Beyoglu Refia Övüç Maturation Institute
Aiming to promote Turkish national values abroad, the institute, which was founded in 1945 under the name Beyoglu Maturation Institute, has become an important establishment that has assumed a leading role in preserving, developing and popularising Turkish traditional handicrafts. Having been established to raise designers and technical workers who combine artistic thought with creativity, the institute has inspired others, with its products, to open new schools and courses.
One of the first works of the institute to become a howling success was İstanbul’s first fashion show of trousers. Having thus made a name for itself, the establishment became a centre of attraction, and visiting the school and wearing its designs became a commonly preferred experience. Another work was the embroidery of two dinner sets which were ordered by the government in 1947 as a wedding gift to the Queen of England Elizabeth II. In the following years, an exhibition is held in London. The exhibition “Tarihi Nakış ve Modern Türk Kadınını Tanıtma Sergisi” (English, “Exhibition of Traditional Turkish Embroidery and the Promotion of the Modern Turkish Woman”) played a significant role in the promotion of Turkish handicrafts outside the Turkish borders. Collections which blend two cultures, namely the Western and Eastern, get to be showcased in many exhibitions organised either at a national or an international level, and the institute becomes a common hunt among well-esteemed local and international visitors.
Maturation Institutes are a series of rooted establishments which focus on a dressing culture that combines traditional Turkish handicrafts with national values. These institutions which were established in 1945, played a significant role in the employment of young Turkish women.
Refia Övüç Maturation Institute awaits its visitors on Beyoglu Culture Route to help them witness Turkish fashion industry’s sprawling roots.
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