Brands create awareness by catching the fashion

Melis Alphan Hürriyet Daily News

Designers will be showcasing their work during the Istanbul Fashion Week that will continue until Feb 11. Anatolian Agency photo

It is that time of the year once again and Turkish designers are showcasing their work in a tent situated at Beyoğlu, the heart of the city.

Istanbul Fashion Week climbs one more step each season and puts its feet firmly on the ground. This is all partly thanks to the sponsorships.

When it comes to fashion weeks and sponsorships, it is a win-win situation. Sponsors are needed in order to make the fashion weeks happen. On the other hand, fashion weeks are brand-building platforms for sponsors.

Take Canon for instance. Canon is the Principal sponsor of London Fashion Week, a title sponsor of Milan Fashion Week and a key sponsor of Paris Fashion Week.

“There is a natural synergy between Canon and the fashion industry, reflecting our desire to produce imaging solutions that encourage and unleash creativity. European Fashion Weeks provide great opportunities for us to give focused support to professional photographers, many of whom are our customers. We are proud of Canon’s long-term association with these landmark fashion events,” James Leipnik of Canon Europe, Middle East and Africa said.

For sponsors, not only fashion weeks in the fashion capitals, but also those organized in other cities are attractive platforms. Wills Lifestyle, which became the title sponsor of Lakme Fashion Week in India in 2006, have benefited both entities immensely through such tie-ups. There is constant brand recall.
[HH] Complimentary partnerships

Apparel brand Van Heusen is perceived as a brand that brings fashion to the workplace because of its association with a men’s fashion week in India.

All around the world, brands from industries far from fashion want to get nurtured by fashion’s progressive and innovative ways. That is why they volunteer to be sponsors.

Mercedes launches a luxurious new car on New York Fashion Week to create awareness amongst the trendsetters. A few thousand people that attend fashion weeks are important for brands, because this is the crowd that creates the trends. Brands want to benefit from fashion’s power on the crowds. The PR and marketing value of the brands’ being associated with that crowd is extremely high.

Istanbul Fashion Week (IFW) is a beginner in this sense. The fashion week does not yet have a key or principal sponsor, but the brands will surely come around.

Make-up brand MAC has been the backstage sponsor of the event since the very beginning, the Fashion Lab days. San Pellegrino links itself with performance. The mineral water brand wants to be at the backstage of IFW, because it is where the performance is, where everybody is running on and about, needs the energy. The models, designers and crew need the water in order to keep on going and avoid dehydrating.

“As the IFW created more awareness, the hotels started to come to us, asking to host our foreign guests. Because they want to pull the fashion crowd in” said Banu Koryurek, coordinator of IFW.

The Marmara Pera located close to the tent hosting the fashion shows, is the accommodation sponsor of the event. Istanbul Municipality supports IFW by assigning space where the tent is located. It also gives the parking space for free. It is also responsible for the security and cleaning.

Turkish Airlines is the transport sponsor of the event. An introduction film on IFW is shown on planes, which spreads the vibe, and the foreign guests are flown in by Turkish Airlines.