Istanbul's Grand Bazaar fabric popular in Hollywood blockbuster movies

A 154-year-old textile store in the Grand Bazaar provides fabric for costumes and decorations to Hollywood blockbusters like "Star Wars," "The Hobbit," and "Pirates of the Caribbean," Anadolu Agency (AA) reported. Hayri Emrah Ertaş, the store's owner, said that he sold 40 pieces of fabric that were used in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," which was on track to top $1 billion in global ticket sales this weekend, making it the fastest-ever film to reach that level.

Ertaş said that he sold the fabric two years ago when the movie was in production. "The fabric evolved into an entirely different appearance when it turned out as a costume," he said, adding that designers knock on his door because he has previously supplied fabric for other movies. "Although film productions are undertaken by different companies, designers and fabric providers do not change very much. As they are highly professional, film companies do not want to take a risk and [so] the employ the same staff," he said.

Ertaş said that the store also provided fabric for the historical-fiction film "Troy." "If you delay supplying the fabric, you lose on profit. However, we made no such delays for "Troy." We also did not introduce the same pattern for a while as they requested custom-made designs from us. I did not use the same pattern for about two years," he said.

He sold ready fabric for the latest instillation of "Star Wars." "I still have the fabric in my store. Sometimes they directly use it or change it while designing clothes. It is down to their choice, Ertaş said. The store provided fabric for other Hollywood productions such as "Peter Pan," "Snow White" and "Exodus." Designers come to the store and show photos of characters to decide on costume fabric. "They generally ask for custom-made designs," he said, adding that they prioritize a natural look for their fabrics so it can be used for both costumes and decorations. "It is different while designing costumes for historical and sci-fi movies. We need to reflect the period while supplying fabric for historical movies. At this point, fabric materials and thread type are important."