Commerce Ministry-supported EİB Fashion Design Competition, organized by Aegean Ready-Made Clothing and Apparel Exporters Association for the 16th time this year, has extended applications until 25 June.

This year's competition theme is the contact-less concept, one of the trends created by the pandemic. Applications are being accepted at http://eib.modatasarimyarismasi.org/

The dynamic of the new world: "Contact-less"

According to Burak Sertbaş, Chairman of the Aegean Ready-Made Clothing and Apparel Exporters Association, we are in the midst of a radical system change that will require people to constantly adapt themselves, and this change encompasses the holistic transformation of systems in countries, companies, sectors and society. "The message the pandemic gave us was clear: 'Abandon your preconceptions'. I will summarize this transformation briefly in this way; it leads us to question our identity, our understanding of ownership, our consumption patterns, our careers, how we encounter people, how we develop our relationships, the hierarchies we rely on, the nature of human existence. For this reason, our 2021 theme is 'contact-less', a concept at the center of a transformation unlike anything we have previously experienced, characterized by high accessibility, geographic neutrality, and interaction that transcends social, economic, cultural, political and ideological boundaries and removes barriers. A new era in which producer and consumer meet simultaneously, and consumer behavior can be observed down to the second. In short, the dynamic of the new world is built on contact-less. Last year we addressed the TECH-TILITY theme featuring sustainable designs that brought together nature and technology, finalizing it online. This year we are focusing on how we can best adapt to the potential of the great change that is transforming societies and the global economy, how we can shape and influence it."

EİB Fashion Design Competition as a turning point for designers

Tuğba Hazar, Chair of the EHKİB Social Organizations and Competition Committee, holds the view that everyone must now take on a mission to instill technology and environmental consciousness. "Since 2004, through competitions we have organized, we work toward an objective beyond ourselves, providing a platform for our young designers who are dedicated to making the world a better place by taking advantage of change. Through this, our sector is highly competent in design, quality and productivity. The EİB Fashion Design Competition is beyond being a competition; it is actually a turning point for our young people. Because more so than cash prizes, scholarships for international training and fair visit awards are very important for their futures. Over 15 years we have brought hundreds of designers to Turkey. Our young people have made their names known to the world by crossing national borders with their original and innovative designs. You can follow details about the competition both from our website and from the information seminars we have been conducting through live broadcasts on our @eibmoda Instagram account since 17 May, accompanied by fashion designer Özlem Erkan, who is the mentor of our competition."  

What is Contact-less?

Contact-less presents this year the concept of the reality of digital contact that can be established with billions of people through technology rather than physical touch as the new playing field for fashion designers. Simulated environments to be created with technologies that will experience mixed reality by adding touch to visual and auditory reality, Avatars that will be our new digital identities, the rise of bio-materials and the formation of the world of biophilic design, the transformation of the concept of sustainability from being merely a concept to becoming a vital necessity, the collapse of values in the business world, wealth, prosperity, success, politics, economy and their reinterpretation to highlight individual satisfaction and pleasure concepts… A completely different world awaits us. We eagerly await our designers to interpret this new world, in which hierarchies in every field will disappear, through the eye of a fashion designer who is among the pioneers directing societies, and to present works in the context of the 2022-23 Spring-Summer / Women's and Men's collections that will astonish and amaze us all.  

Who can apply to the competition?

• Turkish citizens,
• High school graduates or equivalent,
• Born on or before 01.01.2003 and on or after 01.01.1991.
• Not a recognized name or brand in the Turkish fashion industry and not owning a registered commercial establishment for fashion products in their own name,
• Applicants who have not placed in the top three in any men's/women's outerwear fashion design competition organized by Exporters Associations and who meet the above conditions may participate in this competition.
• First-degree relatives of any employee of the Aegean Exporters Associations cannot participate in the EİB XVI Fashion Design Competition, and even if they have participated and passed any selection round, they cannot receive prizes or, if received, forfeit all rights and must return the awards.
• First-degree relatives of the Final Night Jury members, and employees at institutions where they work and/or are owners cannot participate in the EİB XVI Fashion Design Competition, and even if they have participated and passed any selection round, they cannot receive prizes, and if received, forfeit all rights and must return the awards.

What are the prizes?

  -First Prize TRY 18,000 -Second Prize TRY 13,000 -Third Prize TRY 8,000.  

-International Training Scholarship Award

Subject to approval by the Commerce Ministry of a project to be submitted by the Aegean Exporters Associations under the "Notification on Design Support No. 2008/2 and Implementation Procedures and Principles", prize-winning applicants may be granted the right to training abroad in accordance with the number of persons determined by the Commerce Ministry. The provision of international training support is subject to the approval of the Aegean Ready-Made Clothing and Apparel Exporters Association Board of Directors and the approval of the Commerce Ministry. The Association retains final discretion regarding to how many prize-winning applicants it will grant this training right and in what manner. An applicant likely to win the international training award must begin their training within 2 (two) years from the date the competition takes place; otherwise, they forfeit this right. The applicant is responsible for obtaining the foreign language proficiency certificate required (IELTS, TOEFL, YDS, etc.) to begin international training.  

-International Fair Participation

Among the top 10 finalists, a number determined by the Aegean Ready-Made Clothing and Apparel Exporters Association Competition Committee will be given the right to visit one of the fairs in which the Aegean Ready-Made Clothing and Apparel Exporters Association organizes national participation, under conditions to be determined by the Aegean Ready-Made Clothing and Apparel Exporters Association Social Organizations and Competition Committee. The collections of the top 10 finalists will be exhibited at the Turkish Design Week event, which is expected to be held annually under the organization of the Turkish Exporters Assembly and the coordination of the Commerce Ministry. Following the competition, prize-winning finalists cannot make any requests to EİB other than the prizes awarded.