Monday Jul 08, 2024
Monday Jul 08, 2024
Saturday, 5 April 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Q: What is your outlook on the Asian fashion industry?
A: Asian fashion industries are working at defining themselves in global terms, fashion consumerism in Asia is definitely on the rise. There is more fashion-based awareness with every new generation. How they consume fashion is changing too. The role of digital is becoming integral to fashion. In this time of evolving fashion in the region, CFW is not far behind, we are determined to be seen among the best in Asia soon.
Q: How does Fashion Week support designers and the retail industry?
A: I always said that from my point of view fashion weeks are the most glamorous business meetings. CFW is the catalyst for the industry to grow. Its key objective is to develop the fashion designers from the commercial perspective otherwise fashion design remains a hobby. Designers need to create consistently throughout the year and retailers need to push it out to fashion consumers. Both are a very important part of the equation and the most critical from CFW’s point of view.
Q: How does Fashion Week contribute towards the economy?
A: Fashion weeks generally encourage and promote commerce between designers and buyers. Broadly speaking CFW is driving the fashion industry in Sri Lanka, where its building awareness towards a designers or a group of designers, through showcase CFW builds preference towards a collection or a point of view, which then encourages or drives sale. This is just very simply put, but the above process is activated on various levels, from production to sourcing, design development etc.
Q: What was the inspiration for CFW begin and how did the idea become a reality?
A: The inspiration was to create a fashion impression or an imprint out of Sri Lanka, and to build a robust fashion design industry, to get all the basics right. Fashion drives us and will always do. We as an organisation never want to get distracted by anything else, and there are always a lot of distractions, for example glamour is just a bi-product. Everything we do has to contribute towards fashion and its growth.
Q: What events come under the CFW umbrella – CFW days, etc.?
A: In line with developing fashion in a young market, we have to be innovative to turn constraints into opportunities. That’s how we introduced sub-projects or sub-brands, if you please, like ‘CFW Day’ at university and college level, ‘Bright Spark’ shows to give a firm footing to designers with talent. The themed ‘fashion workshops’ to bring in expertise to issues and topics which are relevant in our industry today and needs solutions. ‘crafts in fashion,’ a program that was initiated between the National Craft Council and Colombo Fashion Week, which is done on two fronts design intervention into key crafts and to bring in expertise from overseas for knowledge sharing. ‘Fashion + Food’ a growing trend internationally, we thought we should experiment and bring it here, hence it was done quite successfully and this would continue. Fashion is not only about clothes but food plays an important role towards anyone looking good internally and externally.
Q: How has CFW supported designers and helped them become retailers?
A: As mentioned above the platform of CFW is to showcase the best of Sri Lankan fashion design, build preference and awareness towards them. Based on each designers plan to market themselves either these designers are retailing combined with few others or have opened or started their own stores. We feel more and more of that will happen. There will be growth in fashion retail as there is general awareness which is being successfully driven by CFW. Earlier there was an inertia, which is being filled now.
Q: Which local CFW designers have made it globally?
A: CFW is working hard at creating international platforms for Sri Lankan designers with tie ups with Miami Fashion Week, Russia Fashion Week, similarly in India, Dubai and Malaysia, etc. we need Sri Lankan designers to regularly show overseas, to get more exposed. I personally feel Darshi, Upeksha, Charini, Sonali and Kanchana among others have it in them to make international impact, they have done it in shows overseas and I am sure they will do it again. I know there are more with potential that I may have missed mentioning here. It’s not far when they will be making a consistent impression overseas.
Q: What were the highlights of CFW 2014?
A: By God’s grace the quality of fashion is getting better. We encourage the point of view getting stronger. Fashion is subjective too, but still we encourage the power of the idea and being consistent with individual point of view, without getting too subjective.
Q: Where does CFW stand amongst the other fashion weeks?
A: CFW is now a tier 2 Fashion Week. This is an informal mark through fashion media and important fashion designers who are part of other fashion weeks in the world and all have consistently seen it bloom and have endorsed its growth, potential and its uniqueness in promoting fashion in Sri Lanka. Other tier 2 fashion weeks are Barcelona Fashion Week, Miami Fashion Week, Madrid Fashion Week ,etc. Tier 1 are the big four New York, Paris, Milan and London.
Q: Future plans for CFW?
A: To keep building on each of the fashion foundations we are creating through CFW and keep getting better so we can soon impact regional fashion in a big way. Next stop is CFW resort in September!
