Stay the course – Istanbul Leather Fair
7 December 2015Taking place at the Tüyap Fair Convention and Congress Center on 3–5 November 2015, the tenth Istanbul Leather Fair had a lot to live up to after the success of the previous edition. Leather International took the journey east to see if the crowds had returned.
Following a quick ribbon-cutting ceremony, the tenth edition of Turkey's premier leather fair, Istanbul Leather Fair (IDF), in cooperation with TURDEV Turkish Leather Foundation and TDKD Leather Apparel Producers Association of Turkey, got under way at the Tüyap Fair Convention and Congress Center, just west of central Istanbul.
Under markedly different circumstances to last year's edition, the fair was a shadow of what was accomplished then. Last November, guests were inundated with glamourous, high-end fashion shows, four halls filled with stands, bustling foot traffic and generous amounts of space dedicated to showcasing domestic artistic talent. However, it was quite a different scene this year as a consequence of the turbulent Turkish economy and quick succession of general elections, global hide prices and the unfolding uncertainty in Russia.
Absent without leave
As a result, the usual strong Russian participation was conspicuously absent and overall floor space was reduced to two halls and none of the excitement of last year was on display. Foot traffic, however, picked up on day two, and was maintained for the duration and the 'Trend Platform', sponsored by ULS Veller Cargo and designed by Simay Bülbül, where trends for 2016-17 were exhibited. Additionally, the products shown in 'Challenge for Leather' competed in the New Technology For Leather Award and Leather Fashion Award Categories.
But global and local political circumstances aside, if IDF wants to make an impact for its 11th edition, well beyond trend platforms and awards, it must do all it can to return to the standards it reached in 2014, with 368 exhibiting companies and 35 countries represented against the 156 exhibitors from 24 countries this year.
IDF 2015 was billed as a 'leather festival', rather than a traditional fair, where anything related to leather can be seen and accomplished through access, design and creativity. And, after all, Turkey's reputation of creating high-quality leather products, trend-setting designs and cutting-edge technology is a massive selling point that has helped put it on the global map, and this fair is a sounding board to the industry's health here.
IDF is also a unique platform for the Turkish leather industry to establish new business connections, strengthen trade relations and penetrate into new markets through the international visitors that come to the show, so the pressure is on for 2016. ?
