Spatial Memory of Clothing: A Cultural Reading of Pera/Beyoğlu Fashion Houses From The Ottoman Empire to The Republic

This study aims to examine the tailors and fashion houses operating in Pera/Beyoğlu during the period spanning from the late Ottoman Empire to the early years of the Republic as memory spaces that produce cultural memory, social representation, and public visibility in the process of modernization. The scope of the research is limited to the example of Pera/Beyoğlu, with the cases of Madam Katia Kiracı analyzed in the context of professional continuity and spatial memory. The study adopts an interdisciplinary approach based on qualitative research methods. Literature review, archive and visual document analysis, oral history interviews, and spatial analysis were used as methods. Ultimately, the study aims to make a unique contribution to the literature on urban memory and spatial representation in the modernization process by examining fashion houses in Pera/Beyoğlu.