The tenth edition of IFCO – Istanbul Fashion Connection, held from 19 to 21 August 2026 at Istanbul Expo Center, recorded 12,550 trade visitors from 117 countries. International buyers numbered 4,525, or 36% of attendance. More than 200 exhibitors showed womenswear, menswear, kidswear, denim, eveningwear, lingerie and hosiery, footwear, accessories and homewear.
The Middle East supplied the largest share of foreign visitors (42.9%), followed by Europe (21.4%), Asia (19.8%) and North Africa (10.6%). Registered buyers included the Landmark Group and Boutiqaat from the UAE, Harvey Nichols’ Saudi operator Alfa International, and Moss Bros from the UK.
The fair was initiated under the leadership of İHKİB, the Istanbul Apparel Exporters’ Association. Its president, Mustafa Paşahan, said IFCO has become ‘an international platform for the Turkish fashion industry’ over the past four years, connecting brands with buyers. Lingerie and swimwear were shown in the integrated LINEXPO area, and THE CORE section presented Turkish designers including Meltem Özbek, Sudi Etuz, Mehtap Elaidi and Özlem Erkan.
Exhibitors were broadly positive but frank about a difficult market: several mentioned pricing pressure and asked for more qualified buyers, while others reported new customers from Canada, Australia, Central Asia and the Gulf.
Dates ahead: IFCO returns on 3–6 February 2027, with the new Sourceist sourcing event on 4–5 February. From 2027 the second edition moves from August to September (8–11 September 2027), and Texhibition Istanbul follows on 3–5 March 2027.
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Photo: Istanbul Expo Center, the venue of IFCO. Stefan64, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
