Asia Fashion Summit Offers Hot Topics And Dynamic Speakers To Discuss Rise Of Asian Consumerism

Offers excellent platform for Asian-based fashion professionals and leaders to gain new insights and build connections

14 March 2011, Singapore – Asia Fashion Summit (AFS), a premier business conference for the Asian fashion industry, will return this year from 18-20 May in Singapore with an extensive line-up of influential thinkers and fashion leaders from the international and Asia fashion world.

AFS, organized by the Textile and Fashion Federation of Singapore (TaFf), will bring in more than 30 top-notch fashion experts who will generate thought provoking discussions on the theme ‘Rise of Asian consumerism’ and its impact on the textile and fashion industry.

Delegates can expect Andrew Wu, LVMH Group Director for China; Mark Baumann, Head of Visual Merchandising, Lane Crawford; Simon Gaffney, International Director, Karen Millen; Eric Jennings, VP Men's Fashion, SAKS Fifth Avenue; Douglas Benjamin, CEO, FJ Benjamin; Bryan Riviere, Head of Global Sourcing and Manufacturing, Lululemon Athletica; Hamilton South, Founder and CEO HL Group; and Juliet Warkentin, Global Content Director, WGSN. 

“Asia Fashion Summit is a unique conference in this region because it is focused on the business of fashion with both a global and Asian view, from manufacturing through to retailing and marketing,” said Chris Koh, Honorary President, TaFf.  “It gives a 360 degree view of the issues impacting the fashion business right now but more importantly looks at what will impact the business tomorrow.”

A host of fashion experts and leaders, who are at the forefront of fashion knowledge, will offer insightful discussions with their latest thinking, ideas and best practices.

Summit Highlights

Topics cover macro views of strategic issues that can enhance competitiveness of the fashion business, as well as other business imperatives needed to sustain growth of the fashion industry in line with the emergence of new consumer trends and behaviour.

For the second year running, WGSN the world’s leading fashion trends forecaster and fashion authority will kick off Day-one of the Summit with their global and local insights into key issues driving design, buying and retail.

The Summit will include two China-focused sessions – one on ‘Cultural understanding of China’s generation shift far and beyond luxury consumption’ and the other on ‘The rise of Chinese Yuan and its impact on global fashion supply chain’.

Other sessions offering new insights are presentations on ‘Trends shaping consumption habits in the Asian market luxury brands’, while ‘Asian youth consumer’ will offer an in-depth look into trends that will be shaping consumption habits of the youth in the Asian market.

Debate and discussions on ‘New rules of visual merchandising’ and ‘New retail concept’ are designed for retailers, while topics such as ‘Designing for global consumer’ and ‘Inside the mind of a buyer’ will offer designers a new perspective to add on to their own.  Apparel manufacturers in Asia may rethink critical business issues through sessions such as ‘The cotton situation’, and ‘Alternative fibers’.   Fashion businesses planning to leverage new media must attend the sessions on ‘New media for the fashion industry’ and ‘Social media marketing’.

This array of topics has a wide appeal as they cover issues that are as pertinent to designers as they are to marketers and CEOs of the fashion business in Asia.

Greater flexibility across all segments of the industry
All the topics will be delivered in 26 sessions through a mix of keynote presentations, Q&A sessions, panel discussions and debates, as well as six workshops.

The conference package structure has been designed to give delegates the freedom to select topics that best serve their needs and interests.  This structure provides more focused networking opportunities for delegates during the summit, and is also more flexible for smaller fashion businesses and players.  This includes choices of three-day pass; two-day pass; one-day pass; and workshop only pass.

Conference package is available through the appointed distributor Raffles Design Institute, the largest private education group in this region, with a network of 36 colleges across 14 countries in Asia Pacific.

Asia Fashion Summit, in its second consecutive year is one of four pillar events under Asia Fashion Exchange, which aims to establish Singapore as Asia’s premier one-stop fashion hub.

Details on the Summit and its conference packages are available on www.asiafashionsummit.com.

For media enquiry on Asia Fashion Summit, please contact:
Lina Poa
T: 65 9696 5453
E: linapoa@aimpr.com.sg
A.I.M. PR

About Textile and Fashion Federation (Singapore)
The Textile and Fashion Federation (TaFf) was formed through a collation of the textile and garment associations in 1981. Singapore’s textile and garment industry has since then transformed from a manufacturing base to be a regional fashion, marketing and sourcing hub. TaFf takes an active role in nurturing the next generation of talents, facilitate marketing and exportation of textiles and apparels to the world, promote the betterment of business practices through the adoption of advanced technology. We encourage participation in research, development, innovation and other enhancement activity or social projects which add value to the industry. For more information, please visit www.taff.org.sg.

About Asia Fashion Exchange (AFX)
Asia Fashion Exchange (AFX) is an initiative aimed at developing the long-term sustainability of Singapore’s fashion industry by building capability and profiling local talent on an international platform, here in Asia. It is a joint effort by International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, SPRING Singapore (SPRING) and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), with the strong support of local stakeholders such as the Textile and Fashion Federation of Singapore (TaFf) and Mercury Marketing & Communications, to establish Singapore’s standing as Asia’s fashion gateway. AFX comprises four pillars: Blueprint, a trade exhibition and consumer sales event designed to be an international platform based in Asia; Asia Fashion Summit, an international business conference for industry professionals to generate thought leadership content; Audi Fashion Festival, a showcase of world-class collections by top international designers and labels; and Star Creation, a regional fashion design competition to spot budding talent from across Asia.