Leading the fashion world and recognized as Europe’s largest bridal and eveningwear fair, IF Wedding Fashion İzmir offered visitors the long-awaited fair experience after the pandemic. With its fashion shows, runway presentations, and events, the fair dazzled attendees, while its business meetings contributed significantly to the national economy. Hosting professional visitors from across Türkiye and around the world, the fair also saw numerous agreements signed through its buyer delegations. Participating companies shared their evaluations of the fair and visitor interest.
The 16th IF Wedding Fashion İzmir – Bridal, Groom and Eveningwear Fair, held between 22–25 November 2022, became the hub of fashion and trade. Organized by İZFAŞ with the partnership of the Aegean Clothing Manufacturers Association (EGSD) and hosted by İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, the fair brought together 222 exhibitors from Türkiye and 10 countries, representing eveningwear, bridal, groom wear, accessories, and children’s wear product groups. In addition to thousands of domestic professional visitors, the fair welcomed nearly 3,000 international visitors from various countries.
With runway shows and fashion performances where designs set to shape 2023 trends were unveiled for the first time, the fair attracted great interest. Company representatives expressed satisfaction with the attention received and shared their thoughts on IF Wedding Fashion İzmir.
Emine Yıldırım – Emine Yıldırım Fashion House
“We have been participating in the fair for five years. We are an İzmir-based company focused on exports. Since our first participation, we have observed a steady increase in visitor numbers and international attendance. This year has been even more successful in that regard. It was a very enjoyable fair. The high quality of participating companies and the growing number of exhibitors and visitors prove that we are doing strong work internationally and competing well with global fairs. I believe the fair makes a serious contribution to İzmir and Türkiye.”
Benek Osmani – Walone (Pristina, Kosovo)
“We joined the fair from Pristina, Kosovo. Previously we attended as visitors; this year we opened our own stand as exhibitors. The fair was very successful and exciting for us. We design eveningwear and bridal gowns and had the opportunity to reflect our style here. We met customers from Italy, the USA, France, and Saudi Arabia, received new orders, and established new connections. We are very satisfied and plan to return next year with a larger and more impressive stand.”
Tayyar Günbeyi – Günbeyi Group
“We have been attending this fair for 11 years. We are very pleased with the interest and the agreements we made. The fair went very well for us. We also presented our brands through runway shows and showcased our designs. There was strong interest from the Middle East and Europe, and our sales were good. We attend every year and will continue to do so.”
Yusuf Çamöz – Seren Moda
“This is our fourth time participating, and we have received very positive feedback. Over the years, this fair has helped elevate us as a brand. We believe our runway show added color to the fair. Middle Eastern and Arab countries show strong interest in our brand and designs, where we are already well known. This year’s fair went very well, and our show was highly appreciated. We are very satisfied with the interest.”
Alper Turan – Balerina
“We have been participating for four years. We are very pleased to be here; it is a highly successful, world-class fair. If you list the top five fairs in this sector globally, IF Wedding Fashion İzmir would be one of them. The quality of visitors is excellent. Our sales were strong, and we received orders and preliminary agreements from Europe, the Americas, Turkic republics, and the Balkans. We will continue to participate in the future.”
Erman & Oğuz Sümer – Niobe by ASM
“Our business is 70% export-oriented and 30% domestic. We have 43 years of experience in the eveningwear sector. The fair is progressing very well for both İzmir and the industry. We believe it is highly successful. Our international guests greatly appreciated our collections. We are in dialogue with all European countries, and their strong interest in the fair is very encouraging. Europe and the world have embraced this fair and İzmir as a center for this sector. As an İzmir-based brand, we are proud of this fair.”
Serdar Çakırlı – Torres Cerimonia
“We have been participating in this fair for 14 years and have nearly 20 years of sector experience. We primarily work with European markets and specialize exclusively in menswear. We prepare diverse collections with great care. This year, we brought a 400-piece collection and presented our 2022–2023 collection here. Compared to last year, visitor numbers and sales were higher. This year was better than previous ones.”
Adnan Canpolat – Carmen
“This is our seventh participation, and it was the best fair we’ve had in these seven years. Sales and visitor numbers were high. There was strong interest from European clients, including delegations from Italy, Portugal, and Germany. Domestic interest was also strong. I am very optimistic about the future—the impact of the pandemic seems to have passed, and the coming years look much more productive.”
Akın Güreler – Gürel Bijuteri
“I have been participating since 2013. Compared to previous years, this fair was more productive and successful. We achieved strong results in both domestic and international markets. We are very satisfied and plan to continue participating in the coming years.”