CFW Resort aims to penetrate niche fashion markets

Tuesday, 29 September 2015 00:08 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Shehana Dain

HSBC Colombo Fashion Week (CFW) Resort in its fourth edition is looking to tap into the multibillion dollar resort wear market which has been growing YoY due to an increase in global mobility and tourism.

Organisers are confident of attracting much needed attention from the global fashion industry to assist local designers through CFW Resort.

This shift in the market has prompted both designers and retailers worldwide to pay greater attention to resort wear and cater to consumers. Resort wear is seen as a versatile, trans-seasonal trend and not just for holiday wear.

Today, designers are inspired to launch new resort wear labels or introduce resort wear collections under existing fashion labels to take advantage of this growing demand.

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Jetwing Hotels Director Operatives Jerome Auvity, Colombo Fashion Week Director Dirk Flamer Caldera, SML Frontier Automotive Director Roshi Fernando, Colombo Fashion Week President Ajai V. Singh, HSBC Head of Banking and Wealth Management Nilantha Bastian, OLU Water CEO Amal De Silva Wijeyrathne, Vision Care Managing Director Dasntha Fonseka and Ramani Fernando – Pic by Bhanuka Kirinde

“We are completing the calendar of CFW with the resort wear show. With three formal seasons under our belts this pushes the Sri Lankan designers to deliver better products. We are ahead of the curve in creating a place in the region for this unique season and opening commercial opportunities for Sri Lankan designers. At CFW, we look to continuously innovating in order to make a global impact for Sri Lankan fashion,” said CFW President Ajai V. Singh

Resort wear is fourfold, capturing swimwear, beach wear, holiday wear and cruise wear all in one. This gives local designers an opportunity to explore their designing skills and expand their portfolios.

Local designers who live in a tropical climate themselves have a competitive edge when it comes to designing resort wear for a global audience. This is mainly because they possess an understanding of the raw materials and design skills which suit the climate.

CFW Resort 2016, hosted by Jetwing Hotels, is also enriched by its partnerships with Land Rover, Vaseline, Vision Care, Wineworld, OLU Tropical Water, Hameedia, Ramani Fernando Salons, Leo Burnett and Arc Worldwide. The event is powered by print sponsors Daily FT, Daily Mirror and the Sunday Times.

HSBC to expand credit card customer base via CFW

HSBC, in its 8th year in partnership with CFW as its title partner, declared that the bank had high expectations to increase its credit card spending in fashion and clothing.

According to HSBC Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management Nilantha Bastian it is the third largest category in their credit card portfolio.

“Fashion has become a key element in our customers’ lifestyles. Many of them travel and are exposed to new trends and that has made them more fashion conscious. We have also seen an increase in credit card spending when it comes to fashion and clothing which is the third largest category. Therefore we see our partnership with CFW as an ideal fit,” Bastian said.

Speaking to the Daily FT he highlighted that the total credit card expenditure in fashion and clothing retail sector amounted to a couple of billion every month. While he did not reveal the exact amount he further added that the first and second slots were taken by the supermarket and travel and tourism categories respectively.

Speaking about the twofold effect of the collaboration with CFW, he added: “This is good for the industry as well because our credit card users will be more brand conscious and they will spend more on high-end fashion. There are a lot of people out there with money and with the right products a lot of money can be made.”

“There are a limited number of seats at these events and we try to target our premium customers to give them an opportunity to see what’s showcased by designers. We try to accommodate as much as we can so that with that opportunity the retail side of the fashion industry will grow.”