The eighth Merter Fashion Week (Merter Moda Haftası) opened in Istanbul in mid-September 2026, organised by MESİAD, the Merter industrialists’ and businesspeople’s association. According to MESİAD president Ufuk Muslu, about 200 representatives of buying delegations from 50 countries came to Istanbul for the event, which was held with the support of Trade Minister Prof. Dr. Ömer Bolat and the Directorate General of Exports.
Around 20 Merter companies presented their collections in two runway sessions, alongside parades, dance performances and an evening concert programme. Muslu described the event as having become a festival for the district, and said the aim was to show that Merter is one of the centres of Turkish fashion and textiles and to help its brands reach wider audiences in Türkiye, abroad and on social media.
He was also candid about the market: the association asked visiting buyers to support the sector and to give it a ‘lifeline’, while pointing to busy street trade as evidence that Merter remains a lively commercial centre.
Merter, in the Güngören district on the European side of Istanbul, is one of the densest clusters of ready-to-wear producers and wholesalers in the city. TurkishFashion.net lists hundreds of member companies in Güngören and Merter, most of them in women’s fashion, menswear and denim.
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Photo: Solo Knits collection by Solo Knits, a member of the TurkishFashion.net directory. Courtesy of Solo Knits (view the collection).
