ISTANBUL “Our target is to make Istanbul one of the top five world fashion capitals, alongside Paris, Milan, New York and London,” Hikmet Tanriverdi said in an interview here.The new chairman of ITKIB, the body representing manufacturers and designers, is determined to achieve that ambition by 2023, when Turkey celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Turkish republic.

Tanriverdi, who took up his job a year ago, is the prime mover behind the just-ended Istanbul Fashion Days, the first time leading Turkish labels and designers have been brought under one roof for three days of catwalk shows and trade fair stands.

Given that the textile and clothing sector is a top exporter for Turkey, the idea of trying to forge a place for Istanbul on the notoriously tight global fashion calendar had been mooted for years, Tanriverdi says, and he wanted to be the man who made it happen.

With Istanbul designated the European capital of culture for 2010, the decision was taken to go-ahead in August last year.

Nobody saw the global recession just around the corner. When it bit, “we lost a lot of blood,” Tanriverdi admits.

But he still insists “the timing was right. We know there are fashion weeks all over the world. Turkey has been trying to organise its own fashion week for 10 years.” Although there were few gaps on the calendar, Istanbul has September unveils its ready-to-wear lines for next spring-summer.

A sizeable contingent of towards 100 international press, buyers and trend spotters from as far as Japan, Brazil and Saudi Arabia turned up for the debut event held on the campus of Istanbul's technical college.—AFP