Organized by the Mediterranean Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association (ATHİB), in order to bring innovative and original designs to the Turkish textile industry and increase the competitive power of the industry, the winners of the Woven Fabric Design Contest have been announced. Kübra Çolak was awarded first place with her collection named ‘Mere’, Alper Okçu second place with his design ‘Urban Experience’, and Yavuzhan Daşdemir third place with the concept ‘Corrosion’ in the contest held for the ninth time this year with the slogan of ‘There is a Future in Design’.
In the ceremony organized according to the pandemic conditions, the woven fabric designs of the 10 finalists were exhibited in the foyer area of the AKİB headquarter and the contestants won important educational opportunities as well as monetary awards. The designs of the following ones were exhibited: Alper Okçu from Dokuz Eylül University; Dilan Geyik, Kübra Çolak, Sahra Zeybekoğlu, Sevda Kanalci and Yavuzhan Daşdemir from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University; Huriye Çiğdem and Melis Barış from Süleyman Demirel University; Selahattin Şenkal from Işık University and Şengül Akçam from Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University.
“Design and branding are at the forefront in competition”
In his speech at the ceremony’s opening, ATHİB Contest Executive Board Chair Zeki Kıvanç said that the Covid-19 pandemic shocked the global economy and changed the direction of supply chains, production, supply and demand, and also deeply affected the textile and fashion world. Kıvanç underlined that he believes the Turkish textile industry will come prominent with fast delivery, proximity to target markets, technical infrastructure, experience, wide product range, production and design capacity at this point; “The Turkish textile industry will further increase its competitiveness, and it will be possible through design and branding, as well as the development of the industry’s technology level, qualified human resources, R&D and innovation capacity”.
What matters beyond huge production facilities is design
Zeki Kıvanç argued that the crisis caused by the pandemic and the needs of the industry could be read correctly and the share in the global market could be increased with innovative designs. Kıvanç stated that for these reasons, they have been organizing the ATHİB Woven Fabric Design Contest for 10 years and continued his words as follows:
“It is no longer enough to build huge production facilities. It is necessary to ensure that the products of these factories are designed and produced according to consumer preferences. Therefore, there is a need for designers who make original designs, know the consumer, and how to affect them. As ATHİB, we give the designer candidates and designers, who will help strengthen the design culture, the chance to express themselves with this contest. Our aim is to ensure that all companies in the textile sector in our region, especially exporting companies, adopt the design culture and take a step forward in the international arena”.
Ideas contested for ‘There is a Future in Design’
The winner of the first place, Kübra Çolak took part in the competition with her design named ‘Mere’, inspired by the story about Mere who has a woman profile oscillating between hope and despair at a young age and constantly contradicts herself. The story begins with going to a tennis match and tells how she overcomes her problems by following the ball with only eye movements. Alper Okçu won second place with his design called ‘Urban Experience’, inspired by the exaggerated buildings rising in cities and an intertwined lifestyle. Yavuzhan Daşdemir won third place with his design named ‘Corrosion’, inspired by corrosion, the electrochemical reaction of metal materials by oxidation.
The LCW Special Award went to Sevda Kanalci with her design named ‘Nyssa’, inspired by the memory book of 64-year-old Andries, who earned his living as a weaver, and his wife Nyssa, who has Alzheimer’s disease. Young designers ranking the highest received their awards from the Contest Executive Board Chair Zeki Kıvanç, ATHİB President Fatih Doğan, ATHİB Board Members Veli Ulusoy and Ali Rıza Hasoğlu.
10 finalists attend the world’s most prestigious fashion and textile fair, Paris Premiere Vision
The ATHİB Woven Fabric Design Contest is sponsored by the leading textile companies of the sector and offers the designers of the future various educational opportunities as well as monetary awards. While the winner won 25 thousand TL, the second 20 thousand TL, and the third 15 thousand TL, all 10 finalists received online training on fashion and trend analysis from LC Waikiki Corporate Academy and were given a weaving loom as a gift.
According to the statement, it will be provided with the contestants deemed appropriate by the Ministry of Commerce the opportunity to study abroad for two years on design. First of all, it will be given the winner a scholarship for foreign language study in order to evaluate the education grant under the best conditions. The 10 finalists of the contest held with the slogan of ‘There is a Future in Design’, will have the opportunity to attend Paris Premiere Vision, the most prestigious fashion and textile fair in the world. Along with the finalists, a faculty member from the relevant department of the universities they are affiliated with will attend the fair in Paris as a guest of ATHİB.