Third Textile Design Contest sponsored by the Textile and Raw Materials Exporters Union (ITHIB) was held on Monday in Istanbul.
Event presented Mehmet Koru with first prize for his 'Volume and Action' collection, followed by Aslihan Karahan for her 'Keçe' and Baris Mavzer for 'Dada'.
State Minister Kürsad Tüzmen present on the occasion, said, “We experienced big problems in 2006. We were only able to increase our textile exports by 8 percent. But we all had faith in the situation. Today we see that in the first five months of 2007 we were able to bring about a 24 percent increase in exports.”
ITHIB President Ismail Gülle said that the industry needed to develop infrastructure and advance technology, so as to build a qualitative as well as quantitative fashion industry.
Gülle said that the sector's aim was not to manufacture cheap products but to create its own brands and distinctive styles.