ISTANBUL FASHION CONNECTION, 9-11 February 2022
- Successful premiere of Istanbul Fashion Connection from February 9th to 11th, 2022 in Istanbul Expo Center with more than 600 exhibitors
- Nearly 25,000 visitors with almost 50% international visitors, mainly from Russia and CIS countries, Europe and the Middle East/North Africa
- Unabated trend of increasing exports of Turkish textiles to the EU, record figure of US$ 20.3 billion reached in 2021, trend will continue in 2022
- Istanbul Fashion Connection positions itself as a matching platform for supply and demand, professional networking by the organizer
More than 25,000 visitors from around 100 countries attended the kick-off event of the Istanbul Fashion Connection. Over 600 companies showed their collections on more than 35,000 square meters of exhibition space and provided information about their creative collections and their production capacities in the areas of womenswear, menswear, kidswear, denim, shoes, leather and fur, lingerie and bridal and evening wear.
Turkey is seeing record figures in garment exports, one of the four engines of Turkey’s industry with the EU as the largest export market, in 2021 alone an increase of almost 20% compared to 2020. The momentum in Turkey’s industry has been accelerated by the pandemic. Delivery bottlenecks could be bridged and nearshoring becomes a competitive advantage.
With the Istanbul Fashion Connection, the Istanbul Ready-to-Wear and Apparel Exporters’ Association (IHKIB) in cooperation with the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce is launching an international fashion platform with a biannual rhythm for Turkish and international manufacturers. The next event will take place from August 24th to 26th, 2022.
The declared goal of the organizers is to develop Istanbul Fashion Connection into one of the most important international fashion and textile platforms and an indispensable meeting place for the international fashion industry and fashion trade.
Exhibitor
The suppliers’ collections were presented in a clearly structured manner in stands in showroom design in eight halls of the exhibition center.
Leading menswear and womenswear apparel industry leaders such as Cross, Climber BC, Lee Cooper and InCity, Tugi for kids, Ferelle, Armofur and many more leather & fur apparel exhibited in Halls 2, 4 and 8 along with footwear and accessories such as from La Pinta and Bay Şapkacı, which further complemented the product range. Bridal and evening fashion was concentrated in Halls 1 and 3, while top lingerie and hosiery companies were presented in Halls 9-10 and 11.
ECOTEKS, the official institute in Turkey for the development and awarding of internationally valid sustainability certificates, was also represented at the Istanbul Fashion Connection, in addition to the presentation on its own stand with specialist seminars on sustainability and the environment.
The creations of famous designers such as Arzu Kaprol, Dilek Hanif, Deniz Berdan, Ceren Ocak, Çigdem Akin, Emre Erdemoglu, Gökhan Yavaş, Tagg Gökay Aydogdu, Mehmet Emiroglu, Mehtap Elaidi, Mert Erkan, Murat Aytulum, Nedo Nedret Taciroglu, Nej, Nihan Peker , Niyazi Erdogan, Özgür Masur, Özlem Erkan, Özlem Kaya, Selen Akyüz, Sudi Etüz, Sbnm Sebenm Gunay, Tanju Babacan, Tugba Atasoy and Y Plus Yakup Bicer presented under the patronage of the Istanbul Fashion Week in Hall 8 next to the Fashion Show Area the Design talent from “Made in Türkiye”.
Exhibitors reported numerous business meetings with deals estimated to add over US$1 billion to the sector’s exports by the end of the year.
“The fair is very productive. Above all, the visitors are very qualified and enthusiastic, which is very important for us,” said Mert Karaca from FİBAK. “I believe that IFCO will make a great contribution to the Turkish export figures of our sector, we can see that from our meetings at the fair,” said FİMKA’s Barış Köseliören. “The fair has really achieved a success that has exceeded our expectations. I think we will benefit from it for a long time to come,” reports Faruk Kaş from Braca Melisa with satisfaction. “IFCO was very good for our industry, we benefited a lot from the wide range of companies,” says İbrahim Erdoğan from Derma Leather. Sedat Yıldırım from İkoll Tekstil: “Most importantly, we can present our products and our industry to the world.”
visitor
Despite the pandemic, Istanbul Fashion Connection registered more than 25,000 visitors from over 100 countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Germany, France, the UK and other EU countries, the Middle East and North Africa, the USA etc.
The new fashion collections, combined with the ideal nearshore capacities, experienced brisk demand and contributed to excellent business activity. For trade and industry, Istanbul Fashion Connection was a unique opportunity for a face-to-face meeting on a common platform. All trade channels were represented at the fair, from large shopping malls and department store groups to wholesalers, international retail chains, multi-brand boutiques and online platforms.
SOCIAL PROGRAM
Gala event on the first evening of the fair
The premiere of the Istanbul Fashion Connection was celebrated with an impressive gala event at the WOW Convention Center at the exhibition center and opened by Mustafa Gültepe, President of the IHKIB.
IFCO fashion shows and lecture series
The fashion shows at the Istanbul Fashion Connection gave the audience an excellent overview of the creativity of Turkish fashion design.
Experts from EKOTEKS discussed future-oriented topics for the fashion industry: “Sustainability in fashion”, “Structure of supply chains” and WGSN with “Creativity in fashion” dealt with new trends in the conference area in the entrance area of the fair, which was both a trend zone and current ones inspired designer collections.
All lectures and discussions were well attended. The need for information and exchange is immense.
NEXT MEETINGS:
Istanbul Fashion Connection 24.-26. August 2022 Istanbul Fashion Connection February 2023
Further information: www.ifco.com.tr
Instagram: @istanbulfashionconnection
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