Winners of the 13th Wedding Dress Design Competition Announced

The winners of the 13th Wedding Dress Design Competition, which was organized within the scope of IF Wedding Fashion İzmir – Wedding Dress, Suit and Evening Dress Fair and whose theme was determined as “Modaverse” this year, have been announced. İzmir University of Economics student Enes Yolcu came in first, Mimar Sinan University student Arife Gedik came in second, and İzmir University of Economics student İlayda Yasin came in third.

IF Wedding Fashion İzmir – Wedding Dress, Suit and Evening Dress Fair; It is organized by İZFAŞ for the 16th time, hosted by İzmir Metropolitan Municipality and in partnership with the Aegean Clothing Manufacturers Association. Organized for the 25th time within the scope of IF Wedding Fashion İzmir, which will continue until 13 November at Fuarizmir, the Wedding Dress Design Contest has met with intense interest from young designers this year. Designers from 19 provinces applied with 170 designs to the competition held with the theme of “Modaverse” this year. Anıl Bayraktar, Arife Gedik, Buse Sinem Tekin, Ceylin Hurcanlar, Defne Kacar, Dide Aksamaoğlu, Ecenur Erdoğan, Enes Yolcu, Gizem Mendi, Gülsüm Güneş, İlayda Yasin, Nazmiye Gümüş, Oğuzhan Öndeyer, Sercan İzci and Serkan Çınar, the 15 finalists it happened. The designers carried out the sewing process under the mentorship of industry professionals in the workshops of designers who are members of the Izmir Fashion Designers Association for about two months.

“The biggest in Europe”

The designs of the finalists were showcased at the final fashion show. Speaking before the final fashion show, İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Mayor Mustafa Özuslu said, “This fair, where fashion trends are determined, is also the largest fair in Europe in its sector. The Wedding Dress Design Contest is also being held for the 13th time. This competition plays a very important role in bringing young designers to the sector and presenting their designs from Izmir to the world. As Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, we act by knowing how the fair organization contributes to many sectors, and we carry out very valuable works with our fair organization company İZFAŞ. Apart from IF Wedding Fashion İzmir, we also organize our Fashion Prime and Fashion Tech fairs. All of these fairs complement each other and contribute to the sector.”

Bringing new designers to the sector

Hayati Ertuğrul, Chairman of the Aegean Clothing Manufacturers Association (EGSD) and Abdullah Salkım, Chairman of the İzmir Moda Tekstil Confectioners Site (MTK) Industrialists and Businessmen's Association, have brought many new designers to the sector with the competition held since 2010, as well as fashion and trends in international markets. He said that it is aimed to reveal original designs that can create Stating that IF Wedding Fashion İzmir has become not only a fair but also a world brand with its competitions and fashion shows, the presidents expressed that the union of forces of all institutions and organizations at the fair made great contributions to the development of the sector.

The designs were exhibited in the final fashion show

Young talents with the choreography of Akif Öruk Rönesans At the final fashion show where agency models took part, she presented her designs to the appreciation of the jury and had the chance to present them to industry professionals. In the jury chaired by designer Övge Yıldızhan Subaşı; Istanbul Technical University Faculty of Textile Technologies and Design Lecturer Dr. Belgin Görgün, Head of the Department of Textile and Fashion Design at Marmara University, Prof. Dr. Biret Tavman, Dean of Izmir University of Economics, Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Prof. Dr. Ender Bulgun, Designer Erol Albayrak, İzmir Fashion Designers Association President Esin Özyiğit, Designer – Academician Fırat Neziroğlu, Mimar Sinan University Fine Arts Faculty Textile and Fashion Design Department Head Prof. Dr. Kemal Can, Mambo Couture Company Owner – Designer Maher Ghalayini, Dokuz Eylül University Faculty of Fine Arts Fashion Clothing Design Department Head Nesrin Önlü, Designer Niyazi Erdoğan, İzmir Maturation Institute Manager Şule Aydın, Fashion Writer – Showcase Designer Ümit Temurçin, Seren Moda Company Owner – Designer Yusuf Çamöz and Ege University Fashion and Design School Director Prof. Dr. Ziynet Öndogan took part.

After the final fashion show, the winners of the competition were announced with the evaluation of the jury. In the 13th International Wedding Dress Design Competition, the winner was given the opportunity to hold a fashion show at IF Wedding Fashion İzmir, which will be held next year, while the top three finalists were awarded a total of 45 thousand TL. İzmir University of Economics student Enes Yolcu came in first, followed by Mimar Sinan University student Arife Gedik, and İzmir University of Economics student İlayda Yasin ranked third. The awards of the winners were presented to the Deputy Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, Mustafa Özuslu, the Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality. Tunç Soyer's wife Neptün Soyer, Chairman of the Board of EGSD Hayati Ertuğrul and Chairman of the Board of MTK Abdullah Salkım. Rönesans Agency President Akif Öruk was given a plaque by İZFAŞ General Manager Canan Karaosmanoğlu for his contributions.

Inspired by the iris flower

Stating that she designed the wedding dress with inspiration from the iris flower, Enes Yolcu said, “In this work, I took my inspiration from the iris flower. The iris flower is a symbol of wisdom, purity, faith and hope. I reflected the iris flower on my wedding dress designs by sprouting it again in my own self, nurturing it with my emotional changes and transformations.”

The most exciting was next year's performance fashion show

Enes Yolcu, who stated that he was proud and happy to be ranked in the competition, said, “All the designs in the competition were very successful. The whole process was beautiful and exciting. This success showed me that I can take part in this sector and what I can do. It gave me self-confidence to create good things for my own brand in the future. The most exciting thing is that with the first prize I won, I will be able to do my own performance fashion show on this podium next year. I think the whole competition process and the performance fashion show is a very good opportunity. I would like to thank all the organizations that provide this opportunity to us young people and support the emergence of new designs. I want to put my signature under a beautiful performance with a theme that reflects myself again next year," he said.