The final of the 30th Koza Young Fashion Designers Competition, organized by the Istanbul Ready-made Garments Exporters’ Association (İHKİB), was held.
The final of the Koza Young Fashion Designers Competition, which has been held by İHKİB for 30 years and supported by the Ministry of Commerce, brought the fashion world together. In the night where young fashion designers who will shape the future of the sector were awarded, 10 finalists and their designs were exhibited. The designs of the finalists, determined by a jury consisting of leading names in the sector and academicians, were brought to the audience with a magnificent fashion show. The production process of the collections took six months. The mentors of the competition were fashion designers Özlem Kaya and Şansım Adalı. The Koza Young Fashion Designers Competition, organized by İHKİB in order to increase branding in the Turkish Ready-to-Wear industry and to transform Turkey, which is a production giant, into a design giant at the same time, contributes to the sector and the country by bringing young talents to the Turkish fashion sector. Finalists won big prizes. In addition, the contestants selected among the finalists by the Ministry of Commerce received scholarships to study abroad. The top three finalists also received a one-year language education right in addition to the monetary award. The 10 finalists who presented their collections won the right to participate in the fashion design and management diploma program in IMA graduate programs, MTD membership and visit to an international fashion fair related to the sector. Materials and workshop support were also provided to the finalists who received consultancy during the preparation phase to make their fashion shows. Maide Özer won the first place among the 10 finalists whose collections were exhibited in the Koza Young Fashion Designers Competition. In the evaluation made by the jury, Şakir Buldan came in second and Melis Küçükyılmaz came in third.
WINNERS
Maide Özer
Obscura
Koza Young Fashion Designers Competition Winner
The collection took its name from Camera Obscura. The Latin word “Obscura” means hidden, little known, overshadowed. The inspiration for the collection is the mysterious life story of photographer Vivian Maier, who was discovered after her death. Based on Vivian’s story, the collection tried to make you feel how special silhouettes can be in the background. While doing this, it was aimed to re-analyze familiar clothing forms by personalizing them. Contrasting colors, asymmetrical and circular forms were used together to emphasize the unity of Vivian’s different aspects in her life. The illustrations, inspired by the photographs Vivian took, were transferred to the fabric surfaces through various techniques such as knitwear, embroidery and printing, thus reflecting the story in a more concrete way in an artistic sense.
Şakir Buldan
Cherry Blossom Girl
Koza Young Fashion Designers Contest Runner-up
The starting point of the collection was the movie “The Virgin Suicides” directed by Sofia Coppola. Their real, unconcealed personalities were analyzed and reflected in the collection, based on clues captured from the film. Pink, white and dark colors, representing the femininity, youthful maidenhood and rebelliousness they could not experience, formed the main colors of the collection. The school uniforms, which can only be seen because their relations with the outside world are suspended, are embroidered with cherry blossom and crystal stones, which represent divine beauty and rebirth in Japanese culture, inspired by Far Eastern motifs in the girls’ room, immortalizing both the collection and the story.
Melis Küçükyılmaz
Margot
Third Place in Koza Young Fashion Designers Competition
Margot was exhibited as a fall-winter women’s clothing collection inspired by Michael Bulgakov’s book “The Master and Margarita”. The characters in the book and the city of Moscow in the 1930s, where the story takes place, formed the basis of the collection. The characteristics, habits and clothing styles of the characters were used in the details and patterns.