Macau Events | Fashion Festival connects brands and people

This year’s Macao Fashion Festival was a three-day event, organized by the Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Center (CPTTM) and the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), and hosted at the Florence Room of The Venetian Macao where at the same time, the 23rd International Trade and Investment Fair was being held.

This combination promoted the direct contact of the brands with the already established MIF trade and commerce platform. With the title “Charming Macao”, this event intends to showcase the local fashion industry and thus to boost its visibility and create possible joint business ventures between the brands and international buyers.

The Brand Collection Show 1 – a 30-minute show where four local brands displayed their collections – took place on the second day of the festival, October 19.

The brands present included Fortitude, Decom, iGift and Anifa. With different styles and focusing on various aspects of wardrobe, the brands displayed their collections and amazed the audience with their creativity and uniqueness.

With a monkey projected in the background and electronic music sounding through the speaker columns, Fortitude was the first brand to appear. The brand, known for its simplicity and modern style, presented the audience with different pieces of gender-neutral apparel. All in one color – black.

The second brand was Decom. A footwear brand under Macau Yixin Clothing. Established in 1998, Decom focuses on the development of force-absorbing soles that will enable a more comfortable work day. The show portrayed happy couples walking down the runway with movements that brought your eyes down to the model’s shoes.

Due to the high demand for uniforms in Macau, CPTTM decided to invite iGift, a uniform manufacturer – the third brand to walk the runway. With the increasing numbers of hotels, casinos and resorts the audience had the opportunity to lay their eyes on new and innovative designs for different positions and seasons.

The last brand was Anifa, a brand known for its futuristic appearance as it intends to merge sportswear and chic clothing. With a collection that portrayed simplicity, comfort and fashion wrapped into one, the audience was transported to the future where active-wear and work-wear will be one and the same.

The show ended with all four designers being applauded for their creations and with the audience leaving with a more significant understanding of local fashion trends.

The closing show held last weekend was part of Sands China “ongoing campaign to support Macau’s cultural and creative industries,” and highlighted local designers, with ten Macau fashion brands presenting exciting new collections. Eight local designers also showcased outfits as part of an exhibition which took place at The Parisian Macao’s Rotunda.

EMPORIO ARMANI AND NUNO LOPES

Concurrently, the Venetian, hosted Sands Macao Fashion Week (SMFW18) with fashion events, in-store promotions and exhibitions across the integrated resort.

One highlight was the Walk on Water runway shows at Shoppes at Venetian on a purpose-built catwalk on The Venetian Macao’s canals, alongside Boutique Shows at Shoppes at Parisian and other special events open to both the industry and general public throughout the week-long celebration

The Walk on Water shows kicked off with the debut 2019 Spring/Summer collection from Macau designer Nuno Lopes. The first local designer to be featured in Vogue magazine and participate in LondonFashion Week, Lopes showed his 40 ready-to-wear and haute couture looks.

“Following on from the success of last year’s inaugural event, SMFW18 was launched with renowned label Emporio Armani showcasing its Fall/Winter 2018 collection in collaboration with Rainbow Group at an exclusive VIP gala event held at The Venetian palatial main lobby, attended by over 220 celebrities and fashion elite from around the world,” Sands China said in a press release.

Celebrity models leading the runway included Liee, Hao (Hao Yun Xiang), Lina Zhang and Zhang Hui Jun, while in the audience were renowned Chinese actor Zheng Kai, actress Karlina Zhang and actor and singer Jiro Wang. Also attending the event as a special guest was actress and singer Qi Wei.

Other fashion events and offers included a Your BAZAAR Statement Tee vending machine, Cosmopolitan Fashion-style Reverse House photo booth, Versace Chain Reaction pop-up, Versus Versace promotion campaign and Victoria’s Secret Dream Angels collection pop-up.

David Sylvester, Executive Vice President of Global Retail, Las Vegas Sands, said: “After last year’s successful inaugural event, the industry demanded Sands Macao Fashion Week become a permanent fixture on the international calendar. For our second edition we have again presented a series of thrilling shows, parades and exhibitions featuring some of the world’s biggest brands, alongside stars of the local fashion industry, highlighted by the launch of the Emporio Armani Fall/Winter 2018 collection.”