have expanded our commitment to garment sustainability,” said Mahir Ozden, vice president of Ozmoz, whose resume also includes a doctorate in textiles. “To save water, we use a process that does not require us to wash the garments after printing, but rather sets them with heat.” In addition, organic cotton is often used for children’s clothing lines. “The price is a little higher: it ranges from 30 to 39 euros for a traditional cotton onesie to 40 to 45 euros for one made from organic cotton,” adds Ozden, pointing out that the sustainable line is very popular with northern European customers was asked.
In addition, the garments are put on the market after undergoing a process that ensures their safety for newborns, disinfects them and eliminates the need for pre-washing. “We sell them in packaging that meets the food grade standard,” says Ozden.
The Gelisim Group is a supplier to the US company Vf Corporation. “We produce for The North Face, Timberland, Hally Hanson, Vans, among others,” explains Gülen Yavuz, sales and marketing manager at Gelisim Tekstil. The company, which employs 725 people and has revenue of $87 million, has average delivery times of approximately 4 to 7 weeks and an annual production capacity of approximately 7 million units.
Imports from Turkey in numbers
According to data from Smi, 47.1 percent of textiles and clothing imported into Italy come from the EU. Non-EU countries make up 52.9 percent. While the January-August period of 2023 ended with a growth of 12.1 percent, a later one recorded a decline of 11.4 percent.
During this period, despite a decline of 22.1 percent, China remained in first place with an impact of 16.5 percent on total imports. The second delivery country is France with a double-digit positive change of 15 percent, followed by Spain with an increase of 8.8 percent. Bangladesh, on the other hand, recorded a decline of 15.3 percent to 1.1 billion euros. Turkey, India and Pakistan also recorded declines, in contrast to the other main suppliers, which showed positive dynamics.
In the first nine months of 2023, China confirmed itself as the industry’s top supplier in the men’s fashion sector in terms of supplier markets with an incidence of 12.9 percent, despite a comparison to the same period last year. Bangladesh, in second place, also recorded a double-digit decline (-16.5 percent). France was in third place with growth of 21.1 percent; followed by the Netherlands, the traditional entry point for goods from Asia, which recorded a performance of plus 20.1 percent.
Among the remaining top 15 suppliers, Turkey, Pakistan and Vietnam recorded declines of 4.2 percent, 7.9 percent and 15.8 percent respectively, while all other key supply trends show positive dynamics, between 2.4 percent for Albania on the thirteenth place and 77 percent for Switzerland in twelfth place.
This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.it. Translated and edited by Simone Preuss.