The 10th Istanbul Fashion Conference, organized by the Turkish Clothing Manufacturers’ Association (TGSD), kicked off with a ‘Gala Dinner’ held at the Çırağan Palace Ballroom on the evening of October 10th, Tuesday. Prominent figures from the industry attended the gala dinner, and LASİAD was represented by Board Member Tarık Nayman and General Secretary Şerafettin Yüzüak.
Under the theme “Why Turkey?” this year, the conference, which lasted for two days, delved into the strength of the ready-to-wear sector in Turkey, its sustainability approach, and its competence as an unrivaled business partner in the region. The conference opened on October 11th, Wednesday, with an opening speech by TGSD President Şeref Fayat. Fayat expressed that with the slogan “Why Turkey?” they aimed to emphasize Turkey as the country with the most advanced ready-to-wear sector in the region and a strong business partner in ready-to-wear for 2017 and beyond.
Fayat stated, “Today, our members operating under the TGSD umbrella account for 60% of Turkey’s ready-to-wear exports. You can see the entire value chain of the sector among our members. Just our board members alone contribute to $1 billion in exports. Turkey’s annual ready-to-wear export is at the level of $17 billion. We want to announce to the world the strength and indispensability of Turkey in the field of ready-to-wear. Turkey is the right investment country for ready-to-wear.” The opening continued with speeches by Hikmet Tanrıverdi, President of the Istanbul Apparel and Apparel Exporters’ Association (İHKİB), and Adnan Yıldırım, General Manager of the Turkish Export Credit Bank Inc. (Türk Eximbank), followed by the session on ‘Turkey’s Brands and Brands’ Export.’ LASİAD was represented by President Giyasettin Eyyüpkoca, Treasurer İbrahim Murat Ramizoğlu, Board Member Tarık Nayman, and General Secretary Şerafettin Yüzüak at the opening.
