Fashion Weeks the world over are very high on the glamour quotient and the business of selling a designer’s craft being merely one aspect, albeit the primary one. No wonder there are new entrants every season. Besides the sudden burst of fashion weeks in India, the latest addition is Istanbul’s very own Fashion Week. We at Newsvision thought it was time to make a check list of those that count and who better to do it than Meher Castelino. We bring to you a report on 16 primary global fashion weeks in two parts.

Miles of runways acorss sundry global fashion weeks – Part I

By Meher Castelino

1. Milan Fashion Week
2. Hong Kong Fashion Week
3. Paris Fashion Week
4. Olympus Fashion Week
5. London Fashion Week
6. Mercedes Benz Berlin Fashion Week
7. Singapore Fashion Week
8. Mercedes Benz Australian Fashion Week

If one started counting the many fashion weeks held around the world the total could be a three digit number. Fashion weeks as business avenues started in the 20th century to promote the design fraternity of a country to the rest of the world. A survey reveals that the first fashion week was held in 1910 in Paris which makes it the oldest. But the first organized fashion week was held in New York in 1943 when it was called Press Week. This was done during World War II to divert interest away from French fashion. Press Week showed fashion journalists, what American designers could do. Over the years some fashion weeks obviously turned into top venues, as they matched the growth of the business in their country and the creativity of their designers who set trends around the world.

The leaders of the fashion scene where designers dream of exhibiting their talents are still the big four when the season starts with New York, London, Milan and ends with Paris. It is said that New York is for business, Milan for its beautiful workmanship, London for the courage to show fashion but Paris is where dreams are created.

Milan Fashion Week

Amongst the top four fashion weeks in the world, Milan Fashion Week is divided into men’s and women’s wear. The former is held for 5 days twice a year in January and June; while the latter is held for 9 days annually in February and September. Organized by the Camera Nazionale Della Moda Italiania (the National Chamber for Italian Fashion) it started in 1958. The clothes displayed by top Italian couturiers like Versace, D&G, Ungaro, Valentino are high fashion men’s and women’s luxury ready-to-wear. The association also organizes the haute couture presentations in Rome at Alta Roma. Indian designers Tarun Tahiliani, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Rocky S and Varun Bahl exhibited in Milan from 2003 and Suneet Varma showed in Rome in 2004. For Indian designers Milan is a great venue to exhibit but when it comes to doing business in this fashion city, it is necessary to have a local setup with an agent. Also it is a very expensive proposition to participate in the Milan Fashion Week with costs including models, choreographer, makeup hair etc.

Hong Kong Fashion Week

Held in January and July for 4 days each at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition centre it is one of the most popular Far Eastern Fairs for Indian exporters, brands and designers. There are sections not only for garments but even accessories, trimmings, and embellishments all spread over 27,703 sq metres. This could be a good event to consider since the buyers converge from all over the world.

Paris Fashion Week

The oldest fashion week in the world has two showings each for men’s and women’s wear. For the former it is in January and July and for the latter in March and October. Now organized by the Federation Francaise de la couture du prêt-a-porter des couturiers et des Createurs de mode which was started in 1973; there are 30 haute couture and 30 ready-to- wear men’s shows and over a hundred women’s ready-to-wear showings. The show schedules are very comfortably arranged to enable buyers to cover both men’s and women’s wear collections. Since 1982 the shows were held at Cour Carree and Cour Napoleon in the Louvre and Jardin des Tuileries. In 1994 the rooms of the Carrousel du Louvre were built specially for the shows. Top French couturiers like Karl Lagerfeld, Dior, and Givenchy display at the Paris Fashion Week where nearly 2000 journalists, buyers come. From India Ritu Beri displayed her collection several times as well as her prêt collection for Jean Louis Scherrer when she was in charge of the fashion house’s ready-to- wear section. Manish Arora displayed in 2008 and is now a member of the prestigious Chambre Syndicale. Participating in the Paris fashion week is a designer’s dream but besides being very expensive, the creations have to match the dynamism of those presented by Dior, Chanel or Givenchy.

