From February 9th to 12th, the IHKIB (Istanbul Ready-Made Garment Exporters Association) will introduce to 25 Turkish companies, including womenswear manufacturers and designers, within the so-called Istanbul Apparel and Design Cluster — an event that aims to promote Turkish fashion and craftsmanship on an international level.

In fact, the project was founded in 2013, and has been coordinated by IHKIB, and funded by the Ministry of Economy of Turkey, ever since. So far, in terms of international marketing activities, 10 member firms attended the Who’s Next trade-show in Paris (January 2014), while 9 members participated in Collection Premiere Moscow (February 2014). Recently in July 2014, 17 cluster companies in total participated in Who’s Next Prêt-A-Porter, where Turkey was hosted as the guest nation.

This year’s participants include a range of Turkish designers — Tuvanam, Aslı Güler, Nej, Mehtap Elaidi, Çiğdem Akın, Gamze Saraçoğlu, Zeynep Tosun, Özlem Kaya, Simay Bülbül — as well as fashion manufacturers — Badıllı Textile, J’adore (Berat Textile), Bisa, Dantel, Ereks, Setre Textile.

Throughout the 4-day long event the participants will meet with industry representatives, and discuss the womenswear markets in France and Europe, including a seminar organized by the International Fashion Academy (IFA Paris) and the Boğaziçi University Lifelong Learning Center (BUYEM) on February 9th. They will also visit the Première Vision trade-show, in order to meet international fabric and accessories suppliers; and they will finally get the opportunity to discuss sales & distribution channels, with potential buyers, such as Lambert & Associates, MC2 Showroom, and LVMH.

For the past years, the Turkish ready-made garment sector has been able to reinforce its position in the world, with an increasing rate in imports over the years. In 2014, the total export carried out by Turkish ready-made clothing sector reached a sum of USD 18,7 billion.

As of today, Turkey exports to 210 countries and stands as the world’s 7th biggest ready-made garment exporter. Turkey is also the 2nd biggest ready-made garment exporter for the EU. A total of USD 60 billion dollars export is expected for the year 2023.

More information on IHKIB here.

Picture courtesy of IHKIB.