The New Language of Competition in Footwear: Design
The Turkish footwear industry is aiming to strengthen its position in international competition by combining its long-established manufacturing capabilities with design, brand value and innovative product development. One of the key platforms bringing this transformation together with young designers, the 5th İDMİB Footwear Design Competition once again highlighted that footwear is not merely a manufactured product, but a strong fashion product where creativity, design and added value come together.
Young designers meet in Istanbul
Organized by the Istanbul Leather and Leather Products Exporters’ Association (İDMİB) with the support of the Ministry of Trade and the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM), the final and award ceremony of the 5th Footwear Design Competition was held on 25 September 2026 at Istanbul Fashion Academy. The ceremony was attended by Istanbul Deputy Governor Cengiz Karabulut, presidents of exporters’ associations and representatives of the footwear industry.
The competition was organized to strengthen the creative capacity of the Turkish footwear industry, bring young designers together with the sector and support design-oriented, value-added production. Finalists’ projects were evaluated according to criteria including originality, functionality, manufacturability, innovation, added value and export potential. Emel Güven Bardız chaired the jury, while fashion designer Gamze Saraçoğlu served as creative director.
Winners in women’s and men’s footwear
In the Women’s Footwear category, Beste Serim won first prize, followed by İrem Demir in second place and Ayşegül Çolak in third.
In the Men’s Footwear category, Nur Akbulut took first place, Halit Şeyhoğlu came second and Abdüssamet Kurt finished third.
Adding design value to manufacturing strength
İDMİB Chairman Güven Karaca emphasized the important role of design and young talent in Türkiye’s efforts to increase its share in the global footwear market. Karaca underlined that bringing the industry’s manufacturing experience together with the creative perspective of young designers could contribute to a stronger position for Turkish footwear in international markets.
By bringing the creative ideas of young designers together with the production experience of the industry, the competition once again underlined the importance of Turkish footwear standing out in global competition not only through manufacturing capacity, but also through design and brand value.
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