ISTANBUL TOP-NOTCH İSTANBUL A PLUS
World Famous
ISTANBUL TUXEDOS
By : Umut Brezina
4
th generation representative
of Kordonciyan family Levon
Kordonciyan carrying the name of
the founder of the brand who was
sent to Paris by Atatürk for design
education in the early 1900’s.
How does the story of this world
famous İstanbul Smokings start?
My great Grandfather Levon
Kordonciyan immigrates from Rize
–city by the blacksea – in 1800’s
to Kınalıada –one of the Prince
Islands”. His talent is discovered and
sent to Paris for to study designing
and fashion. There he learns how
to design perfect frak, jacketatay,
redingot and bonjour. Today we still
admire Atatürk’s costumes.
He is also one of the founders of
Sümerbank, cloth factory that started
fashion Industry in modern Turkey.
When you look at the pictures taken
in early 1900 at Pera in Istanbul , you
can see how sophisticated gentlemen
are looking.
And then …
As the pret a porter grew in Turkey
, houte-coutre men clothing stayed
in the shadows for a while. Those
days we really had hard times but we
resisted .
People kept asking us why we did not
leave Istanbul there is only one simple
answer. We are in love with this city
as Kordonciyan family.
But we see you on the media
often. When is the re-discovery
of Kordonciyan tuxedos?
16 • I S T A N B U L A L I V E
Fifteen years ago , Nato Assembly
was organized in Istanbul. There
many world leaders chose our
tuxedos that was our re-discovery.
Another important point that made
us famous again was the reference
of Queen Elizabeth to our President
of Republic of that time. She
recommended Kordonciyan Tuxedos
to Mr. President.
Can you tell us some of the
celebrities , world leaders you
have worked with so far?
Atatürk, Sean Connorey , Daniel
Craig, Brad Pitt , Obama, Russel
Crowe, Samuel Jackson, Hugh
Jackman, Robert de Niro , Turkish
Nobel Prize nomine Orhan Pamuk .
In 2013 , 140 Kordonciyan tuxedos