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| Large-scale events. |
BIFF and BIL 2009 and ASEAN Fashion Plus came together at a new venue, the Impact Exhibition Center, Muang Thong Thani in Bangkok, aiming to display the best clothing and footwear fashions that ASEAN countries could bring together. Guests included 10 prominent ASEAN ministers.
Indeed, some pleasing collections were on view, chiefly from Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, offering simple and good taste in garments and footwear. But these were let down by presentations illuminating sub-standard design work; designers were also repetitive, bringing together far too many evening gowns in sequins, beads and embroidery.
The events spanned 13 to 16 August, with trading days allocated to the first and second days. The primary stage for shows was impressive but some visitors claimed that individual event delays caused them to cancel visits to other programmes, while opportunities for photography were missed.
With fabrics mainly sourced from Hong Kong, South Korea and Thailand, a number of companies presented Laotian-assembled products. Export Garment's Rougroj Rojsakdar said that while the venue was convenient for showing goods, the promoters could be more aggressive in publicising the event, as there were too few foreign buyers.
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| Fabrics mainly from overseas. |
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| Sequins and beads in profusion. |
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Rojo Laurel, representing his Philippine-based House of Laurel production facilities, commented that the exhibition space was well designed and there were excellent opportunities to meet buyers expecting to source in Southeast Asia.
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| Style over substance. |
For Singapore's quality winter wear producer, Winter Time, Dinah Poh said the organisers of the BIFF and BILL events could have done with more public relations expertise, due to the lack of information about the schedules, and multi-channel translations could have been provided.
Vivid colours and embroidery among trends
Thai fashion designers offered black and white, with several vivid colours such as fuschia, red, cobalt blue and aquamarine.
Thai designers also focused on handicraft techniques, such as embroidery with thread or yarn and incorporating other materials such as sequins and beads. They used many techniques such as fashions in draping, patchwork and stained fabrics. Glass and kaleidoscopic patterns were favoured.
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| Cut and fabric were all important. |
There were also cutting and draping techniques using patterns from nature such as flowers, plants and butterflies. Tulle, chiffon, crepe, organza and lace were in profusion.
Most fabrics were imported from China, South Korea and France, along with occasional Thai silk options.
Philippine designers used layer cutting with local fabrics, but few pieces stood out as distinctive.
Thai fashions could be updated
As a tip for suppliers of mid-range Thai fashions, much could be done to interest retailers, based on the offerings at the shows. Styles harked back to the US of five years ago, with few exciting styles. Old-style cargo pants were everywhere.
In fact, styles and colours offered for the mid-range Thai mass market were predictable, even for the high-profile resort and business sectors.
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| Resort wear presented at BIFF. |
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| Mass market offerings. |
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Silk and cotton offerings were presented for the global market by Thai manufacturers, but there was little on view that was outstanding.
There were expected to be some 48,000 visitors to this year's BIFF and BIL, with some 1,200 exhibitors. Several exhibitors said there were fewer visitors than they had expected, partially due to the economic downturn.
Several commentators suggested that Southeast Asian countries had much headway to pick up from major textile producers in China, South Korea and Japan, with unfashionable designs offered at low prices.
Also, none of the fairs made particular incursions into children's wear, unlike the equivalent fairs in 2002. This year at BIFF, there were but six major textile names offering children's clothing compared to 64 booths seven years ago.
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| Crocodile skin bags. |
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| High heeled shoes of Asian design. |
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As for leather merchandise, most producers favoured crocodile skin, metal-enhanced leather and crystal. Few held the distinction of appearing different from high-end European brands.
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| Exhibition from Koi Suwannagate. |
The main entrance to BIFF featured a surprise exhibition from Koi Suwannagate, a famous Thai designer residing in New York. He presented his creations for Spring/Summer 2009. It was a surprise that should not have been, since there had been little promotion of the event, which was not included on fair maps or in bulletins.
According to traders, there are developing issues between buyers and suppliers in Southeast Asia due to the fluctuation of shipping costs and gyrations of the oil price. Many buyers prefer to deal with suppliers in China and Vietnam to achieve more flexible shipping terms on different sizes of consignments.
from special correspondent Nattawat Chearananta, Bangkok
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