After quitting their jobs, three young entrepreneurs have embarked on a new path by opening a vintage clothing store in Istanbul. The chic selection, currently geared toward women, is sourced from Hollywood studios and theaters in Paris and Berlin
Istanbul is fast becoming a major fashion center, with prominent brands hitting the catwalks at international shows throughout the city. Alongside popular global brands jockeying for the best store locations, local fashion designers are drawing more attention to themselves with each passing day.
While there are always new trends, vintage items are becoming increasingly popular. Because past looks come back into style, vintage stores are often the place to be – even fashion designers come to find inspiration at stores like these.
BeyoÄŸlu has one of the highest concentrations of vintage stores in Istanbul. Tabe Kıyamet, whose name means “until doomsday” in Ottoman Turkish, opened behind Galatasaray High School a few weeks ago. Opened by Tunç Tuncay, his sister Tuba Alkan and her husband Barış Alkan, the store has ambitions to show what vintage really means, with a huge selection of dresses, bags, shoes, sunglasses and all sorts of accessories.
The trio thinks people do not really understand the vintage concept. “There are expensively priced shops called vintage stores in Turkey. But vintage means the clothes of an era. They need to age in a way that they should still stay clean,” Tuncay said. Tuncay used to work for a Spanish mobile-phone company while his partners also had other jobs before they ventured into the vintage business together.
“We all love traveling and, during our trips abroad, we find interesting design and clothing pieces most of the time. All of us are interested in fashion, but this business is a little bit different for us,” he said, adding that they had collected unique vintage clothes from Hollywood studios, as well as clothes from operas and plays in Berlin and Paris.
“Collections for shows and films are saved in depots and are not sold to any stores that aren’t recognized as well-known, classy vintage stores. The depots arrange a date for store owners to come and pick the clothes and accessorize that they want to buy,” Tuncay said. “However, they only do this 10 years after receiving the pieces from the studios or theaters.”
Tuna was lucky because a famous hair-designer friend, who is known in the fashion world, arranged an entry for him. He started communicating with storage facilities in Los Angeles and then began collecting opera costumes from Berlin and Paris.
After Tuncay collected enough articles of clothing, they opened the store with 120 dresses, 400 sunglasses and 100 pairs of shoes. Inside the store it is possible to find a Cher-style jumper or Audrey Hepburn-style sunglasses.
Because of massive interest in the store, the trio decided to collect pieces for men. “For them, I collect well-known brands. We are planning to open a second store, where we’ll have second-hand items,” Tuncay said.
The new store is also home to a breakout fashion designer’s first collection. Sinem Temel is displaying her 20-piece collection of mini skirts and dresses at the store. “I make only item from each piece, and my motto is, ‘I am one single piece, and I’m all yours,’” Temel said.
The prices in the store range from 80 to 300 Turkish Liras.
