CFW to head to Negombo beaches
View(s):Few press conferences can boast a location like that of the HSBC CFW Resort Show. With the ocean at their backs, the organisers and sponsors gathered at Jetwing Blue in Negombo to announce the third edition of what is rapidly becoming known as one of the region’s premier fashion events. This year will be even bigger than the last, with the event sprawling over four days from October 1-4.
It will also serve to draw Negombo into the limelight as a premier destination, in particular drawing in local restaurants and venues to highlight some of the wonderful experiences on offer.
All in support: Organisers and sponsors of the HSBC CFW Resort Wear show at the press conference on Wednesday. Pic by Indika Handuwala
Speaking to the media, Ajai V. Singh, President of the Colombo Fashion Week (CFW), said, he saw an opportunity for Sri Lanka in the fact that resort wear was one of the fastest growing seasons in the international fashion market. He’d like to see Sri Lanka take the lead in the region and is proud of the work CFW has done in highlighting “bright sparks”, i.e. young and exciting new designers in Sri Lanka. While the full line-up is only to be announced sometime this weekend, it was revealed that 15 Sri Lankan designers and 5 international designers would show their collections. Among the latter are the much sought after Indian brand Abraham and Thakore, old favourite Bibi Russell and Harare, a high end fashion brand based in NYC.
Also speaking at the event were some of the key players in the upcoming event including sponsors HSBC, Jetwing Blue and Jetwing Beach, Tata, Unilever and Vision Care, while represented at the head table were Land Rover, Leo Burnett, Ramani Fernando Salons Colombo Jewellery Stores and Spa Ceylon. Also addressing the press was CFW Director Dirk Flamer Caldera.
All were united in supporting a project they believed has made and will continue to make a significant contribution to Sri Lanka’s apparel, fashion and tourism sectors. James Rebert, speaking on behalf of HSBC, the event’s title sponsor said part of the attraction lies in promoting an event that “complements the lifestyles of fashion focused customers,” even as they would like to see the event turn Sri Lanka into an apparel hub for South Asia.
For the event’s destination partners, Jetwing Blue and Jetwing Beach, this was clearly an exciting opportunity to add value and enhance not just perceptions of Sri Lanka’s fashion industry but its standing as a tourism destination as well. Adding to the excitement will be the promotion of CFW’s sub-brands – in particular, gourmands will be excited to hear that two chefs, one from Malaysia and another Michelin starred chef from France are being flown in especially for the event. “This time around CFW Resort Show quite rightly heads to the beach – and the beaches of Negombo provide the perfect venue to showcase the diverse talent, creativity and commitment of our upcoming, young designers. We look forward to the best HSBC CFW Resort Show yet!” said Ishanth Gunawardene, Head of Sales and Marketing, Jetwing Hotels.
New to the event are Tata Housing and Unilever. Speaking on behalf of the former, Marketing Head, Pawan Sarda said that as Tata prepared to launch its first housing project in Sri Lanka, CFW seemed the perfect way to introduce themselves to the local market. Discussions are underway that will bring Tata and CFW together in a project to recognize the creativity and talent among young designers, the details of which will be announced in the coming weeks.
For Siddharth Banerjee, Marketing Director at Unilever, the event ties in to his brand’s focus on beauty. Noting that they were seeing an increasing “premiumisation” of beauty products and services, Banerjee shared his belief that collaborations with events like CFW would only help spread the word.
Generating buzz and showcasing local designers has always been on the agenda with this ambitious event. This year, CFW expanded their remit to broker collaborations between local designers and craftspeople from a range of disciplines. For ‘CRAFTALIVE’ a show in August, held in Independence Square, CFW worked with the National Crafts Council to promote winning collaborations between designers like Ramona Oshini, Indi Abeywardena (winner of the 2013 CFW Gen Next Designer Award), Sharmila’s ARRA label, U by Upeksha and Darshi Keerthisena and a range of artisans working with beeralu, lace, metal and brass crafts, jewellery, rush, palmyrah, batik, handloom, fabric painting and even wooden crafts.
For Ajai, introducing such uniquely Sri Lankan elements into the world of high fashion is another way to solidify one of the achievements of CFW itself and that is that Sri Lankan brands receive the kind of international recognition that would allow them to be worn with pride by the fashion elite anywhere in the world. Now with the HSBC CFW Resort Wear Show just around the corner, he’s looking forward to adding another feather to CFW’s cap as the spotlight turns once more on the best Sri Lanka has to offer the world of international fashion.