Mills Update: Türkiye Denim Manufacturers on Trends and the Textile Market Part 2
Over the past few years, the denim industry has had ups and downs as consumer and market demand ebbs and flows.
With the first half of the year in the rearview, Carved in Blue is checking in with denim mills to get their take on how 2024 is shaping up. Are sales rising or falling? What is driving demand? Which trends are taking off? And how are they addressing market needs? Read on to hear insights from Iskur Denim and Orta.
ISKUR DENIM
Levent Bozgeyik, sales department
Carved in Blue: Has the first half of 2024 been up, down or flat for your company?
Levent: The first half of 2024 was up. Iskur denim sales increased in the U.S., Japan, Russia and U.K. markets especially. Iskur denim innovation, including super soft fabrics by yarn technology combined with zero carbon footprint and in-house recycled yarn production, supported our sales in these markets.
Carved in Blue: How would you describe the current demand, and has it changed in recent months?
Levent: It has not changed in the first half of 2024, but demand will be down in the second half of 2024. This is what we have been told by some key customers. The reason is no exact trend, so brands prefer to use stock fabric or ready price-concern garments.
Carved in Blue: What has surprised you the most about 2024 so far?
Levent: We developed Cashmere denim just for eye catch but we sold very well. That surprised me; the market really needs innovation so far.
Carved in Blue: Which trends or styles do you see gaining traction, and how are you building fabrics to suit these looks?
Levent: No trend for the 2024 second half, I think. But after that, performance fabrics may come to market again.
Carved in Blue: Could you describe your latest collection launches?
Levent: We have new colors—mainly green or copper casts. We have new yarns such as wool, cashmere and TENCEL™ in our new collection. We have performance fabrics with high elasticity, good growth and a vintage look.
Carved in Blue: What are your predictions for the second half?
Levent: There will be more stock sales from fabric manufacturers, price will be a priority for buyers, and sustainability on production will not be the first priority.
ORTA
Oktay Okuroğlu, sales and marketing director
Carved in Blue: Has the first half of 2024 been up, down or flat for your company?
Oktay: It was flat, which is a good thing considering the down of 2023.
Carved in Blue: How would you describe the current demand, and has it changed in recent months?
Oktay: We are experiencing a decrease in demand, especially in the domestic market due to strong Turkish currency against the U.S. dollar. In the E.U. and U.S. markets, we can say that it has been showing flat.
Carved in Blue: What has surprised you the most about 2024 so far?
Oktay: In the sense of a good surprise, after the downfall of the German market in 2023, it got up quickly this year beyond our expectations. As a negative one, I would say the stagnation in the luxury market. As we are working with mid- and upper-level brands, this down trend affected us.
Carved in Blue: Which trends or styles do you see gaining traction, and how are you building fabrics to suit these looks?
Oktay: We still foresee no comeback for skinny fits and high stretches in the upcoming seasons. There has been a continuous demand for natural fibers, especially on regenerative cotton, which we predict to be the new standard soon. Therefore, we focus on fabrics engineered with natural fibers like cotton, hemp, linen, recycled cotton and regenerative cellulosics like lyocell, viscose and modal. For comfort stretch-level needs, we developed our Natural Comfort family with 100 percent natural fibers to decrease petroleum-based fiber dependence and tackle microplastic pollution.
Carved in Blue: Could you describe your latest collection launches?
Oktay: We launched our AW25/26 collection called Memory Lane in Kingpins Amsterdam’s April show, where we showcased denim fabrics recrafting the denim style revolution from three decades rife with self-expression and personality: the ‘50s, ‘70s and ‘80s. The ‘80s Campus group with heritage stripe textures, cozy wool denim and soft wear cashmere sateen is an Americana redux of Ivy League prep meets stylish refinement. The Retro Flex group stretches back to two decades of free-willing: the soulful hippie ‘70s and glory days of the ‘50s. It’s all about vintage denim character reworked with comfort and stretch and catwalk-ready attitude. And the last group, Black & Gray, embodies the storied narrative of black denim from the birth of workwear to the anti-establishment cool of tattoo and biker subculture.
After the October show, we have been showing the collection in private meetings as well as trade fairs like Bluezone, Première VisionMilan, Kingpins New York and Intertextile Shanghai. And now we are working on our SS26 collection, which will be launched in the next Kingpins Amsterdam in October.
Carved in Blue: What are your predictions for the second half?
Oktay: We foresee that the second half will be as parallel with the first one.