HSBC Colombo Fashion Week creates ecosystem for fashion commerce to grow

HSBC Colombo Fashion Week, as part of its vision to create a stream of successful designers, has been expanding and impacting the fashion design industry to create an overall ecosystem which encourages commerce. 

This is CFW’s 14th year and in over a decade, as a progressive development system, it has given Sri Lanka a multidimensional platform that has been able to build pride among Sri Lankan fashion labels, retail spaces, created fashion curriculums, given acceptance to fashion design as a profession and created diversity in terms of fashion brands.

From a retail aspect, the last 14 years have seen a progressive shift from surplus stock retail spaces to focused fashion designer retail spaces. This progress was parallel to Colombo Fashion Week’s progress through mentoring, enhancing and showcasing Sri Lankan fashion designers and brands. 

The popular fashion retail spaces in Colombo and its suburbs, which earlier sold surplus stocks, have now gradually introduced spaces for either their own in-house fashion brands or given space to Sri Lankan fashion labels or designers. This progressive shift has also given birth to a few multi-brand fashion designers stores in Colombo and Galle, namely Aashkii, Trunk, PR, Zudhora and Radisi among others. 

These stores are a result of growing awareness among fashion consumers in Colombo about Sri Lankan and South Asian fashion labels. The fashion consumers, who are Sri Lankans or tourists, and their awareness that there is fashion in this city, is a direct impact of 14 years of progressive growth that Colombo Fashion Week has provided to the Sri Lankan fashion design industry.

Strategic showcase and development of fashion through Colombo Fashion Week has built desire among fashion enthusiasts and consumers in Sri Lanka. This desire to procure fashion brands translates into sale either directly through designers or through the retail stores they are available at.

“We keep pushing the fashion quotient high among Sri Lankan fashion designers through various programs and projects before they are showcased at international class showcase in Colombo (CFW). All this culminates in pride amongst local fashion consumers and the very consumers who would shop overseas for fashion and now spend part of that on Sri Lankan labels. Overall as the industry lead project I always focus on creating the entire ecosystem so that everyone benefits. You will see more from this year onwards,” says Founder and President of Colombo Fashion Week Ajai Vir Singh.

There has been a rise in small factory units engaged by Sri Lankan fashion labels, and although they may be small in number, there is an increase in the skill sets. This trend seems to be increasing. 

Summer ’18 of CFW will be held from 13-18 March. There will be a designer retail event called CFW Designer Pod a week after Colombo Fashion Week on 26 March. All designer collections will be available at this event for purchase. This idea was born in order to encourage a concept that every collection is available for sale almost immediately.

There will be 28 fashion shows over four days. Art Connect combines fashion with art and will see five high profile artists create a work of art inspired by fashion, which will be themed ‘Second Skin’. There will also be a one-minute-fashion film festival, where each designer will team up with a film director to create inspiration films.

In light of all the activities that are planned around Colombo Fashion Week, this event is also creating a subtheme for the city called ‘Celebrate Colombo’. This is so that Colombo can be positioned as a city that is both vibrant and creative in the eyes of its visitors. 

HSBC Colombo Fashion Week is enriched by its partners who have understood the vision behind CFW and take great interest in raising the standards of fashion and making a mark internationally - HSBC, Hilton Colombo, Sri Lanka Tourism Board, Sri Lanka Tea Board, Jaguar, Colombo Jewellery Stores, Pond’s BB+ - Unilevers, The Residences by One Galle Face, Etisalat, Wineworld, Olu tropical Water, Vision Care, Ramani Fernando Salons, Printage, Leo Burnett and Arc World Wide and Emerging Media.