Olympus Fashion Week

People around the world know it as the New York Fashion Week, but its official name is Olympus Fashion Week which is one of the biggest fashion expos of the USA attracting thousands of buyers, media and designers from around the world. Nearly 12 shows a day by top and new designer talent, makes this the hunting ground for fresh labels. The company 7th and Sixth was formed in 1993 to organize American designer collections and create an international platform. This company was taken over by IMG in July 2001 from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and it is now one of the most prestigious fashion events. Held in February and September for 8 days each, Indian designers Ashish Soni and Sabyasachi Mukherjee showed in 2005 and 2006 here; but the expenditure ran into crores of rupees which required sponsors. This fashion week is a major boost for any designer but without a sponsor with deep pockets it is not viable. Till 2009 it was held in Bryant Park in several large white tents but in 2010 it will be in Damrosch Park at the Lincoln Centre of Performing Arts.

London Fashion Week

Held twice a year for 5 days each in February and September the London Fashion Week started in 1961 and is now organized by the British Fashion Council since 1983 which also presents the British Fashion Awards. With 16 industry sponsors and nearly 50 designers; many of the shows are held in specially constructed tents at the National History Museum. Manish Arora showed several times since 2005 and so have Anamika Khanna and Samant Chauhan. There are sections like Exhibition for the Best British Accessories and ready-to-wear and New Generation Sponsored by Top Shop which has the latest design labels. For Indian designers it would be a great experience to display here but there is a selection panel that checks on the creativity to see it matches with the fashion week’s profile.

Mercedes Benz Berlin Fashion Week

This one is a relatively new entrant on the fashion calendar started in 2007. It is once again organized by IMG with Mercedes Benz as the title sponsor. In its 5th edition this fashion week is held twice a year in July and February for 4 days. Its niche market is the European buyers and it caters to the stores of that continent by presenting a bridge or high prêt line from mostly German designers. Some of the names touted by the fair include Anja Gockel, Escada, Gant and Boss Orange. With 10 shows a day there are approximately 40 designers displaying their season’s latest.

Held at Bebelplatz in Berlin there is a section titled Designers for Tomorrow sponsored by the German retail chain Peek & Cloppenburg Dusseldorf. According to Cathrin Schaer for Spiegal on line International, the media in Berlin feel this is a poor relation to Paris, Milan and London which are the centres of fashion and just another strange stop on an ever growing circuit of fashion weeks in odd place like India, Brazil, New Zealand and Russia. For Indian designers the Mercedes Benz Berlin Fashion week could be a good experience to observe how German precision is used for fashion; but as an avenue for business it is unlikely to fill their order books.

Singapore Fashion Week

This event is also organized by IMG Fashion-PICO with the Singapore Tourism Board and is Asia Pacific’s most exciting event. Designers from Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Korea, Philippines show their prêt collections for 10 days in March/April. Designer Gitanjali Kashyap displayed her collection a decade ago. It is a good event to consider since the Far East has many Indian buyers.

Mercedes Benz Australian Fashion Week

This fashion week is held in two different cities for the two seasons - in Melbourne at St Kilda Sea Bath in October for three days for Autumn/Winter and in Sydney in April/May for Spring/Summer. Organized by IMG which acquired the Australian Fashion Innovators (AFI) in October 2005 the company also got the rights for the fashion event Mercedes Australian Fashion Week. There is a section called The Source @ AFW for high and emerging talent. Narendra Kumar Ahmed and Anupama Dayal have displayed in the past. For Indian designers this is a relatively new market and needs careful study.

Sanjana Jon seeks Indian Govt help to extradite Anand Jon

Anand Jon, the US based designer of Indian origin has been languishing in US jails since 2007 when he was convicted in a LA court on 16 criminal counts including charges of raping several models. His next trial is coming up on 31st August, when it is feared that he might be convicted for life. His sister Sanjana Jon has been running a campaign in India to rescue her brother who she feels is innocent. As per recent reports, she wanted the Indian Government to extradite her brother to India for his trial as she felt that he was being victimized by a racist US system. She did not think he warranted ‘solitary confinement’ in jail for his crimes. Speaking at a presentation of Anand Jon’s works to the media, she said that she would go on a hunger strike in protest. Lending her support at the occasion were other designers like Leena Singh, Samanth Chauhan, Charu Parashar.

