IFCO: Turkish fashion scene fights to win over Europe

Istanbul - Turkey is a textile country that focuses on high-quality production. The country competes with the biggest players in the clothing industry, such as Bangladesh and China. Although Turkey has been able to defend its position for years, high inflation and the aftermath of the 2023 earthquakes still play a major role every day.

The Turkish textile industry does not compromise on prices, however, because quality is more important than quantity. Turkey has a strong infrastructure, diversified production capacity and a lot of design talent. The country acts as a link between Asia and Europe and strives to become the epicentre of fashion by taking advantage of its location.

Istanbul Fashion Connection (IFCO) aims to reinforce this ambition. The seventh edition of the textile fair took place from 5 to 7 February 2025 in the Turkish capital. With this event, Turkey wants to stimulate the global export of high-quality garments. FashionUnited visited by invitation.

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Internationalization, great design talent and an extensive range of children's fashion: This is the seventh IFCO edition

Turkey’s inflation has fallen sharply in recent months. January marked the eighth month of decline, ending at 42.12 percent year-on-year, while Turkish living costs rose by 5.03 percent on a monthly basis, according to recent figures from Turkey’s statistics agency Tuik. Clothing and footwear prices rose by 27.53 percent on a year-on-year basis in January, while the monthly inflation rate stood at 5.17 percent. The country expects inflation to continue to decline this year, reaching around 20 percent by the end of the year.

IFCO aims to support the recovery of the economy and reduce high inflation. The fair serves as a central meeting place for Turkish manufacturers and global fashion retailers. The Turkish fashion fair is housed in the Expo Center and has over 500 exhibitors on a trade fair floor of 35,000 square meters. The fair serves various segments, including women's, men's and children's fashion, sportswear, accessories, evening wear and denim, spread over six halls.

At the autumn/winter edition of the three-year-old fair, it becomes clear that IFCO has made an internationalization leap. In addition, special attention is asked for young design talents and brands, and children's fashion is significantly expanded on the fair floor.

The first two days, a horde of visitors is queuing at the entrance. The beeping sound of ticket scanners is going wild and the turnstiles are pushed aside like crazy. The third day is mainly used by exhibitors to network with each other.

IFCO has not yet shared statistics for the seventh edition at the time of writing, but the organization expected to attract 30,000 visitors worldwide, according to the press release. As an indication: The Turkish fashion fair counted more than 18,000 visitors for the sixth edition, of which 17 percent represented Europe.

IFCO internationalizes: Demand for European visitors seems to have been answered

What stands out during this edition is that the Turkish fashion fair is better prepared for an international audience. For example, exhibitors speak English more often, several seminars are given in English and the translation tool, which was useful during the opening ceremony of Mustafa Paşahan – vice-president of the Istanbul Apparel Exporters' Association (IHKIB) – and Mustafa Gültepe – president of the Turkish Exporters' Association – works a lot better than during previous editions.

Turkish fashion brands have already forged warm ties with the Arab world, North Africa and Russia, but Turkey is also looking to gain ground outside these markets. The fair hopes to attract more candidates from America, South Africa and Europe. When it comes to the latter continent, exhibitors are mainly looking at the German, French, Spanish and British markets. The Balkan countries are also among the interesting markets for Turkish fashion brands.

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Exhibitors tell FashionUnited that countries like France, Italy and Spain are interesting because of the high fashion standards, according to the stands of Ocur Leather Goods and Lacarino. Ocur Leather Goods does private labelling, produces in Turkey and exports 25 percent of its production to Europe, of which France and Spain are its largest markets. Enes Oruc, co-owner of the company, explains that producing in Turkey is advantageous because of the short delivery time and that customers do not pay high rates, as they do in China and the Far East. However, the co-owner also sees challenges in wholesale export: “Turkish shipping prices have increased considerably, say tripled. That is crazy and makes us less attractive to the European market.”

Denim manufacturer Lacarino is also looking for customers from Mediterranean countries. Lacarino is at IFCO for the fifth time and has already met quite a few new customers, as can be heard at the stand. The denim manufacturer spoke to visitors from the Balkans, France, Romania and Russia. The representative indicates that it mainly has Turkish and Russian customers. Lacarino's wholesale prices are between 14 and 25 euros.

The United Kingdom is also an interesting market. Communication (in English) is simple and it is the home market of the accessory brand Helmbrook. The new brand is based in London, but produces in Istanbul. Ali Ammar Özkul, director of the company, hopes to gain ground in England in addition to France, Italy and Spain. He hopes that Helmbrook will be in British stores next year. He wants to make Helmbrook 'a European label', but starting in a time of economic challenges is not easy. "Our products and the production of them are now almost as expensive as in Europe." Özkul therefore sees that brands are withdrawing and looking at countries such as China, Egypt and Vietnam. He says that he has spoken to visitors from America, Germany, England, Japan and Spain. There is also great interest in British customers at the stands of Intersivin and Machinist.

The demand for European fashion retailers has been growing for several IFCO editions and seems to be reasonably met during the seventh edition. However, exhibitors indicate that there are mainly many candidates from Russia, the Arab countries and the Gulf States at the fair.

Children's fashion doubles offering at Turkish trade fair

Children's fashion takes a more prominent place at the fair. Where this segment had only 16 stands at the sixth edition, there are no fewer than forty at the February edition. Paşahan tells FashionUnited that the expansion of the children's fashion segment is responding to the needs of visitors.

That there is a need for children's fashion is also evident from conversations with exhibitors in this area. Moonstar, Pamina and Loco Loco praise IFCO as a fruitful fair where (always) new contacts are made, appointments are made with potential customers and that it is a place where exhibitors can also network with each other.

