Photo Courtesy of www.ifschile.cl
Congratulations Chile, and welcome to the party. Chile has decided enough with all this Euro talk. Chile will host its first-ever fashion show on June 10 at the nation’s capital of Santiago.
As part of a three-day International Fashion Show (IFS), the first edition of the International Fashion Fair will showcase major European brands to Chilean manufacturers and buyers, allowing them to establish new business contacts. It also provides an opportunity for neighboring countries such as Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Columbia to join in as well. The event will showcase RTW (ready-to-wear) textiles, handbags, accessories and more.
Chile was chosen because the country does not impose any taxes on imports of clothing. These savings can allow manufacturers to distribute to other Latin American countries at low costs.
Why is this news relevant? Why are the clothes on your back relevant? Fashion is a billion-dollar industry. If a country is able to bring in even some of the potential wealth a fashion show can generate, it can mean great things for the future.
As Coco Chanel once said, “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street. Fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”
The Chilean effort to expand its markets is proof of the nation’s progress. Most people think of the country as that skinny pencil on the bottom left of South America, but it now has the opportunity to be so much more.
Like Chanel said, the ideas, manufacturing and design of fashion can allow a society to thrive with creativity. If IFS is a success, there is no reason why Chile won’t put on the event next year, and the year after that, and the year after that. The potential economic growth weighs on the backs of designers, textile manufacturers, event organizers and messengers.
The venue, Espacio Riesco, is like a convention center — this is no traditional fashion week. Traditional fashion weeks fill huge venues with runway shows and very detailed schedules of when and where each designer will show. Stands can be reserved for 180€, or $242.96, per square meter. This all-inclusive price includes: liability insurance, regular consumption of energy, electricity usage and daily cleaning. Basically, everything is taken care of; vendors just need to bring the clothes. This a great way to introduce Chilean and South American fashion to the outside world.
Go to www.ifschile.cl for updates on their blog. Don’t forget to hit that lovely translate button at the top of the page, unless of course you speak Spanish. I personally cannot wait for the photos of the event. It fills me with such joy to know that something I love is spreading throughout the world, creating jobs, revenue and most importantly, fashion. Stay classy, Pepperdine.
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Follow Jacklyn Maza on Twitter: @jbizzmazzz
