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The birth of fitbuddha

fitbuddha was founded in December 2017 in a Turkish village called Alacati. It is a cozy beautiful small town on the Aegean coast opposite Greece near the Turkish city of Izmir. The founder of fitbuddha is Senada Sokollu. A German journalist who lived in Turkey from 2013-2020. Senada was a Turkey correspondent for Deutsche Welle and a reporter for Euronews. Senada reported from the Turkish-Syrian border and from refugee camps in Turkey and Greece. During her reporting, she met refugees fleeing war-torn Syria to Turkey. A time when the European Union decided to keep its doors closed to Syrian refugees.

At the same time, Senada met Turkish village women in the Aegean coastal region who have also lost their husbands, who are also widows and who can barely meet their daily expenses and livelihood. Senada asked these ladies about their talents and about their crafts, if there is anything they can work to earn money. All these ladies had the same answer, "We can knit and we can sew."

fitbuddha was shown 3 times during Berlin Fashion Week. Twice during the fashion fair Premium Berlin and once during the fashion fair Neonyte. During Berlin Fashion Week, famous German fashion icons such as the ex-editor-in-chief of Instyle Germany Annette Weber became big fans of fitbuddha. The chunky knit was catchy and extraordinary for them. Annette Weber decided to choose her favorite pieces from fitbuddha's first collection and put them in the Premium Berlin showroom. During the 2019 Berlin Neonyte fair, fitbuddha's oversized summer dress was chosen as the most beautiful summer dress of the fair by the fair's Austrian fashion ambassador Madeleine Darya Alizadeh (@dariadaria / Instagram), who later became a loyal fitbuddha customer. Senada managed to generate a customer base all over Germany, especially in Hamburg, Berlin and Munich. German media started writing about the upcoming young label fitbuddha, which stands for unisex & oversized fashion and makes clear and loud statements against racism. Furthermore fitbuddha uses recycled materials like wooden buttons for the coats, old Turkish Kilims as eyecatcher and organic fabrics.

In spring 2020, Senada decided to present fitbuddha's 2020/2021 winter collection in the UK at Pure London trade show. She applied for the runway show during London Fashion Week. fitbuddha's collection was selected for the runway by Barbara Mason, owner of the Fashion Show Production Company www.productionteam.co.uk, which produces runway shows at London Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week, Berlin Fashion Week, Moscow Fashion Week and Shanghai Fashion Week. Models like Jack Thorpes, who normally walk for top brands like Missoni and Versace and are featured in British Vogue, wore fitbuddha on the runway in London. It was a great success for the homegrown brand. Not only the style, but also the story behind the label is outstanding. Runway models, stylists and Fashion Week directors called fitbuddha the most successful newcomer in London and queued up in front of fitbuddha's booth to buy coats and hoodies. The fan base in London has grown immensely since then.

Syrian refugees were sleeping in the streets everywhere, especially in big cities like Istanbul. They were practically sleeping in front of Senada's house. She had to step over the mothers and children to go to work. For Senada, the objective role as a journalist in such a humanitarian crisis felt unnatural. She wanted to help. Senada organized food and medical care for young Syrian teenagers who lost their parents in the war. She drove them to hospitals, helped translate and bought them food. Senada met Syrian widows and single mothers who asked for jobs and help.

In the winter of 2017, Senada bought some wool, a sewing machine and some fabric at a local bazaar in the village and brought it home to the ladies. The ladies started knitting. In quite a short time, they knitted a scarf, a sweater, hats, gloves, etc. They sewed coats and hoodies. Senada asked them about the price. She paid exactly the price they asked without haggling. With all the beautifully made products that Senada had made just for herself, she went to Germany for Christmas. Her friends and family in Germany saw these beautiful handmade products and asked if the ladies could make them in a different color or a different size. Senada realized that the demand was there, that the ladies could have customers, and that they could make money if the customer base expanded. So she decided to set up a website in one day. She applied to Berlin Fashion Week, was accepted. fitbuddha was born.

Due to the pandemic, Senada plans to expand fitbuddha's reach in the world through a strong online marketing plan in Germany, Turkey and the US. In Turkey, fitbuddha's customer base already includes well-known public figures such as world-famous pianist Fazil Say, his wife Ece Say, comedian Doa Rutkay, and models like Dila Tarkan and TV host Esra Eron. For an artist capsule collection, Turkish superstar Aleyna Tilki and artist Kadir Akorak painted fabrics for fitbuddha's kimono series.