High decibel FDPC and FDCI drama ends with Vijay Singh arrest and single fashion week

Ever since the arrival of Vijay Singh, ceo of FDPC, in battle gear on the fashion scene with plans to hold a single fashion week, merge FDCI, and even change sponsor to Sahara India, the air has been thick with speculations, media blitz, closed door meetings, press leaks et al with the designer fraternity split into two. Even as negotiations with FDCI were still on over single fashion week and even its merger or dissolution, FDPC went ahead and announced the dates of its Fashion Week and appointed Sumit Nair’s Prodigy Events, as the official event management company. Sunil Sethi was declared director general of FDPC advisory council and Leena Singh was happy to become a part of the governing council. The rumour mill went into overdrive and media reports revealed a bleak future for the fashion weeks in Delhi. Despite prevailing uncertainties FDCI went ahead and announced its own fashion week dates overlapping with those of FDPC.
The high drama however came to an end with the arrest of Vijay Singh by the Karnataka Police who flew in to arrest him on charges of embezzlement by Sanjay Khan. Reportedly he has been removed from the post of CEO of FDPC. On 19th August, in a joint press statement issued by the FDCI and FDPC, they have agreed to ‘work upon a mutually inclusive fashion and design calendar free of all confrontational agendas.’ FDCI will now be able to hold solo fashion weeks in Delhi again. As per the press statement, The FDPC will move towards enabling various mechanisms of state support and industry assistance to all its stakeholders, whereas FDCI, on the other hand, will continue with its showcase and promotion of Indian designer wear as per its existing contracts and established calendar.

Samant holds his own Ethical Fashion Show

It came as no surprise that Samant Chauhan held his own Ethical Fashion Show because he is one designer who has addressed these issues from the start. His participation in the Ethical Fashion Week, Paris, got him global recognition and he has been deeply involved in the development of the Bhagalpur silk industry at every level, to the extent that he translates his creative designs very effectively in Bhagalpuri silk. This was evident again on the red carpet runway of his Ethical Fashion Show held at the Love Hotel, Ai, in Metropolitan MGF Mall on 22nd August. An assortment of models from various fields like Miss Delhi Ramneek Pental, socialite Thenny Maria, designer Nida Mahmood, Anand Jon’s sister Sanjana Jon and FDCI president Sunil Sethi.

First faltering steps of the Bangalore Fashion Week

Bengaluru held its own first southern fashion week season, Blenders Pride Bangalore Fashion Week (July 23 – July 26), at The Oterra hotel with participation by thirty designers and fifty models. The first day first show was by designers Abhi and Rahul from Delhi with a collection titled ‘definitely maybe’, and this could well describe the reaction of the participating designers. Zero rehearsals with many an untrained and confused  models who showed up in different sizes, last minute ditch by the choreographer, no fitting sessions, several local debutant designers with no experience of packing a show, near absence of buyers and poor service from Oterra had some of the designers seething. The designer duo, Jai and Parvesh were reportedly ready to pull out and later said, "… it was impossible to re-do the draping which was done by ill trained back stage assistants in a few seconds on models, who performed badly on the ramp.” Also disorganized was the food arrangement for the participants. "No one in the hotel had a clue. I thought this was supposed to be a five star hotel. Lunch/Dinner were always an embarrassing argument for us every time," said designer Tejas Gandhi of Kolkota.
The organizers had not provided any particular brief to the designers for their lines and a mixed bag of apparel, following no particular trend was showcased. S.Mahajan, the director of Dream Merchants, the organizers of the BFW, said, “… We are trying to target the IT crowd the upper middle class with this fashion week by offering them affordable fashion." Which explains the location of the venue which was a good two hours away at Electronic City on Hosur Road, much too far for middle class folks to drive out to on a working day, resulting in near empty benches. Some of the significant participating designers were Lina Tipnis, Abdul Halder, Jai and Parvesh, Rocky S., Jattinn Kochhar and locals Manoviraj Khosla and Sanchita Ajjampur.

Esquire’s Singular Suit exhibition on at Somerset House

The male wardrobe essential, the suite continues to be reinterpreted, a trend that was visible at the Men’s Fashion Week in Paris. This time it is a unique artistic initiative by the Esquire magazine, which had invited 18 leading fashion designers and tailors to collaborate with a major artist of their choice to create a bespoke, one-off suit that represented their skills and artistic vision. The outcome was a unique array, not all wearable but high on creativity and quirkiness. Designer Paul Helbers of Louis Vuitton teamed up with Christian Schoeler to fashion a heavy suit made entirely from a painted canvas. Donatella Versarce chose James Clar, a light artist who practices art and design in Dubai. They sought their inspiration from cinema's iconic gentleman spies like James Bond, the Saint and Thomas Crowne. Henry Holland worked with Marc Jacobs’ tattooist, Scott Campbell, to create a leather mustard-colored suit with tattoo-style markings of supermodels’ names on the sleeve. Aquascutum and Antony Gormley creation made entirely from metal plates and lead-filled trousers also featured on the cover of the Esquire magazine. A special hardback September edition of the Esquire magazine, launched on 6th August, carries the images of the entire portfolio of suits. The exhibition opened on 31st July at the Terrace Rooms, Seamen’s Hall, Somerset House and will be on until 31st August, 2009.

