ISTANBUL－Runway fashion shows have made a major comeback in Istanbul, Turkey's cultural and financial hub, after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than two dozen Turkish designers put new collections on show at Fashion Week Istanbul on March 18, the closing day of the four-day event, with this year's edition featuring hybrid events of film screenings, runway shows and collection presentations under social-distancing measures.

Gokhan Yavas, an Izmir-born designer, presented his menswear collection on a runway show in the Soho House Istanbul, the event's main venue in the European side of the city.

"I recently held my first digital show in London. But from now on, I will try to take bigger steps," Yavas told Xinhua after the show.

He says Fashion Week Istanbul, which was first launched in 2009 as Istanbul Fashion Days, has brought together some leading players in the Turkish and global fashion industry, presenting a unique opportunity for Turkish designers to go abroad and make big.

Yavas says his "biggest dream" is to promote globally the new look of his namesake brand, especially to Far Eastern countries, such as China, where "there is a huge fashion audience".

"They never give up on fashion life. Fashion and everything that can be fashionable is important and valuable to them," he notes. "I would love to be there as an emerging designer."

This year, Yavas broadly applied the black color to most of his collection with a touch of brightness. "I haven't totally given up the bright colors such as purple, red and pink", which symbolize joy and promises, he adds.

Murat Aytulum, another show participant, says this year's event gave a sense of hope as the pandemic has been gradually getting out of life.

"I reflected this hope in my new creations where I adopted a perspective that respects nature and life," Aytulum told Xinhua after a short film screening about his womenswear collection.

"In the film, there is a woman who has survived the pandemic. She takes a journey to trace her roots and her essence and then dedicates herself to nature and the land where she was born," he says, referring to the theme of his show.

He says the past two years had dealt a heavy blow to the fashion industry due to the pandemic, but finally, it is time to open up.

Fashion Week Istanbul went digital in 2020 and 2021 in line with the nationwide quarantine measures against the rampant coronavirus when all catwalk events were suspended.

Xinhua