HSBC CFW boosts commerce with fashion retail

Led by its single-minded vision to develop a sustainable fashion retail infrastructure in Sri Lanka, HSBC Colombo Fashion Week (CFW) has created a strong focus on retail since 2014. 

CFW views commercial success as a key pillar to uplift the fashion design industry and to ensure its long term sustainability. As part to its project to develop and train young, emerging and established designers, CFW has successfully boosted commerce by strengthening the fashion retail value chain in Sri Lanka. As a result, the CFW mentored designers have benefited from the commercial success of having a stronger designer fashion retail infrastructure due to CFW’s focused intervention. 

The profession of fashion design is seen as a vocation that may not be self-sustaining and this is the perception that CFW strives to change by ensuring commercial success for designers, so that they can expand and realise their true potential. CFW creates a platform for fashion design retail for local designers by developing their potential from ideation to seeing the final collection on the racks in retail stores. 

Considering the large growth forecast for the global retail sector in the future, fashion design is fast becoming a profession that promises fame and commercial success on the local and global platform. CFW enables designers to change their perceptions by helping them gain exposure to global fashion trends and designers. 

CFW is proud to highlight that all showcasing designers now retail commercially at high profile stores in Sri Lanka and are a thus a testimonial to the work done by CFW’s multiple platforms for mentoring and training designers. Since the inception of CFW, the fashion retail environment in Sri Lanka has taken root and been strengthened further. 

More importantly, CFW mentored designers hold their own against multinational brands and in fact stand to benefit from the growth of the new multi brand fashion retail store concept. These multi brand stores are enthusiastic about supporting up Sri Lankan fashion designers and are a vital link in the retail infrastructure value chain.

CFW 2016 hosts a series of events during the week in celebration of Fashion Week. Whether it is seasonal indulgences, high-end ingredients, calorie conscious cuisine, or comfort food presented stylishly, the ‘Fashion & Food’ choices are plentiful. The CFW Fashion & Food extravaganza continues at Café Francais, Park Street Mews, La Trattoria, Curve and Il Ponte and Iko Tei at Hilton Colombo from 20 to 26 February. 

Another highlight is a photography CFW Workshop by Rid Burman on 25 February at 9:30 a.m. Hilton Colombo, a graduate from the prestigious Brooks Institute of Photography, who has worked with renowned international names such as Steven Klein and Mark Seliger in New York and Los Angeles. 

The CFW Fashion Design Fund which supports the most impressive young designer who is a participant of the ‘Emerging Designer’ shows was selected and awarded funding for their collection along with guidance on how to kick-start her fashion career. This year over ten designers showcased at the CFW Emerging Designer Showcase 2017. 

HSBC CFW 2016 is enriched by its partners: HSBC, Hilton, Land Rover, Colombo Jewelry Stores, Wineworld, Olu Water, Vision Care, Unilever - Ponds BB, Ramani Fernando Salons, Spa Ceylon, Illy Coffee, Wijeya Group, Hameedia, Hellmann Logistics and Emerging Media – who share and extend their support towards the vision and aspirations of CFW. 

For further details, please visit www.colombofashionweek.com or follow CFW on Facebook (www.facebook.com/colombofashionweek), Twitter (@colombofw) and Instagram (@colombofw).