Texhibition Istanbul marks 10th edition with international sourcing focus

Texhibition Istanbul, the fabric and textile accessories fair, concluded its 10th edition on September 11, 2026, at Istanbul Expo Center. Around 500 exhibitors presented across five halls covering 42,850 square metres, spanning knitted and woven fabrics, denim, prints, artificial leather, yarns, embroidery, lace and technical textiles.

The fair drew 15,493 trade visitors, including 2,888 international attendees from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and North America, with European visitors accounting for 51.6 percent of the international total. Organisers reported nearly 2,500 B2B meetings involving more than 300 Turkish companies.

International exhibitors included Italian companies Cafissi and Lanificio Brunetto Morganti, and Japanese companies Stylem Takisada-Osaka and Uni Textile. Visiting brands and buyers included Italian outerwear label Moncler, US sportswear brand Nike, British label AllSaints and Canadian outdoor brand Arc'teryx, alongside a hosted buyer programme that welcomed representatives from Spanish retailer Stradivarius, Italian fashion house Giorgio Armani and Italian brand Stone Island, among others.

"Our objective is not simply to grow in size, but to bring together the right companies and the right decision-makers," said Ahmet Şişman, president of Texhibition Istanbul.

The 10th edition introduced the SmartTex Hub, a new platform for technical and high-performance textiles bringing together 27 companies and institutions across three categories: smart and functional fabrics, eco-technology and upcycling, and advanced engineered fibres. The existing Innovation Hub, curated by Filiz Tunca and Gamze Saraçoğlu, showcased developments including hemp-based textiles and a bionic fibre made from recycled fish-scale collagen.

A ReValue Stock Hub added a circular-sourcing dimension, connecting surplus fabric stocks with potential buyers through digital tracking tools. The Blue Black area, dedicated to Turkey's denim industry, took on a Western theme for this edition, referencing denim's roots in workwear and ranch culture.

Texhibition's Trend Area presented its autumn/winter 2027-28 theme, 'Traces of Time – Carrying the Past into the Future', through four trend worlds: Earth, Sky, Light and Water. The fair also hosted a Gala Night at Fişekhane, a restored 19th-century industrial complex on the Bosphorus, extending networking beyond the exhibition halls.

Turkey's textile and apparel sector recorded an annual production value of around 78 billion dollars. Organisers pointed to the country's vertically integrated manufacturing, short lead times and proximity to European export markets as continuing strengths.

The next edition of Texhibition is scheduled for March 3 to 5, 2027, alongside the IFCO fashion fair from February 3 to 6, 2027.