SHOWstudio: Fashion Revolution in London

The award winning fashion website by Nick Knight, the well known fashion image-maker, SHOWstudio is organizing a major exhibition ‘Fashion Revolution’, at Somerset House, London from 18th September - 22nd December 2009. The exhibition will be an outcome of collaboration between high-profile photographers, artists, writers, designers, stylists and cultural figures. Some of the highlights will be a SHOWstudio’s most significant collaborations with creatives including Alexander McQueen, Peter Saville, Liberty Ross, Heston Blumenthal, Gareth Pugh, Simon Foxton, and Julie Verhoeven. A live photographic studio located within the exhibition space, hosting regular fashion shoots with Nick Knight and other leading photographers, laying bare the process of fashion image-making. Nick Knight will shoot 100 portraits of London’s ‘beau monde’, models, actors, musicians and artists and a program of new Fashion Films, specially commissioned by SHOWstudio.

London Fashion Week relocates for September S/S 2010

The British Fashion Council (BFC) has announced that the 25 year old London Fashion Week will hold its exhibition to celebrate its silver jubilee at Somerset House. BFC has great plans on the anvil to make this London Fashion Week memorable. Reportedly this will be the first time that the Fashion Week is being held in central London at the Somerset House and will have a new look trendy tent for BFC Catwalk & Show Space, larger catwalk and be more spacious backstage as well as be able to seat nearly 500 guests. Some of the labels returning to London Fashion Week are Burberry, Matthew Williamson and Pringle of Scotland. The quintessentially English brand Burberry has been showing in Milan each year but this time it gets to close the event.

Amsterdam International Fashion Week - July 18th – 26th

The Amsterdam International Fashion Week (AIFW) held its eleventh edition and was declared a huge success. This twice-a year event saw the participation of more than 60 designers, who successfully showcased the best of Dutch fashion. The catwalk shows for professionals took place at the Westergasterrein and separately for the public was held the Fashion Week DOWNTOWN across several public access catwalk shows. Also part of the program were lectures, expositions, parties, illustration and photo exhibitions and film performances that were organized in collaboration with museums, galleries, clubs and shops.
The new business program launched this season was a hugely successful initiative by the AIFW to reduce the gap between creation and commerce. One such was the Fashion Fasterclass designed by Fortis Bank Nederland and AIFW, which offered a perspective to designers by means of knowledge regarding a number of commercial issues which entrepreneurs in the industry are facing. At the pitchmeeting, another joint initiative by AIFW and Syntens, seven different labels presented themselves to a select group of decision makers and other related disciplines, with the aim of co-operation.

Dogs on the catwalk at 'Paws for Style'

Here’s another fashion show with a difference, the tenth edition of Paws for Style, where the participating models are walked on a leash by their companions. This charity dog fashion event, created in 1999 by Wendy Diamond, Animal Fair's Chief Pet Officer is held every year to raise money and awareness for animal rescue. Naturally it is about celebrities and the rich. The event took place on July 27th at M2 Ultra Lounge, where the celebrities brought their coiffed canine in matching satins and frills. The outfits of the celebrities and canines were auctioned on eBay after the show and the proceeds went to the Humane Society of New York. One of the items being a white dog jacket with CRYSTALLIZED(tm) - Swarovski Elements valued at $800 designed by Bravo TV's Fashion show designer Keith Lissner. Wendy Diamond said in her defense, "We don't promote dogs dressed up everyday and toted around as accessories, but we do on occasion dress up dogs for charity!" .

Christian Lacroix - fall season sale

A classic outcome of mismatch between creativity and commerce is the story of Christian Lacroix, whose brand had been in freefall for a while and recently filed for bankruptcy. He was handpicked by Bernard Arnault, the ceo of the highly successful fashion house LVMH, who made Lacroix name into a brand with the strategy to harness the designer’s tendency to make high end clothes and sell them at lower prices. None of his 11 former chief executives could convert his creativity into profitability. Perhaps realization has finally dawned on him, for he reportedly said, “Perhaps I shouldn’t have been influenced by the idea that my name could be spread across the entire world.” It’s been two decades since he had brought to life the staid world of Parisian couture with his Mediterranean flair, bright colours and bubble dresses and about whom, Olivier Saillard, a fashion historian and curator at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris had said, “He brought a bit of sunshine to the Parisian catwalk.” His story is going to become a case study in fashion schools globally, on what a designer should not do.

