Istanbul's IFCO fashion trade show increased in international visitors

From August 7 to 9, 2024, the sixth edition of IFCO Istanbul Fashion Connection took place with 300 exhibitors in a total of 4 halls at the Istanbul Expo Centre.

With this event, Istanbul Fashion Connection underlines its importance as a hub for the international fashion industry. Compared to the previous year's event, the proportion of international visitors increased by 13.9%. Almost 18,000 visitors came to IFCO in Istanbul, 35% of whom came from abroad. The most represented region was Asia with 31.3%, followed by the Middle East (31.3%), Europe (16.4%), North Africa (13.4%), North America, South America and Africa together with 3.1%. High-ranking buyer groups from a total of 121 countries came to IFCO to find out about the latest fashion trends, network and place orders.

"The apparel industry has been working towards a trade fair like IFCO for a long time. We have succeeded in realising the seemingly impossible by bringing together all the key players in our industry," said Mustafa Paşahan, İHKİB vice president. "Today, we are proud to have created a brand like IFCO. With its rapid success, IFCO is constantly evolving and improving its quality with each new issue. It is gaining a higher place in the global fashion calendar every day. Istanbul, the fashion capital of Türkiye, is the perfect place to unite fashion, design, trends, trade and collaborations."

Divided into clear product areas on a total of 30,000 square metres of exhibition space in four halls, brands and manufacturers presented the latest collections from the areas of womenswear, menswear, kidswear, denim, sportswear, evening and wedding wear, lingerie, hosiery, leather, and furs.

Once again, the designer area The Core Istanbul inspired visitors with creative and exclusive designer collections and once again proved to be a magnet for visitors. Over 20 established and young designers presented their latest collections, such as 2be4a - Ayşegül Konukoğlu, A Piece of Work - Ezgi Karayel, Arzu Kaprol, Aylin Çetinkaya, Be Oz - Sinem Özusta,Bianco e Nero - Gamze Satgan, Essin Barış, EynaCo, Helin Aydoğan, Heva, Meltem, Aybar, Meltem Özbek, Mert Erkan, Nazlı Terzioğlu, Özlem Erkan, Safarah World - Ece Erigi, RyderAct, Selin Küçüksöz, Shyz Wear - Seydullah Yılmaz, Syga - Gönül Altunışık, Tuba Ergin, Urban Muse, Viola&Vesper. Many of them are already represented internationally, such as Arzu Kaprol, Meltem Özbek, and Tuba Ergin.

In the IFCO Brands area, stands presented the latest collections, which they also sell internationally, and reported that they were very satisfied with their participation in the trade fair.

The IFCO b2b Meeting was once again a success, with almost 100 visitor groups from over 20 countries (most of the participants came from the Usa) taking part in the meetings and successfully making the relevant business contacts and placing their orders.

This year's IFCO Trend Area theme "Ascension" was staged by the Istanbul Moda Academy (İMA). İMA was founded with the aim of training fashion designers who have a high awareness of fashion, design and art as well as international markets. It aims to provide the textile and ready-to-wear industry, one of Türkiye's most fundamental sectors, with a creative and innovative labour force that will shape the future of the sector.

The IFCO Shows and IFCO Talk also captivated the audience. Every day, the IFCO SHOWS impressed with the latest fashion trends for autumn/winter 24/25 on stage. As part of the IFCO Fashion Talks, renowned industry experts offered in-depth insights and discussions on topics such as WGSN's fashion trends for Autumn/Winter 2024-2025, opportunities in fashion export, the connection of digital art and fashion, the new face of Turkish fashion and the panel talk on "Pioneering New Century Solutions of the Denim Industry".