‘‘Kars: The Gates of 22 Civilizations, Orator Ani’’ Exhibition in Istanbul

The costumes of the fashion show with the theme of ‘‘Kars: The Gates of 22 Civilizations, Orator Ani’’ held in 2014 within the framework of Kars International Culture and Tourism Days, in cooperation with the Fashion and Ready-to-Wear Federation (MHGF) and Istanbul Aydın University (IAU) Anadolu Bil Vocational School (ABMYO) Fashion Design Department, was exhibited in Istanbul.

The opening ceremony of the exhibition held at Rapsodi Socks Art Gallery in Beylikdüzü on Wednesday, November 24, 2021, was attended by Mayor of Beylikdüzü Mehmet Murat Çalık, Chairman of the Fashion and Apparel Federation Hüseyin Öztürk, Vice-Rector of Istanbul Aydın University and Director of ABMYO Prof. Dr. Mustafa Çıkrıkçı, Vice-Rector Prof. Dr. Reşat Başer, Head of Fashion Design Department Nihal Bolkol. The opening ceremony, which attracted great interest, was attended by many sector officials and participants from non-governmental organizations.

The costumes in the ‘‘Kars: The Gates of 22 Civilizations, Orator Ani’’ Exhibition and the costumes completed in 9 months bear the traces of the civilizations that Kars hosted thousands of years ago.

‘‘We support every project that adds value to our city.’’

Speaking at the opening of the exhibition, Mayor of Beylikdüzü Mehmet Murat Çalık stated the following, ‘‘Cultural ties were kept strong while the costumes were being produced. They told the silence of Sarıkamış through costumes. We support every project that adds value to our city. We need to connect young people with our culture. They succeeded it with this project. The colors of the costumes are beautiful; the warmth engulfs you. The exhibition was beautiful. Bless the hands and hearts of those who contributed.’’  

‘‘We are trying to relay the cultural values of Anatolia to society’’

Chairman of the Fashion and Ready-to-Wear Federation Hüseyin Öztürk emphasized that 120 costumes depicting the Ani Ruins from the Urartian Period and Kars Castle from the Seljuks were prepared and 45 of them were exhibited in this exhibition and continued his statement as follows: ‘‘Faculty members at the university we cooperate with go to the region and do research. Students who work in the kitchen present the figure of the region to the fabric, the fabric to the garment, the garment to the costume, the costume with the fashion show.

We also have a section in memory of Sarıkamış martyrs. Our Anatolian lands are very rich in history. The duty of an NGO is not just to benefit its members. At the same time, it is to relay the cultural values of Anatolia to society and to work to increase awareness in this sense. In addition, our students came together with industrialists through university-industry cooperation. I think this is very important. Thus, they will not have a problem finding a job.’’

‘‘Wet felt was used in the design, made with olive oil soap’’

Nihal Bolkol, Head of Fashion Design Department at Istanbul Aydın University, made the following statement on the subject: ‘‘Our teachers and students went to Kars and conducted research. Then the students return and transfer what they see to their friends and the design phase begins. Young people both designed the costumes and carried those costumes in the fashion show. Wet felt was used in the design, and was made with olive oil soap. 22 civilizations have passed through Kars, this caught our attention. We used multi-colored motifs, our students weaved threads in our workshops using the colors of the region. Our students put a lot of effort, our teachers were very knowledgeable on the subject and these costumes came out.’’