ISTANBUL FASHION CONNECTION, August 9.-11. 2023

IFCO Istanbul continues on its growth path

 With over 400 exhibitors, the fourth Istanbul Fashion Connection event from August 9-11, 2023, at the Istanbul Expo Center on 35,000 sqm was again successful
 Over 20,000 visitors from 125 countries, a total visitor increase of 30% compared to the edition in August last year, international share with 5,600 visitors more than doubled
 Clearly structured trade show segments in 6 halls: Womenswear, menswear, kidswear, denim, sportswear, lingerie and hosiery, leather & fur, and FASHIONIST with occasionwear
 In hall 7: The Core Istanbul presents Turkey’s design elite, The Exclusive Area shows the market leading retail brands with the current spring/summer 2024 collections
 Efficient networking of exhibitors and visitors at the B2B Match Making
 Attractive supporting program inspires trade show participants: IFCO Fashion Show and seminar program, IMA trend area, gala event on the first evening of the fair

With its fourth edition, IFCO Istanbul Fashion Connection continues to underline its important position as a global exhibition center for the international fashion business: an increase of both exhibitors and visitors by more than 30%, including an increase of international visitors by more than 140% and an increase of the exhibition area by more than 120% compared to the previous year’s August event was recorded by the fair, which took place in Istanbul from August 9 to 11.

“IFCO has become the most stylish brand in Turkey, it has quickly found its place in the calendar of international buyer groups and as Europe’s largest fashion and apparel fair, it hosts the gathering of brands, designers, export oriented companies and buyers from all over the world. We are well on our way to our goal of establishing Istanbul as an international fashion center with IFCO. Already on the first day of the fair, we recorded more than 2,500 international buyers from all over the world at IFCO, including Germany, Israel, Kanda, several Latin American countries, Malaysia, South Africa, the UK, the US, the UAE, etc.” Mustafa Pasahan, Vice President IHKIB

As the third largest supplier of apparel to the EU, Turkey scores high on short delivery times, high production qualities, a young and well-trained workforce, the possibility of small minimum order quantities, a vertical textile and apparel industry that allows for “one-stop shopping”. Large investments in the development of sustainable production and a circular garment economy continue to position Turkey competitively.

In addition, Turkey is one of the design and trend centers in Europe.
For example, under the leadership of IHKIB, there is massive investment in human resources in the fashion industry, such as vocational schools specialized in training highly qualified students who demonstrate their design skills in the KOZA Young Fashion Designers competition, which has been
held for over 30 years. The current winners were presented at IFCO. In the same way, Istanbul Moda Akademisi (IMA) is an important design hotbed for the Turkish fashion scene. Its graduates such as Berk Gümüşterazili from Kuela Studio, Essin Baris from Couveuse Studio, Meltem Özbek, or Yasemin
Öğün with Muse for All regularly enter the international fashion stage. As a member of the International Association of Fashion Schools (IFFTI), IMA maintains a strategic partnership with the University of the Arts London/London College of Fashion in the academic field and aims to educate fashion designers with a high awareness of fashion, design and art, to create awareness of international markets and to introduce creative and innovative workers into the textile and apparel industry who will shape the future of the industry.

Exhibitors
In six clearly segmented halls, more than 400 brands presented themselves on 35,000 sqm from womenswear, menswear, kidswear sportswear, denim, leather and fur.

The Core Istanbul
For the second time, the exclusive design area The Core Istanbul, originally launched as part of Istanbul Fashion Week, presented itself at IFCO. Among others, Arzu Kaprol, Ceren Ocak, Çiğdem Akın, Essin Barış, Ezgi Karayel, Fulyaİlkmen – F.ILKK, Mehmet Emiroğlu, Meltem Özbek, Mert Erkan, Merve Ulu – Kuela, Murat Aytulum, Nejla Güvenç – Nej, Özlem Erkan, Selin Küçüksöz, Tuba Ergin joined the show. Menswear was also represented with Emre Erdemoğlu, Seydullah Yılmaz – SYHZ Wear and Yakup Biçer – Y Plus.

