We would like to start by expressing how pleased we are as British Council to be partnering with you for the second time under the Young Creative Design & Fashion Entrepreneur Challenge. Could you briefly tell us about İMA? When was it established, what are the training programmes it is involved in and what connections does it have with the fashion academies abroad?

The Istanbul Moda Academy (İMA), run and financed by the European Union, the Undersecretariat for Foreign Trade and the General Secretariat of Istanbul Textile and Apparel Exporters’ Associations (İTKİB), and established as a part of the Fashion and Textile Cluster,  has been working since 2007 with the aim of introducing the creative and innovative workforce that will set the direction of the future of the sector in the areas of textile and apparel, which are among the most fundamental industries of Turkey. The “Academic Trainings” taking place every day on weekdays and on full-time basis, and the “Professional Development Programmes” delivered at flexible hours on weekdays or weekends, as well as the “Training Consultancy Services” tailored to the corporate needs of companies make up the 2011 training programme of İMA.  İMA’s Academic Trainings include the Fashion Design Graduate programme, which will be opened for the first time in March this year, in addition to the Fashion Design and Technology Undergraduate Programme, which is designed and run in collaboration with the London College of Fashion and delivered by LCF instructors as an equivalent of the initial two years of the undergraduate programme provided by LCF. Those graduating from this programme earn two degrees, namely the İMA and LCF diplomas, and can continue their educations in London at the LCF if they wish. The Fashion Design and Technology Certificate programme, delivered in Turkish, has the same content and curriculum and is also oriented to those desiring to study fashion design. Lastly, we have the Fashion Portfolio Preparation Programme for those who want to step into the world of fashion design and prepare a sound infrastructure for themselves. Part-time and shorter-term Professional Development Programmes continue to add new colours to the gamut of education every semester. In addition to ongoing training programmes on Fashion Design, Fashion Management, Photoshop & Illustrator in Fashion Design, Fashion Drawing Techniques, and Fashion Photography, we are offering some new options with the training programmes on Purchasing and Merchandising in Fashion Retail, Styling, Fashion Editing, Pattern Techniques etc, through which we address fashion from all sides with alternatives on every subject involving fashion.

What is your viewpoint on the British fashion and what do you think about the importance of British fashion designers in the industry?

The British fashion comes to fore as a leading fashion industry in the world with the wealth of its subcultures, emerging as a cosmopolitan sector that analyzes well the interactions between cultures.

How do you think the young creative entrepreneur challenge, which British Council is organizing to support the fashion entrepreneurs in Turkey, will contribute to the sector?

I think these competitions offer a serious networking platform and also a learning experience to entrepreneurs who are striving to make their existence known with fresh and original ideas, by spreading the culture of fashion and the spirit of entrepreneurship. As the competition has international continuity, it provides the winners with the opportunity to learn and teach about their countries and to observe what other entrepreneurs in the world are doing; having the opportunity to participate in these activities brings great benefits in terms of creating added value in addition to providing a global vision.

To describe it for our young fashion enthusiasts, for whom is the concept “fashion entrepreneur” used today?

Young people who develop the ability to look at fashion in both the local and the global sense, who discover business models and/or new products or brands that have no precedents in the industry and who find ways to sustain these emerge as the fashion entrepreneurs of today.

Do you think young people interested in Fashion in Turkey are able to get sufficient support to become entrepreneurs in the sector?

In Turkey, the fashion sector is still developing and we are in a period in which the sector is beginning to give more support to young entrepreneurs and talents; competitions in this area and the Istanbul Fashion Week are platforms emerging to guide those who wish to enter the sector.

What is the significance of your cooperation with us, from İMA’s point of view? What are your expectations for the future years of the partnership, or what do you think should be done to further the collaboration?

İMA has a great mission to further the Fashion-Textile sector in Turkey; our primary objective is to raise fashion professionals who are creative, who are entrepreneurs, who understand the business world, and who are able to merge their own cultures with international norms. Similarly, we are happy to be a part of a very important organization that will support young people in Turkey and enable them to gain meaningful experiences. We think this collaboration will not stop at only supporting the young entrepreneurs but will be the stepping stone for creating mechanisms to support creative people by raising the sectoral awareness and acting as the locomotive for young people who want to create their own brands.