The spice-y city of Istanbul played host to Turkey's own fashion week last weekend for the first ever Fashionable Istanbul event. Established international designers kicked off the extravaganza, with Roberto Cavalli, Gianfranco Ferre, Salvatore Ferragamo, Missoni and Vivienne Westwood all creating a buzz in the bustling city which is usually famed for a nice hot bath rather than a glass of bubbly. Hosted by Hakan Baykam of brand management firm Baykam and with the help of world renowned event management group, IMG, the weekend was a star-studded success putting Istanbul on the international fashion circuit for years to come. Already a leading manufacturer for major brands around the world, Turkey's textile trade is a major player within the fashion industry and Fashionable Istanbul brings even more awareness to this exciting city.

Amongst the international designers' shows, young Turkish design students were picked from two of Turkey's best colleges- LaSalle International Academy and Ismek. Showing an assortment of emerging new talent, they proved that Istanbul is a city to be watching. One of our favourites from the new talent presented is Canan Irdel who discovers a new world looking through a kaleidoscope of colours- we love the stripey yellow flares with cut outs revealing panels of flesh.

The venue for Fashionable Istanbul was a floating catwalk on one of Istanbul's focal points- the Bosphorus strait which very uniquely divides Istanbul between the two continents of Europe and Asia. It was a perfect setting to showcase Istanbul's new talents even if we did leave a little seasick! We can't wait to see more young Turkish fashion talent...