Not only have the two heads of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin met several times for talks in the past week, the fashion industry in Turkey and Russia are also moving closer together. After large fashion groups such as Zara’s parent company Inditex, the sports goods company Adidas and the luxury goods group LVMH stopped their activities in Russia, Turkish fashion suppliers see their chance to fill the gap.
“Because all western brands disappeared from Russia, there was a big open market for Turkish brands,” explains Cem Altan during a panel discussion at Istanbul Fashion Connection (IFCO) fashion fair. As a result, they would now sell more to Russia, according to the President of the IAF (International Apparel Federation).
In addition to the major fashion retailers such as H&M and Inditex, luxury brands such as Gucci and Louis Vuitton have also withdrawn from the Russian market. Turkish brands can hardly serve this higher segment, but they have found their place in the middle segment in Russia, Altan continues.
This orientation could also be observed among the exhibitors at IFCO: Products ranging from leather jackets and fur coats to fur hats with a hammer and sickle seem to have been made for the Russian weather. In addition, in the corridors of the fair, which took place from August 24th to 26th, a lot of Russian was heard in addition to Turkish and English.
The ruble is rolling again
Ar-ma is present in Russia, the Balkans, the Middle East and North Africa and is now trying to enter Northern and Western Europe as well. Before the start of the war, the casual menswear brand was also active in Ukraine. Because of the current situation, trading there has been suspended for the time being, explained Berkay Öncü Melek, Production Manager at Ar-ma, at his own booth. In Russia, business was halted for only three or four months because of “problems and the exchange rate of the Russian ruble,” Melek said. But now this is more stable again and trading on the Russian market is possible again for the brand.
Vivento also offers its products in Russia in particular, but also in countries such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Production for the private label accounts for 90 percent of total production, said Vivento founder Kaan Çetinkaya. In countries outside Europe, such as Russia, Vivento sells its own-brand skirts for between $25 and $30 and blouses for around $20.
In order to be active on the Russian market, the brands have to be present there as well. The Turkish womenswear brand YXL Collection, which belongs to the Yüksel Tekstil Grup, exhibits at international fashion fairs such as Fashn Rooms in Düsseldorf, Magic in Las Vegas, IFCO but also at CPM in Moscow, which takes place this week.
Formats such as the Düsseldorf Order Days or the British trade fair Pure London are becoming increasingly important for Turkish brands, as they want to export more to Europe and North America. To get there well, they change their designs and styles, Altan explains. So far, the brands have only been strong in Russia, Arabic countries and North Africa. But they also want to be active where the Turkish fashion industry already exports the most as a manufacturer – 70 percent of Turkish clothing exports go to Europe, according to the IAF President. The German market is at the top of the list.