History of Turkish Towel Collection

Selim Aykiran, founder and designer of TTC Home, has a long and rich history in the textile world. Selim was born in Istanbul,Turkey, a country known for it’s rich textile traditions. He left in 1972, to go to school in London, England. After completing his degree in Textile and Apparel design in London, he opened a fashion store on South Moulton Street in 1977 selling high-end casual wear from Italy. He moved to Bologna Italy in 1978 and was the European agent for Italian brands Americanino and Forza12 jeans hailing from Padova, Italy. As part of GFD group, they moved their operations to Centergross, which became the fashion hub of Europe. Selim was designing and selling jeans, tee shirts, sweat shirts and denim shirts. This is when Americanino and Forza12 began to flourish. From there, Selim became involved with Diesel jeans, Ball jeans, Replay, CP company, Sirio shirts and Stone Island under Formula Groupo. He was the first representative to bring these fashion brands to New York in 1979. He helped create the “jean craze” during the 70-80’s in America. He lived between Italy and New York until 1999.

Between 1998 and 1999, while visiting Turkey, he met master weaver Urguplu in Bursa Turkey. Selim was completely enthralled with towel weaving and started to buy as many weaving machines as he could find. These machines are no longer made as they are over 100 years old. Selim has one of the few towel factories still producing towels with these weaving machines.

The quality of these towels cannot be duplicated with high-speed machines. To make towels this way is more labor intensive as you need one weaver per machine. However, once you try these towels, everyone says they are incomparable to a towel made on high speed equipment. Selim also uses Organic Bergama Turkish cotton. This cotton is grown in the Agean region know for it’s rich soils and minerals. Turkish cotton is of the highest quality, yielding long-staple (fiber) cotton which increases durability and drape. Turkish cotton becomes softer, fluffier and more absorbent over time and with successive washings.

The towels we use all over the world were first woven in Bursa, Turkey back in the 18th century. So it is befitting that Selim built his factory here. He works with a number of master weavers who produce the towels. Selim personally designs and oversees the production. He is proud to maintain this weaving tradition and bring this special product to the world.

The towels have been known under the brand Turkish Towel Collection as this name was used from 2000 until recently. Selim has sold his towels under private label to Ralph Lauren, Gump’s, Barney NY, Wynn Hotel among others. As Selim is expanding into other home textiles, TTC Home was recently launched to encompass his broader vision.