Bbx Natural is, according to its own statement, a permanent part of Pitti Bimbo and is now at the Turkish fashion fair for the first time. The company does private labelling for European brands and has customers mainly in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Bbx Natural is at the fair to increase its customer base in the Mediterranean countries and the Balkans and it succeeded: the brand attracted interest from the Spanish El Corte Inglés – one of the largest European department store groups and the third largest department store group worldwide. When it comes to doing business with Europe in a time when inflation plays a major role, it is shared that the company also feels this. However, as many other brands and manufacturers indicate, quality is more important than quantity. According to the representative, this is one of the reasons why European brands continue to work with them, but attracting new brands is not self-evident in this day and age.

Another company that is committed to keeping its customers close is BabyCosy. “If you keep doing the same thing, you will disappear in all the offerings that are out there. You have to innovate,” shares Hüseyin Adatepe, CEO of the company. BabyCosy focuses on improving the quality and production of its customers. “We make sure that the customer remains happy with the product by really doing something with the feedback we receive, that is worth gold these days.” BabyCosy is active in 70 markets, of which Russian countries and Turkic republics are the largest sales markets. The company has also been active in the United States since 2024 and has been distributing in Australia for years.

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The Ozmoz stand is full of positive feedback about the visitors on the exhibition floor. The brand has been at IFCO several times before, but this time it sees an increase in the international audience. “We are still waiting for more European customers, but that will come. There is a lot to gain for them here,” says Mahir Özden, textile engineer at Ozmoz. “Turkish manufacturers understand what kind of designs work on the European market and what requirements it has to meet. We only have to exchange a few words with them and we know what European customers want.” Ozmos has been active in children's fashion for 48 years and focuses on sustainable production. For example, it uses bamboo, organic cotton, recycled materials and minimizes chemicals.

The expansion of children's fashion on the trade fair floor seems to be a good improvement. Exhibitors mainly welcomed visitors from Russian countries and Turkic republics, but also saw the number of European candidates grow, although this number could still grow considerably. Because: "Turkey is a good partner for a long-term relationship", according to Özden.

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The Core Istanbul calls for special attention to national design talent

'The Core Istanbul' has been given a permanent place on the exhibition floor and offers a special stage to younger brands that guarantee high quality. The section centers 26 brands that can participate in the exhibition for a small contribution. Labels such as Alaii, Be Oz, Bianco E Nero, Bist., Denimheads, Dilek Süslüer, Erkan Demiroğlu, Eynaco, Gokhanyavas, Hcr Collection, Helin Aydoğan, heva, Lazaza, Maison Kairos, Majura, Meltem Yabar, Meltem Özbek, Mert Erkan, Minimalist, Ryder Act, Syga, şebnem Yildiz, Thestance.co, Tuba Ergin, Urban Muse and Viola & Vesper participated in the platform.

Anyone who has visited IFCO before will notice that it is not only new brands that are put in the spotlight. Alaii, Denimheads and Meltem Özbek have already stood on stage. On the stands you can hear that they are happy with 'such a special place' at the fair. It ensures extra attention in a walhalla of fashion brands and manufacturers. Helin Aydoğan and Viola & Vesper also share this finding.

Meltem Aybar was exhibiting for the first time at the fair and is showing a haute couture collection consisting of dresses that are immersed in a sequin bath. Each sequin is hand-embroidered on the dress, the designer explains. Her collection contains 35 garments with a retail price between 1,000 and 2,000 euros. Wholesalers pay half the price. Meltem Aybar sells worldwide online and already has 'a number of wholesale points'. The label wants to explore the European market further and is open to European customers. The designer describes the fair as 'successful', because she managed to attract a large Turkish retailer with whom she is negotiating a contract.

Further on, Ryder Act shows a handmade linen collection in pastel colours. The label has been around for eight years and has a showroom in the popular shopping area Galataport. FashionUnited was invited to take a look at her peaceful, ivory-coloured home base. Kuya Demir is not only a designer, but also a yoga teacher. It is therefore not surprising that her showroom also has a yoga room where she regularly teaches. On the outer walls, her collection is displayed on wooden 'branches'. Demir is convinced that sports are an essential part of life. The starting point of the collection is therefore the active woman and the way in which she defines herself. Her goal is to show the world the elegant soul of the woman.

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Turkish clothing exports decline but show resilience

Despite the challenging economic circumstances, Turkey has the courage to look to the future with a smile. The country sees its clothing exports fall to 17.9 billion dollars in 2024. Namely: In 2022, the country exported clothing worth 21.2 billion dollars. “Of course, this situation has a negative impact on our production and employment. Many companies have reduced production or closed down,” says Gültepe, during the opening ceremony of IFCO. “Some have moved their production abroad. The clothing, textile, leather and carpet industries employed a total of 1.4 million people two years ago. Unfortunately, this number is now below one million. In the clothing sector alone, we have lost 159,000 jobs.”

But there are economic tensions worldwide, not only in Turkey, Paşahan emphasizes in an interview. “The fact that companies are moving their production abroad does indeed have an effect on the figures, but it does not yet cause problems. Turkey is strong enough to survive these challenges.” The IHKIB chairman emphasizes the European importance once again. “Seventy percent of our ready-to-wear exports still go to Europe. We know that the prices for European fashion retailers are on the high side, but we do not compromise on prices. We only go for the best quality and that will ultimately ensure long-term partnerships.”

In the coming period, Turkey will have to show resilience and make use of its cultural heritage, geographical location and design talents, but also embrace new technologies and innovations so as not to bury the hatchet against Asia.

FashionUnited was invited to travel to Istanbul to attend the seventh edition of IFCO.