The History of Istanbul Fashion Week: From Tepebaşı to the Screen

The history of Istanbul Fashion Week also sums up the city’s fashion industry’s efforts to step onto the international stage. That is why, in this dossier, we trace that journey step by step.

In a short space of time, Istanbul’s fashion week changed several names, several venues and two distinct formats. It moved, for example, from Taksim Tepebaşı to Karaköy, and from there to Zorlu PSM. Then, with the pandemic, it came to our screens. The only thing that did not change was the institution behind the event: the Istanbul Apparel Exporters’ Association (IHKIB). In this dossier, we have therefore brought the dates and names together. We have included only what we could verify through news reports and the institutions’ own pages.

The first era: Istanbul Fashion Week

IHKIB ran Istanbul Fashion Week (IFW), which opened that year in Taksim Tepebaşı. A February 2012 report in the newspaper Dünya relates this. MTD (the Fashion Designers Association), which represents designers, stood alongside the association in the organisation. BMD (the United Brands Association), which brings brands together, was also part of the organisation. On the education side, there was IMA (the Istanbul Fashion Academy). What is more, IHKIB’s president at the time, Hikmet Tanrıverdi, said the event was being held for the sixth time. Brands and designers presented their Fall-Winter 2013 collections that season. The event ran until 11 February.

According to the report, Atıl Kutoğlu, Mehtap Elaidi and Günseli Türkay took to the runway with their own shows. Nejla Güvenç, Tuvana Büyükçınar and Erol Albayrak were also on the list. Arzu Kaprol’s new project, Studio Kaprol 4, was on the programme as well. The defining feature of this era, in particular, was that the exporters’ association and the designer and brand associations came together at the same table. Indeed, this partnership would form the backbone of every era that followed.

The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Istanbul era

In March 2013, the event reappeared under the name Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Istanbul (MBFWI). According to a Daily Sabah report, the week took place from 12–16 March 2013 at Istanbul Modern in Karaköy. “Az”, the Fall-Winter 2013-14 collection by Mehtap Elaidi, then president of the Fashion Designers Association, opened the week. Over the course of the week, 33 designers and brands showed collections. Today, IHKIB describes Fashion Week Istanbul on its own page as a platform. Since 2013, the platform has brought designers together with the media and buyers.

Over time, the event grew and changed venues. According to a report in Hürriyet Mahmure, the 10th season of MBFWI took place from 12–15 September 2017 at the Zorlu Performing Arts Center. The season focused on Spring/Summer 2018 collections. That season, The Core Istanbul stood out as the commercial arm of the week. It brought more than 50 Turkish brands together with buyers from more than 90 chain stores and boutiques from 22 countries. IMA workshops and seminars by the trend agency WGSN were also part of the programme. The “Mercedes-Benz presents” showcases, in which the main sponsor supported one designer each season, were another fixture of this era.

The pandemic and shows moved to the screen

2020 was a breaking point for fashion weeks all over the world. According to an August 2020 column by Çağdaş Ertuna in Milliyet, the 15th season of MBFWI would take place entirely on digital platforms. The season was to run from 12–16 October. According to the column, since its first season the event had shown women’s and men’s collections on the same schedule. This season, genderless collections joined them.

According to an October 2020 FashionUnited report, the five-day 15th season ended on 16 October. What is more, the shows had been filmed in August at Galataport Istanbul and at the Tophane-i Amire Culture and Arts Centre. The organiser was once again IHKIB. MTD, BMD and IMA were among the supporting institutions. On the international side, Vogue Runway and The Business of Fashion were media partners. JOOR took part as the wholesale platform. Finally, Mercedes-Benz supported Özlem Süer that season.

A year later, an NTV report dated 13 October 2021 referred to the event as Fashion Week Istanbul. That season took place digitally again, from 12–15 October 2021. The report described it as the third digital edition. On the season’s first day, 38 designers reached audiences with 29 fashion shows. Dice Kayek, for example, had shot its film at a château in France. Arzu Kaprol, meanwhile, had filmed at the Mağlova Aqueduct in Istanbul.

Today: Fashion Week Istanbul

IHKIB’s current pages describe the event as a fashion week held twice a year. That is, the week takes place for spring/summer and fall/winter collections. It also describes it as a seasonless and genderless week. According to the association, more than 20 designers show their collections each season. They do so in formats such as runway shows, film screenings, exhibitions and installations. Before the pandemic, however, the event was held physically. In recent seasons, it has taken place in a digital or hybrid format. IHKIB also states that it collaborates with global organisations such as BoF, Vogue and Karla Otto. The aim is to give Turkish designers international visibility.

We can read this transformation as follows. Istanbul’s fashion week was first an event known by a sponsor’s name. It then moved from Tepebaşı to a museum, and from there to a stage. Now it has become a promotional platform directly owned by the exporters’ association and adapted to the screen age. The partnership with institutions such as MTD and IMA, meanwhile, has remained the common thread from the first era to today.

The view from Turkey

The calendars of the great fashion capitals such as Paris, Milan, London and New York are well established. Istanbul’s week, by contrast, serves as a gateway for Turkish designers. This gateway opens both onto visibility in the domestic market and onto foreign buyers. You can follow the season’s current dates and fashion weeks around the world in our Fashion Week Calendar 2026–2027 guide. And you can keep up with the names making waves on the international stage in our young Turkish designers dossier.

Lessons from the history of Istanbul Fashion Week

A fashion week’s success does not depend solely on the collections on the runway. It also matters that buyers, the press and designers can meet on the same calendar. Istanbul’s experience shows one thing: even when the venue and format change, a regular calendar and institutional support are decisive. Digital seasons, meanwhile, gave designers the chance to reach an international audience. What is more, they did not have to bear the cost of a physical show.

You can follow announcements from the event’s organiser, the Istanbul Apparel Exporters’ Association, on IHKIB’s official website. And for a season from the Mercedes-Benz era, take a look at our Spring/Summer 2020 season report.

Sources

Image: Exterior of the historic Tophane-i Amire building in Tophane, Istanbul, one of the venues where the shows of the 2020 digital season were filmed (representative image) — Dosseman, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0