First Turkey Design Week to hit Istanbul

First Turkey Design Week to hit Istanbul

ISTANBUL
The world of design will come together in Istanbul between Oct. 19 and 23 at the first ever Turkey Design Week. Organized with the cooperation of the Economy Ministry and the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TİM), the event will bring together designers, manufacturers, traders and exporters at the Lütfi Kırdar Convention and Exhibition Center.
Among the features showcased at the event will be products by national and international companies as well as the world’s top design schools, panel discussions, workshops, and product exhibitions of the finalists of design competitions. A number of exhibitions and other events will also be held at various locations across the city. 

Pınar Demirdağ, one of the founders of the Pınar & Viola brand, will give a speech titled “Reflections of Graphic on Fashion Design” at the event. 

A special product selection from Beirut Design Week, the biggest design festival of the Middle East and North Africa, will also be featured, with designs from 16 Lebanese design studios set to be displayed.

The designs of Daniel Widrig, who worked with the late architect Zaha Hadid for many years and contributed to Hadid’s most iconic building and product designs, will also be exhibited during the week. Often cited as being among the key names who have reshaped technology and art, Widrig’s 3D costumes, created with Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen, were selected as being among the top innovations of the year by Time Magazine.

Another guest will be Finnish shoe designer Minna Parikka, whose shoes have been worn by celebrities including Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Cara Delevingne, Kylie Jenner, Fergie, Palamo Faith, Beth Ditto. Parikka’s shoes draw attention with entertaining and bold motifs such as rabbit ears and pompons. 

Visitors to Design Week Turkey will also experience unprecedented virtual reality in the “VR Design” created by Denisson Bertram. Fashion photographer and visual artist Bertram will make a talk on “Unlimited Potential in Design with Virtual Reality.”

Zuzanna Skalska, the founder and trend director of 360 Inspiration, will also be in Istanbul for a conference. Skalska has worked as an innovative trend researcher and strategist for 18 years, observing developments in society from socio-economic and technological perspectives. 

From Turkey, Ezra Çetin, one of the creators of the “Ezra + Tuba” brand, will meet audiences in a conference at the event. Ezra + Tuba has worked with Victoria’s Secret, Nick Nora, Levis, and Tommy Hilfiger in its first years and this year developed its wearable technologies to become the face of Intel’s world campaign with its “Butterfly Dress.” 

Exhibitions 

The week will also host a number of exhibitions, including “İzler” (Traces) featuring traditional Turkish handicrafts, with the cooperation of the Istanbul Fashion Academy and Turkish fashion designer Dice Kayek. 
Another exhibition to be organized as part of the event will be from the Italy-born, Vienna-based designer and artist Patrick Rampelotto, who attracted attention with lamps designed out of award trophies, knocking down the borders between art and design. The lamps Rampelotto designed with unique metal and plastic pieces, purchased from flea markets and special collections, will be on show in Istanbul, along with a number of his other works.    

Design Week Turkey will also host Italian designer Pasquale Volpe’s exhibition “Good 50x70.” The key starting point of Good 50x70 is to increase social awareness against global warming, environmental pollution, water shortages, child deaths and animal rights with posters designed in 50x70 cm dimensions. Visitors to the exhibition will be able to design their own posters on these themes.

Other shows during the week include Sara Garanty’s “Color Emotions,” which aims to make us realize our own perception about reality, and “Swedish Fashion Stories.” 

The ceremony of the Design Turkey Industrial Design Awards and exhibition of included works will also be held within the scope of the Istanbul event.