The Exclusive Area
Leading Turkish retail brands, already internationally active, showed in The Exclusive Area such as B&G Store, Climber BC, Damat, Giovane Gentile, Hatemoğlu, Ipekyol, Kayra, Kiğılı, Lee Cooper, Lufian, Jakamen, Naramaxx and convinced with their high quality, sustainable and fashionable products, which were in great demand among international buyers. Jakamen opened the IFCO Shows on the first day of the fair with its latest spring / summer collection for 2024.

FashionIst
With its own catwalk, the occasion fashion section FashionIst for women and men featured thirty leading brands and showed a cross-section of the latest designs in evening fashion with their innovative colors and dynamic styles. Daily fashion shows informed visitors about the latest trends.

Visitors
With over 20,000 visitors from more than 125 countries, IFCO recorded an increase in visitors of over 30% compared to August last year. International visitors more than doubled, with the largest visitor groups coming from Asia and the Middle East at 33% each, Europe at 17%, Africa 11% and the Americas at 6%.

All retail channels were represented at the show, from large shopping mall and department store groups to wholesalers, international retail chains, multibrand boutiques and online platforms.

B2B Match Making
The B2B Match Making at IFCO took place in speed dating mode and was well received. Exhibitors were efficiently networked with buyers from all over the world such as Inditex from Spain, Walmart, Quicksilver, Teddy Fresh or Wilbo from the USA, Sainsbury’s from the UK, Cihuah from Mexico, the Apparel Group and Safari Group from the United Arab Emirates, Ria Miranda from Indonesia, Hi Style and Zalora from Malaysia, Musinsa from South Korea, Ackermans from South Africa etc. The event was ideally tailored to the needs of the participants, numerous orders were placed, cooperation opportunities were explored.

SUPPORTING PROGRAM
Gala event on the first evening of the fair
A set date for the fashion industry is the glamorous gala event on the first evening of the fair at the WOW Convention Center next to the fair centre. It is considered an indispensable highlight of the fair, celebrating the opening of IFCO Istanbul Fashion Connection. The gala event is more than just a celebration – it is the perfect kick-off for a trade fair season full of innovation, creativity and exchange.

IFCO Seminars and Shows
Industry experts such as Kim Mannino from WGSN, Tülin Kermen or Elif Can Edge shared valuable insights into the latest developments and trends in the fashion industry and consumer habits and addressed topics such as sustainable fashion, technology in the fashion industry, design strategies and much more.

In addition to JAKAMEN’s opening show, companies such as NARAMAXX, OZMOZ KIDSWEAR, SPORTEMPT and CARMEN wowed the audience with their latest collections at the IFCO Shows, reflecting the diversity and creativity of the Turkish fashion industry.

IFCO Trend Area
The trend zone in hall 4 under this year’s theme Antidote / Poison designed by IMA convinced both visitors and exhibitors. Visitors had the opportunity to see the “New Gen” collections of the young generation of İMA graduates, discovering the color codes, shapes, textures, fibers, materials and accessories that will become current in summer 2025.

IFCO February 2024
For the next date of IFCO, the organizers expect more than 600 companies. The participation of international fashion companies is to be expanded, for which IFCO provides the ideal springboard into the European and Asian markets.

Not only Napoleon Bonaparte called Istanbul the capital of the world, the city is the hot spot for trade, culture and tourism for centuries. Istanbul plays a central role in all transformations of the Turkish economy and has a significant impact as it is not only the gateway for foreign inflows, but also a center where creativity and innovation are concentrated and entrepreneurship is intensified. Considered the capital of trade, business, investment, finance and tourism, Istanbul accounts for 20.3% of Turkey’s labor force, 50.6% of exports and 54.6% of imports. The city has become a global trade fair and congress center, the ideal trade fair location, the bridge between West and East.

Next date:
Istanbul Fashion Connection: 7.-10. February, 2024
Further information:
www.ifco.com.tr
Instagram:
@istanbulfashionconnection