The fickle trends for each season often simply reflect the prevailing moods. In dark and somber times, everyone loves the warm colours and feisty prints. So out with solid colours and sport the lovely evergreen paisley or floral print.

balenciaga	christian dior	marc jacobs	zac posen

Cinched waists are feminine and hot this season. But to make a power statement alongside, do it with the belt. A new belt with the old dress works well to get a new look each time.

Gucci	Marc Jacobs	Yves saint laurent

In the age of rapid mechanization and high tech advancements it is the artisan who holds the thread of a tradition of ancient skills. Cut away from the mainstream these artisan groups struggle to hold on to what they have inherited and many social groups have come forward to support them. Newsvision introduces its readers to various artisan groups and their crafts in this column.

The heritage of spinning and weaving in Ethiopia

The endangered indigenous craft of Ethiopia is in need of preservation and Sara Abera, based in Addis Ababa, does it effectively through her artisan workshops. Rural Ethiopian ‘shemane’ (weaving) tradition for centuries has been that women spun the cotton and men did the weaving and Sara Abera gave herself the education to be able to support and promote the handmade textiles and traditional techniques of weaving, while also introducing modern elements and textiles. Alongside is a traditional scarf woven with cotton and acrylic fibers.

CM Omar gives a boost to Kashmiri handicrafts

A four day Kashmir Handicrafts International Buyer-Seller Meet 2009 was organised by the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI) in collaboration with Union Ministry of Commerce at SKICC, on the banks of Dal Lake on 9th August. Nearly 64 high-end foreign buyers besides scores from within the country attended the meet, which was inaugurated by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who said, "Kashmir's brand name as unique manufacturer of varied handicrafts of par excellence needs to be re-carved on the global map." "

The Swiss 'Schweizeroffiziersmesser'- incorporating new trends

The Swiss Army Knife, the iconic survival tool designed for the Swiss soldiers some 125 years ago, has kept up with the changing times and lifestyles and continues to be as integral an element for the modern urban ‘soldier’ braving it out in horrendous concrete jungles. Victorinox, the only Swiss firm making Swiss knives, eventually added tweezers, screwdrivers, a ‘cyber tool’ to fix computers, USB key and a blunt-tipped children’s knife, besides carrying its usual hallmark blades which helped soldiers to adjust gun sights, cut cheese, open cold food cans and carve pieces of wood while hiding in trenches. Latest that might be added is a Bluetooth-equipped remote controller for business presentations and even fingerprint ID to secure data stored on the computer memory key. No wonder the knife has accompanied expeditions to the North Pole, the South Pole, in the Amazon, to Mount Everest, been the official equipment of the space shuttle crews, been gifted by powerful Presidents of USA. It has supposedly been used to perform an in-flight emergency tracheotomy high above the Philippines.

It was during World War II that American soldiers popularized the knife, buying them from ‘PX’ stores in Europe. Unable to pronounce the tongue twister 'Schweizeroffiziersmesser', it was rechristened simply as the Swiss Army Knife, which is now a commercial trademark. Victorinox brought out the ‘only for army officer’ series, which gave it a cult status. The bombing of the twin tower on 7/11 also inadvertently bombed Victorinox, whose sales plunged on its ban from airliner cabins. The other Swiss knife brand in the market is Wenger but it was taken over by Victorinox in 2005, although they continue to sell under the different brand names. With the number of blades at 100 in some special editions, what next?

The business of creativity

The new season brings new trends and hopes, and the hard realization that fashion designers have a daunting road ahead. Even as many fashion platforms open avenues to test creativity, so also do pressures of commercial viability albeit treading the tightrope of ethical practice. Not even LVMH could prop a genius like Christian Lacroix’s creative eccentricities against losses. The Dutch were quick and the Amsterdam Fashion Week added a very successful business segment to help and educate designers. We have a lesson to learn from this. As the designers prepare to showcase their creativity for another season, it is essential to provide a healthy commercial environment that doesn’t confuse the buyer. Let us hope the eventual united India Fashion Week happening this season will bring stability and growth.