The Turkish tribes coming to Anatolia brought their techniques and motifs which made an important contribution to the local textile tradition. Examples of Anatolian Seljuks clothing and carpets can be seen in Berlin Staatliches Museum; Musee Historique des Tissus, Lion; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; and Turkish Islamic Museum, Istanbul.
After Seljuks, the Ottoman State that has ruled in Anatolia for over 600 years, has produced various textile products of excellent quality in Antakya, Musul, Bursa, Bilecik, Uskudar and Istanbul. Several examples of them can be found in many museums of the world, among which Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul have an archive of Ottoman-Turk cloths.
Until early 18th century the production and consumption of textile goods were in equilibrium, with some export of embroidery, cloths and carpets to Europe.
However the invention of weaving machines in Europe which increased not only the amount of production but also the demand on raw material and skilled labor to operate these machines changed the conditions in the world market drastically. Facing these developments the Ottoman sultans tried to implement some measures to protect local textile production 18th century onwards.
However, the efforts of Selim III and Abdulaziz to encourage industrialization of weaving could not catch up with the pace of the Industrial Revolution in Europe, hence Turkish handicrafts experienced a decline. (5)
Ottoman textile goods presented in 1851 London, 1855 Paris and 1862 London World Exhibitions arose admiration. Some private enterprises were established, an exhibition center was built in Sultan Ahmet Square and an "Ottoman Exhibition" was organized in 1862 to enliven the trade. Nevertheless all these efforts could not be effective besides being a demonstration of good will. (6)
Another point of measure was the establishment of the "Hamidiye Sanayi Mekteb-i Alisi" (Hamidiye High School of Art) in 1876 in order to meet the needs of the industrial age. In 1884 the first shops on clothing were opened in Pera and Besiktas. (7)
Again in those years, companies began with industrial production, for example Feshane factory was founded in 1835 to produce fezzes and broadcloth for the military.
In 1843, a broadcloth factory in Izmit and a factory with 50 cotton, 25 silk canvas weaving looms in Hereke were established. Silk cloth factory in Bursa and Zeytinburnu printed cloth factory are other examples of state enterprises in this sector. (8)
The Ottoman State was replaced by the Turkish Republic in 29 October 1923. With the beginning of the Republican era, several institutions were restructured and reorganized in accordance with the Western standards in order to improve efficiency and to increase competitiveness. The above mentioned factories were united under the name "Sumerbank" and began to produce wool and cotton garment and textiles.
The Sanayi-i Nefise School (School for Fine Arts) established in 1882 was renamed as State Academy of Fine Arts in 1928 and textile design was introduced as a new course in the Department of Decorative Arts.
Today, the education in textile art and design continues with the support of the government and the private sector keeping in pace with the changing needs and the latest developments in the sector.
The number of technical schools which provide the sector with well-trained
technical staff increases along with the faculties of fine art and faculties
of engineering which give university degrees of "textile designer" and
"textile engineer" respectively.
ITKIB (Istanbul Tekstil ve Konfeksiyon Ihracatci Birlikleri/ Istanbul Textile and Apparel Exporters' Association) was founded by the Undersecretariat for Foreign Trade and related private sector Associations in 1986 in order to organize the export led activities for maintaining the growth of Turkish exports.
ITKIB under its General Secretariat holds main four groups which are;
Main activities run by ITKIB General Secretariat are as follows;
TGSD:
TGSD (Turkiye Giyim Sanayicileri Dernegi/ Turkish Clothing Manufacturer's
Association) was founded in 1976 and has about 400 members. The effectiveness
of this association within the sector has been recognized by many international
institutions: TGSD is a member of IAF (International Apparel Federation),
ECLA (European Clothing Association), EURATEX (The European Apparel and
Textile Organization), and INTERCOLOR.
TGSD provides information flow within the sector and promotes eco-production among its members.
Mrs. Sabahnur Erdemli - Secretary General
Phone: (0090 212) 274 25 25 - 26 / 274 55 55 - 56
Fax: (0090 212) 272 40 60