A growing number of independent – and smaller – fashion weeks are cropping up all over the globe. The anxiety about how long they’ll be able to survive with strong competition from the west is of growing concern. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t important to a developing fashion industry.

 

Recently Colin McDowell spoke about the pressures and prices of International Fashion Weeks and the affect it is having on young design talent and their prospects of ‘making it’ within the fashion industry.

 

Writing for The Business of Fashion, he said ‘I don’t see any solution until international fashion embarks on a coordinated root-and-branch investigation of its world and starts planning for a future that will be much more rosy for young designers than it is now, at this difficult time.’ And it seems that as the four main fashion weeks grow larger and more extravagant, there are hundreds of more smaller, independent fashion weeks popping up in locations all over the world. McDowell commented in his article, Something is Rotten in the State of Fashion,

‘Can [these smaller fashion weeks,] in any meaningful sense, now or in the future, have any value or viability in terms of international fashion, faced, as they currently are, by the highly organised competition of the huge conglomerates of the west?’

It is a growing concern, but one that doesn’t seem to dampen the spirits and continuous growth of these smaller fashion organisations.

 

Yesterday, one of these smaller organisations opened its doors to the world’s media, unleashing its homegrown fashion talent onto the world. As a platform for over 35 designers exhibiting on the catwalk along with numerous accessory and wedding designers, the New Zealand fashion week will run for four days giving the rest of the world an insight into its fast emerging talent.

 

Speaking with TVNZ however, the organizer of the event, Pieter Stewart made a plea to the government to help fund the fashion week and set up a much needed ‘fashion council.’ She was quoted as saying, ‘The Government could become involved perhaps in helping to set up a fashion council, I have discussed it with them briefly … just an infrastructure to help the industry or to help run what’s happening with the fashion industry.’

 

Now in its 11th year, the treasured fashion week is hoping to continue in order of bringing the much-needed attention from international buyers and media to its growing fashion industry.

 

This year however they have a new venue in the form of the Viaduct Events Centre, which will host well-known designers like Stolen Girlfriends Club, Ingrid Starnes, Sable and Minx, Juliette Hogan and Salasai, as well as allowing the public to purchase tickets for one of the few NZFW Designer selection shows. Lets hope they continue to grow and gain that important backing from the government.

 

Here at LOOKK.com we’ll be bringing you parts 1 and 2 of the event over the commencing week so you don’t miss a thing.

Ingrid Starnes                  Juliette Hogan                     Salasai

 

Main Image- COOP

All Images courtesy of New Zealand Fashion Week 2011

Tags: colin mcdowell, ingrid starnes, juliette hogan, new zealand fashion week, nzfw, pieter stewart, sable and minx, salasai, stolen girlfriends club, tvnz, viaduct events centre