From:TheBahamasWeekly.com
Islands of the World Fashion Week to become a twice annual 'Showcase'
By Owen Bethel
Sep 2, 2011 - 11:48:13 PM
Nassau, Bahamas - Mode Îles, Ltd., the organizers of the award-winning Islands
of the World Fashion Week, has announced significant changes to the
production and format of the event commencing in 2012.
The event will become known as “Islands
of the World Fashion Showcase” (“IWFS”) and will be presented
twice annually in May and November. Each event will be hosted for two
days with participation limited to ten designers at each event representing
island nations around the world, along with international designers.
The event in May will highlight designer resort, sports and swim wear
and accessories. November will feature designer couture, pret-a-porter
and casual wear and accessories.
The growth in demand for the products
showcased during the previous Islands of the World Fashion Weeks has
prompted the organizers to advance and prepare for the simultaneous
launch of the online magazine, “ExÎles”, and the online store,
“ExÎles Boutique”, both of which will feature designers, arts and
crafts, and accessories unique to the global island lifestyle, becoming
a major distribution and sales outlet for the creative designs presented
on the runways of Islands of the World Fashion Showcase.
An important feature of the event that
will continue in the new format will be the awards component in the
categories of NextGen Designer, Sustainable Eco-Fashion, and Culture
& Fashion. The presentation of the Humanitarian Designer Award will
also continue to be an integral part of the new format. Previous recipients
of the Humanitarian Designer Award have been Kenneth Cole and Hennes
& Mauritz (H&M).
Developing from the television show
which originated with the 2010 Islands of the World Fashion Week will
be a six-part reality documentary on the respective countries and designers
selected to participate in the Showcase. The documentary will be syndicated
to both traditional television and cable networks around the world and
specialized fashion trade networks. Endorsed from its inception in 2008
by the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO),
Islands of the World Fashion Week has been successful in fulfilling
its mandate of promoting island designers from around the world and
exposing them to international media and buyers. Since its inauguration
the event has hosted in excess of 70 designers from island-nations as
diverse as The Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Dominican
Republic, Grenada, Fiji, Haiti, Indonesia, Jamaica, Madagascar, The
Philippines, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Trinidad &
Tobago, and Turks & Caicos.
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Tomas Frenes, Vice President and Production
Manager of Mode Îles, and a former director of Versace with his own
furniture line, noted that “Special features being introduced into
the new format will include presentations by architects and interior
designers, highlighting the contribution and impact of these professions
to fashion and style.”
Owen Bethel, President of Mode Îles,
stated that “the new format will definitely enhance the promotion
and exposure of the designers in innovative ways, and ultimately with
the intent of making it a commercially viable avenue for them to be
able to transform their creativity into sales. The state-of-the-art
online store and marketing thrust offered through that medium will give
designers an unprecedented opportunity to introduce and sell their designs
to previously untapped markets. ExÎles will itself invite special designers
to produce lines of clothing under its proprietary label. The successful
Islands of the World Fashion Tour to key cities and trade events, which
was introduced in 2010, will continue as a promotional tool. Regrettably,
the preparation and anticipation of the roll out of the revised format
and introduction of the new components to Islands of the World Fashion
Showcase have required the forfeiture of the event scheduled for November
2011. This is truly a watershed transition in the development and continued
growth of this fairly young venture in an international and dynamic
industry, and bodes well for the islands and The Bahamas. These are
crucial steps in fulfilling our mission of providing a multi-faceted
showcase for the talent in the islands and to encourage value-added
economic activity in these countries.”
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