A Place that Left its Mark on Ankara’s Urban Life: The Kızılay Store of Vakko

Abstract

Established in the early years of the Republic, Vakko has been a pioneering clothing brand in the field of textiles and readymade clothes industry in Turkey. Beginning with Şen Şapka, which found its origin in the Hat and Dress Revolution (a major revolution that was part of Turkey’s modernization and adoption of Western aesthetics, values and changes), Vakko has been an important brand that introduced western way of dressing to Turkish women, men, young people and children.Especially after World War II, the changing political and social environment in the world and in Turkey that produced a consumer society has led Vakko to make significant breakthroughs also in retail. Starting from Vakko’s first store in Beyoğlu, Istanbul in 1962, the brand established several stores in various large cities in Turkey, thereby paving the path of the first big fashion centers in the western sense. These stores can be regarded as the early representations of department stores of the period; and besides being mere shopping spaces, they also serve as social spaces. In addition to its retail and shopping areas, these stores, most of which were designed by the architect Abdurrahman Hancı, generally accommodate art galleries and cafes. Activities in these social spaces, like art exhibitions and fashion shows, made Vakko stores an important part of everyday urban life. In this context, this study will primarily give information about the brand’s history as well as its stores and production spaces, focusing particularly on Vakko’s store in Kızılay, Ankara. Through architectural drawings, old photographs, oral history and scenes from Turkish films of that era, this article aims to re-remember Vakko, where fashion, art and architecture were joined in harmony.

Keywords

• vakko
• modern retail
• abdurrahman hancı
• architecture
• art
• fashion
• ankara