CFW Accelerate: Opening doors for young designers
Fazeena Rajabdeen
The latest season of HSBC Colombo Fashion Week (CFW), scheduled for February 24-26, will see the launch of CFW Accelerate, a programme that helps create new pathways to success for promising young designers.
Since its inception in 2003, design development has remained at the core of CFW that has consistently created various mentorship programmes to enhance designers’ skill sets and make them competitive in an emerging market like Sri Lanka.
Various initiatives have been taken to form the building blocks of an ecosystem for the fashion industry in Sri Lanka. The first such programme Bright Spark was followed by Next-Gen and then expanded into Project 7.
“There is a gap that needs bridging when young design graduates enter the market to successfully start a new design label. In smaller fashion markets such as Sri Lanka, there is a grey area that needs refining. At CFW, we understand this challenge and work hard to continuously introduce new initiatives to bring clarity, so that an effective path could be created to guide new designers on their entrepreneurial journeys,” said Founder and Managing Director of CFW, Ajai Vir Singh.
“In addition to knowledge-sharing, we have brought in funding through our title partner, HSBC, to support the programme. This initiative is now known as CFW Accelerate, and we hope to keep evolving it to stay relevant and effective, helping to create a new generation of successful designers from Sri Lanka,” he added.
“CFW Accelerate is a progressively changing designer development platform. It helps to propel young designers into the industry. Key aspects of the programme include access to mentorship programmes on design and entrepreneurship, funding opportunities and understanding responsible fashion practices. The platform hopes to include fashion technology and innovation too, in the future,” explains Director and CEO of CFW Fazeena Rajabdeen.
CFW Accelerate has various components from idea potential to sustainability and funding. The “Responsible Meter” keeps designers on a sustainability journey. The programme shares knowledge, audits and guides designers to stay responsible. HSBC has also created a designer fund to support high potential designers with financial assistance and management.
As part of CFW Accelerate, a recognition programme that awards the best young candidate and provides specialised educational support will also be in place. This recognition, the associated awards and related benefits are being conducted and provided in collaboration with the Italian Embassy in Sri Lanka and a prominent fashion institute in Milan, Italy.
Over 30 collections will be presented by emerging and prominent Sri Lankan and international designers at the 19th edition of CFW with the Emerging Designer segment kickstarting the shows on Thursday – February 24.
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