From 6 to 8 March 2024, Texhibition Istanbul brought together 25,752 visitors from 112 countries and 560 fabric and accessories exhibitors for the spring/summer 2025 collections. The fifth edition of the fair presented the opportunity to observe the most vital fabrics produced through Turkish companies, as well as a new denim area. It is also an opportunity to listen to the perspectives of stakeholders in the Turkish textile sector and recognize that the mid-price segment it serves is going through a difficult time in many countries.
The fact that Turkey has its own origin fair is remarkable. Before the Covid pandemic, the French industrial fair Première Vision was held in Istanbul, but since then, Turkish players have taken on this task themselves and the Istanbul Textile and Clothing Exporters Association (Ithib). , a member of the Turkish Fashion and Textile Association Itkib. , organizes the fair. The stakes are high for the country, which has incorporated productive capacities that allow it to exploit all (or almost) the productive stages of the textile and clothing industry, unlike other generating countries such as Tunisia or Morocco.
The presence of numerous officials at the opening rite on Wednesday, March 6, including the Minister of Commerce, Ömer Bolat, the President of the Turkish Exporters Association, Mustafa Gültepe, and the President of Ithib, Ahmet Öksüz, is indicative of the importance of the fair. A predominantly male representation of the profession, as shown in the photo. The knights announced their goal of making the exhibit “the most vital in the world. “
All speakers cited figures to illustrate the influence of Turkey’s textile and garment sector, which reached total exports of US$28. 5 billion in 2023. With annual exports of US$12 billion, Turkey’s textile sector ranks fifth among global exports and is the second largest supplier. to the European Union.
Although Europe is the market with Turkey that manufactures brands such as Zara, Mango and H
At the Istanbul exhibition, the fabrics on display were distributed in other rooms: in room four, 1fourfive suppliers of knitted fabrics such as jersey, jacquard and wool; In pavilion five, 126 suppliers of polyester, polyviscose, viscose and acrylic participated; Hall 6 brought together 70 suppliers of wool, cotton fabrics and blouses, while Hall 8 presented 121 brands of accessories such as buttons, zippers, etc. , as well as wires. As far as cotton yarn is concerned, the “almost” mentioned above applies: Turkey produces 65% of its cotton locally and imports the rest mainly from the United States, Greece and Egypt.
This time, Texhibition also featured Hall 7, committed to the new “Blue Black Denim Trend Area”, a denim area newly opened for the Spring/Summer 2025 season. It presented original presentations with streetwear creations highlighted in a structured aesthetic.
In this context, it is worth mentioning the stunning dress made from leftover denim (see above), designed by Alldenims. The company, one of the few run by two women, produces denim garments for a foreign clientele and is also launching its own Syga logo.
In this area (and not only here), exhibitors talked a lot about sustainable fashion. Besim Özek, a member of Ithib and head of commercial strategy at Bossa, was one of them. The denim manufacturer founded in southern Turkey under the pressure of how vital it is. is for the country to position itself in the denim sector and thus satisfy its social and environmental responsibility. It uses forty-five percent classic cotton, 35 percent recycled cotton (sourced from harvested cotton garments), 15 percent organic cotton (grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides), and five percent regenerative cotton (farming practices that naturally improve soil quality and repair soil fertility).
Speaking of sustainability: FashionUnited met Pascaline Wilhelm, former fashion director of Première Vision and current founder of the agency P W N E W, at the Innovation Hub (Hall 8), where numerous presentations took place. The goal? Present the key trends of spring/summer 2025, adding inventions and novelties related to sustainable and environmentally friendly developments. They focus on bio-based fabrics, biodegradability, herbal elasticity, new recycled fabrics, and others, highlighting concepts such as tea, overconsumption, and its impact.
Other areas, such as the Trends Creative Hub for knitwear and fabrics, have also focused on the concept of sustainability, but combining it with a premium approach. With “Silent Luxury” (swimwear, Hall 4), the Luxury Hub, synonymous with niche tastes, approached fashion from the angle of “new-age minimalism” and focused on elegance, fabrics (virgin wool, cashmere, cotton) and wool), exclusivity, uniqueness and know-how.
In the same place, “Vegan Jungle” referred to cutting-edge processes derived from plants, culmination and seeds that will be offering a diversity of recycled and biodegradable materials.
In the textile sector (Hall 5), “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” an American remake of the French film “Plein Soleil,” a summer tragedy set in the world of luxury and laziness, referenced the film’s fashionable costumes: knitted ties, cashmere sweaters, sublime linen shirts and chinos (cotton twill pants).
Does this mean that the Turkish textile and garment industry needs to position itself in the high-value segment?Fatih Zengin, deputy secretary general of Itkib, showed in an interview with FashionUnited that the industry needs to move forward in the face of the collapse of the mid-value segment, which is made up of polyester produced in Turkey. This decline is due to the pandemic, lockdowns, inflation, and the war in Ukraine.
According to him, the country is now a direct competitor of Portugal, but the challenge is to position itself at the same level as Italy. “We want to be a country that creates fashion and creates our own brands,” he concluded. In this edition of Texhibition, which will take place from 11 to 13 September 2024, we will see how the diversity of fabrics evolves.
This article was originally published on FashionUnited. fr. Edited.