But the textile factories of Istanbul, straddling Europe and Asia, and by extension Turkey, have stepped up to the challenge by putting out higher-end materials. “The way to go has to be to up the quality and hit the more designer-conscious market,” Suzanne Simon, owner of an Istanbul-based clothing business, said in a 2006 International Herald Tribune piece. ..According to Oxford Business Group, major clothing labels like Banana Republic and Tommy Hilfiger have produced their apparel in the region. But Istanbul’s own sense of style is also getting air and wear time, undoubtedly playing a part in Newsweek’s calling it “Europe’s coolest city in 2006.”..Over in Paris, fashion house Dice Kayek has lent its own brand of “alaturca” to the runways, with summer dresses based on Ottoman staples such as the caftan. Dice Kayek founder Ece Ege is a native of Bursa, a city east of Istanbul that has been a center of textile production and trade since Ottoman times. ..Bursa’s silks—as well as Turkish style, caftans included—are the very basis of the collections of Atil Kutoglu, an Istanbul native working out of Vienna who’s shown at New York’s Fashion week. His works have been seen on exhibit at the Smithsonian as well as on the world’s socialites such as Naomi Campbell, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Britain’s Princess Michael of Kent. ..His collections sport a modern look devoid of fussiness—which, in a sense, encapsulates the Istanbul of today. In a spring 2007 interview with financial publication Oxford Business Group, Kutoglu said, “Istanbul and Turkey will be a hub for retail, fashion, finance and technology in South-eastern Europe. I’m just proud … that Istanbul is finally getting recognized.” ……
Date:6/29/2009
Source:findingdulcenia