Fashion has to be more responsible: CFW’s motto for 17th edition
HSBC Colombo Fashion Week has always strived to make an impact in multiple ways, from within the fashion industry to aspects like tourism and global image. In its 17th year, CFW is taking a stand against the harmful practices of fast fashion and aims to steer the industry in Sri Lanka towards being more responsible, accountable and transparent.
All on board: The sponsors and CFW partners at the press conference. Pix by Priyanka Samaraweera
CFW announced their brand new impact-based ‘Responsibility in Fashion’ programme – the driving force of this year’s Fashion Week, which will take place from March 18 to 21 this year, at a press conference earlier this week.
The message of sustainable change and environmentally conscious initiatives was the key focus for both CFW, its designers and its partners. As Founder and Managing Director of CFW Ajai Vir Singh points out, the garment industry is the second more polluting industry in the world. Due to hyper-fashion and hyper-consumption, clothes are hitting landfills at an alarming rate. In 2020, major fashion weeks around the world came under fire for their wasteful practices following the Australian bushfires and other climate change disasters.
“We were on a journey for the last five years developing ourselves as a sustainable industry, and found ourselves quite ready to come out with a product that answered a lot of questions that the global industry was looking for,” says Ajai.
Ajai Vir Singh
The ‘Responsibility in Fashion’ programme is part of the Responsible Fashion Movement, and is based on circularity that ensures longevity of each garment. These actionable impacts are threefold, with the Garment Enhancement Guarantee, Garment Disposal Plan and Return-After-Use for Repurpose. CFW also introduces The Responsible Meter, a first-of-its-kind garment evaluation tool that awards each garment presented this season a score out of ten based on environmental, societal and organisational wellbeing.
The participating designers are all on board with this programme, making CFW the first Fashion Week in the world to practise responsible fashion collectively.
This edition of CFW will see nearly 30 designers showcasing their latest collections over a period of four days. Sri Lankan designers Charini Suriyage, Dimuthu Sahabandu, Indeevari Yapa Abeywardena, Sharmila Ruberu, Asanka De Mel, Dinushi Pamunuwa, Fouzul Hameed, Amilani Perera, Aslam Hussein, Kamil Hewavitharana and Jai by Aashki will also be joined by international designers Kanika Goyal and Siddartha Tytler.
Additionally, a special show titled ‘RE’ was announced, where participating designers will showcase the responsible impacts in their collections while celebrating sustainable design in both fashion and architecture.
CFW also continues its journey in developing the next generation of fashion designers in Sri Lanka with the Emerging Designer Programme. This year they have received the highest number of applications yet, making this edition of the Emerging Designer showcase the biggest to date, with 13 young designers chosen to present their collections on the runway. The emerging designers will also incorporate the Responsible Meter and three actionable impacts into their collection as part of the programme.
Joining CFW on their journey towards responsibility are their partners, starting with Title Partner of CFW Summer edition for 13 years HSBC. “We are spearheading a project with the IUCN and JAAF in Sri Lanka, looking at how small and medium-sized apparel manufacturers can become greener and more sustainable, and reduce their carbon footprint.” says CEO for HSBC Sri Lanka and Maldives Mark Prothero. Official Host Hotel for the last 11 years Hilton Colombo are also supporting the fashion industry by partnering with a recycling plant to convert used plastic to yarn for a local clothing brand.
Also joining CFW 2020 is TRESemmé as Official Hair Care Partner,Ramani Fernando as Official Hair and Make-up Partner, Shangri-La Hotel Colombo as Official Hospitality Partner, Vision Care as Official Eyewear Partner, Vogue Jewellers as Official Jewellery Partner, High Commission of India as a strategic partner presenting Indian designers, Jaguar Land Rover as Official Automobile Partner; Hameedia; Dialog Club Vision and Emerging Media as Outdoor Digital Media Partner.
For more information on Colombo Fashion Week’s Summer 2020 edition taking place from March 18 to 21, visit their website at www.colombofashionweek.com and their Twitter and Instagram pages @colombofashionweek