adminTrish Carmen Fashion
As the model struts, attention focused on the arsenal of lenses at the end of the runway, flattering the lines of that outfit, they look straight ahead without even glancing at the wings of the runway.
Images hit every media platform barely a second after the model turns away, that’s when you take in a deep breath and feel it is September, it’s fashion week month!
It would be foolish for us to underestimate the importance of fashion in society because clothes and accessories are an expression of how we feel, how we see ourselves and how we wish to be seen by others.
Fashion is too prevalent to be considered trivial, even when you say you are not interested in fashion, you are forced to consider it because it is everywhere. Fashion is not about clothes but about identity and this is all linked to brand values, communicated through marketing. Are you elegant? Streetwise? Intellectual? Or all of the above?
When the September fashion month starts there is some kind of buzz and excitement that comes with it, the endless highlights of new trends, creativity, the shows, the parties and social media craze just creates an atmosphere. Whilst all this is happening the underlying fact remains that — FASHION WEEKS ARE NOT JUST ENTERTAINMENT
Fashion Weeks began during the height of the Second World War, named Press Week at the time. Press weeks later became fashion weeks and were designed for fashion designers to showcase their latest fashion trends for the following season, inviting buyers and media publishers with the aim of gaining exposure and sales through the buyers attendance. This prevails today, with the rich, celebrities and media practitioners including bloggers taking front row seats at these events.
When fashion weeks are put together it’s a combination of creativity and glamour but at the very heart of this, its a tool to create fashion brand awareness, visibility and recognition and this hard work must translate to money.
One thing is for certain, fashion is big business and designers are admirably creative people but the clothes the designer sends out onto the runway are worthless unless they are bought.
It is important then that fashion weeks are run not only as entertainment but also as a tool to market designers’ brands in a way that will make business sense. Fashion week organisers especially in Zimbabwe and other African countries cannot ignore the critical significance of marketing fashion weeks and linking the designers to key players in the fashion industry. It’s important and cannot be ignored.
Some fashion weeks can be genre-specific, such as a Christian Fashion Week, Miami Fashion Week (swimwear), Rio Summer (swimwear), Prêt-a-Porter Fashion Week, Couture in Paris Fashion Week, Festive Wear Fashion Week and Bridal Fashion Week. The Bread and Butter Berlin hosts the leading fashion show for everyday fashion.
All of these serve an important role in different areas of design and at the end of the day designers do not design just for the fun of it. If there were no money coming in, they would not be able to continue in this line of business though it may be a passion.
Now I have mentioned the importance of having buyers who then have first dibs on the showcased trends. The problem I have noticed with most Zimbabwe Fashion Weeks is the lack of said buyers or even people who at the end of it all are willing to invest in the talent they would have so loved and applauded for on the runway.
My wish would be that some measure is put in place where the designers can enjoy monetary value for their hard work. Most designers have to fund themselves and therefore put a lot of money, hard work over a period of six or so months to showcase for ten minutes and only get applause at the end of it. There is no buyer’s lounge created for the event after the show for buyers and the ordinary consumer to interact and order their favourite designs they would have spotted on the runway.
With all the stress and insanity that comes with bringing ideas to life in fashion design, it really isn’t worth it just to have a show that ends with a round of applause.
Fashion weeks are the greatest marketing and advertising live billboard in fashion so after the fashion week craze, it should be business as usual with the buyers lounge booming, with filled up order books, designers meetings with new buyers and excitement from buyers ordering the latest next season’s collection — that’s the order of a successful fashion week.
I must say Pricilla Chigariro impressively managed to identify Zimbabwean and South African designers with phenomenal creativity to showcase at the just ended Zimbabwe Fashion Week 2015.
- Trish Carmen is a Zimbabwean Fashion designer and hostess of The Front Page on Star FM. Her fashion Brand Trish Carmen has been showcased at SAFW, Durban Fashion Fair, Durban Designer show case, HIFA , Harare Jazz festival & KZN Fashion Council Fashion Showcase. Feedback: [email protected]
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