Syrian refugees' fabric showcased at London

By Tayfun Salci

LONDON (AA) - Turkish Fashion Designer Zeynep Kartal's designs, prepared with the fabric woven by Syrian refugees in Turkey, were showcased at London Fashion Week on Saturday.

Fashion followers show great interest in the designs, which were supported by the Turkish Presidency's Directorate of Communications.

Kartal's 15 designs were showcased in the fall-winter collection section of the fashion occasion, which was also watched by Umit Yalcin, Turkey's Ambassador to London.

Fahrettin Altun, Turkish presidency's communication director, hailed the fashion show on his social media account.

Noting that Turkey was "the largest refugee-hosting country in the world and provided hope for the downtrodden", he said the designs were co-created with Kartal and the Syrian women, who fled the war-ravaged Syria.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on protesters with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed and millions more displaced by the conflict.

Turkey hosts more Syrian refugees than any other country in the world. Ankara has spent some $35 billion from its own resources to help and shelter refugees since the beginning of the Syrian civil war.