Comment: A week too many

There is no such thing as ‘fashion industry’— there is a budding textile industry which is also plagued with problems.

A plethora of ‘fashion weeks’ welcome one throughout the year. Where there are great vehicles of corporate sponsorship, providing good viewing on television and giving a chance to fashion designers to showcase their collections to a limited audience, do they serve any business purpose?

How many designers can say today that they have received orders from international buyers for their collections? Have we heard of a success story from Pakistan that has rocked the international boundaries? I am not sure if we can answer these questions in the affirmative. Whatever the case, the most that we have done is to shove fashion down everyone’s throats through countless fashion weeks. What purpose do these weeks serve? Most would say they are good for the ‘fashion industry’ and encourage new people to show their design talents. Firstly, there is no such thing as a ‘fashion industry’ — there is a budding textile industry which is also now plagued with a number of problems and there is an apparel industry where some large scale companies have put up the units to meet the demands of everyday clothing but designers largely remain non-entities when it comes to the business side of the spectrum.

Some of the designers have retail stores but others churn work out of their workshops, small set ups where they meet the demands of their discerned consumers. So it is more like a boutique business; high end, no corporate support and essentially a personal operation — that’s how a major percentage of the fashion designers operate in Pakistan. Now when you take this model and try to fit it into what designers are doing world over for expanding their businesses, it doesn’t work. Let’s explore how.

Showcasing via fashion week

When designers participate in a fashion week abroad, the aim is to set the trend forecast for the next season by revealing their latest collections and lure buyers into placing orders for various houses that they represent. The established houses show their collections as a preview of what is going to be in store for this season in their own and franchised outlets all over the world and trigger the demand that is going to guarantee a turn out at their stores. The designers who seek fashion business are mostly the fresh graduates who have been given a chance to show at the week after a rigorous selection process. These graduates wow the audience and as a result have the opportunity to be picked up either as in-house designers or on contract or as a onetime deal to produce a certain collection for a large brand. Many a times, it is the fashion buyer who is seeking an opportunity that will set the brand apart or get a new collection in store.

Few local stores

When it comes to design stores in the local market, there are a very few of them which operate housing various collections from designers. Then the model is rental-based, with store commission charged on each garment sold. It is not like the store owners operate in such a large business model that they can afford to buy entire collections to be sold from their stores. There are a very few brands who are able to sell in such a way that they meet the demands of their clients across country and place a large order or facilitate designing of a large order.

Way forward

The way forward for the local design talent is to build alliances with stores operating at a large scale and do collections for them. Similarly, foreign brands who are venturing into the local market can have special local market collections designed by some great local talent. This will be one way forward. As it is, the designers do not have the capacity to produce at a large scale and they can never do this on their own unless they have a corporation backing them or investing in their capabilities. The Trade Development Authority of Pakistan can look at the various ways in which finished collections or certain indigenous design elements can be exported into the world market. Unless that is done, we will continue to be a cottage industry with minimal retail presence and will carry on as boutique designers. Until that time, the idea of putting up a fashion week may serve the purpose of good publicity, entertainment for the audience via TV shows and a platform for the corporations to sponsor and brand the event itself but not true business. If that is what we want, then we are doing a great job!

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th, 2012.

Like Life & Style on Facebook and follow at @ETLifeandStyle for the latest in fashion, gossip, entertainment