Hanna Abdulla, News Editor on Just Style, was in Istanbul, Turkey, for the third annual Istanbul Fashion Connection when the earthquake occurred some 11 hours by car away from the epicenter. The mood, she reports, was quite somber during the event, and she had a front-row view of how the industry pulled together to help the victims of this horrible quake, which occurred on February 6, just two days before IFCO was to start. According to Hanna, attendees wore black ribbons in solidarity with those most impacted. She notes that domestic flights were cancelled or running on reduced operations in order to focus on removing survivors from the earthquake zones, but some 2,000 attendees had already landed in Istanbul the day before. She also notes that any planned celebratory events were cancelled in line with the national mourning period.

Drone photos show the massive devastation caused by the earthquake. Photo credit: Mohammad Bash.

The country has a thriving textiles industry, actually dating back to the 16th century, and according to Alliance Experts, is valued at more than US$5.4 billion today. More than 70% of Turkey’s apparel exports are destined for Europe, and the region is also focused on growing its market share in the U.S. Apparel is the third larges export from Turkey behind automotive and agriculture.