Cutting a new dash with Turkish delights

A new fashion academy in Istanbul is helping to highlight Turkey's business edge over China, writes Deirdre McQuillan, Fashion Editor

LAST JANUARY in a former grand vizier's palace in Istanbul, one of the most modern new fashion schools opened its doors. An elegant early 19th century building in the heart of the clothing district that was once a girls' school and later a music conservatoire is now charged with a new mission: to reinvigorate the Turkish fashion industry.

Staffed by industry professionals with links to international fashion schools such as the London College of Fashion, the Institut Français de la Mode in Paris and the Domus Academy in Milan its aim is "to elevate the understanding of fashion industry training, to support young designers and to educate future professionals in the industry".

It is supported on three fronts by the EU, by the Turkish government and by some 8,500 small to medium enterprises that stand to benefit from its establishment.

"Made in Turkey" is a label with which many in Ireland will be familiar as the country is Europe's second-largest supplier of clothing after China, and the fifth-largest supplier in the world.

It is a powerful and important industry with more than 50,000 companies employing some 2.5 million people, according to EU estimates. Exports have grown from $106 million in 1980 to $15.6 billion in 2007 and in a 27-year period the industry has shifted from low value-added commodities to high value-added manufacturing items and fashion goods. Ireland, for example, imported €118 million worth of textile and clothing products in 2007 from Turkey.

Now with increased competition from China and the expiry of WTO quotas, the economy, the sixth-biggest in Europe, is facing new challenges. With a sophisticated manufacturing system in place, the key lies in innovation and training, and the opening of the Istanbul Moda Academy is the first step in upgrading the calibre of Turkish design and designers and improving industry competitiveness.

Well-known Turkish fashion designers on the international stage include Rifat Ozbek, Hussein Chalayan and, more recently, Bora Aksu and Erdem, all of whom received their fashion training in London from where they conduct their business.

The plan is to attract and educate home-grown designers of potential as well as improving the management and skills in existing SMEs with short courses and advisory and training services.

"This project will provide assistance in finance, design, marketing and export," said the academy's director Sezer Mavituncalilar, a former manufacturer who worked for Marks Spencer for 10 years producing Per Una for George Davies.

The academy is an impressive place. It has all the usual facilities such as pattern-cutting and CAD systems, but also a library of more than 3,000 books, magazines and publications on fashion as well as a photographic studio. A recent lecturer was the internationally renowned fashion photographer Juergen Teller.

For those faced with the choice of manufacturing in China or Turkey, it is a question of cost. Unit costs in China can be as much as 30 per cent lower, but Turkey's growing professionalism, high-quality textiles and proximity to Europe have made it a more attractive option for many retailers.

"Increasingly we are buying more from Turkey even though their unit costs are significantly higher than the Far East because it's much closer to our market and therefore lead times are faster, allowing us to react more quickly to market trends", says Jo Farrelly, marketing director of Whistles. "It's the difference between four hours away and 12 hours and so accessibility to the supplier is easier. A high proportion of our formal trousers and coats comes from Turkey, as the quality and fit are much better," she added.

According to a spokeswoman for another major retailer, "Turkey has a more European mentality and it has made huge innovations in fabric mills. China is more about massive volume at cheap price points. To get European fabric shipped to the Far East would be another month. Turkey may not compete with China on price, but they can on better quality, finish, fit and fabric," she said. Both Dunnes Stores and Penneys declined to comment.

Serhat Cetinkaya of Osmanbey, an association of more than 800 members representing 4,000 enterprises, participates in foreign fairs to promote Turkey around the world, organising, for example, four fairs a year in Russia. Osmanbey is an area of Istanbul associated with the ready-to-wear sector. "China is a factory," he said. "Our weapon is good design." They plan to come to Ireland's Futura Fair in 2010.

On the basis of a visit to their recent International Fashion Fair in Istanbul, Turkey still has some way to go in terms of design. The majority of the collections, though well made, seemed aimed at glitzy leisure wear rather than smart everyday apparel, and Russian buyers predominated.

Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, was famously fussy about dress, abolished the fez and encouraged the wearing of "international clothes". It was surprising that none of the young designers either drew on their native traditions or offered an exciting international perspective. But that may change.