On the evening of Sunday, July 12, in a room at the Art Institute
of Portland, Chris Cone and Tito Chowdhury laid it
all out. As the two principal figures behind Portland Fashion
Week (PFW), they had scheduled a forum to open up conversation with
a community that has sometimes been at odds with the event. The candor
was overdue, and the past years of work on the annual showcase have
been a learning process for everyone involved. The presentation and
Q&A helped clarify some of the questions and doubts that have
dogged the organization, and more importantly, allowed insight into
where PFW is headed.
One of the earliest issues raised by PFW was a perceived division
between those designers who participate and those who don’t. PFW has
matured into its identity as a marketing tool, explicitly stating that
it is not intended for small artisan designers making primarily
one-of-a-kind garments—much of Portland’s apparel industry
identity has its roots in just such artisanship, but I get the sense
that they’re not trying to be completest anymore, and I don’t blame
them.
“We’re not trying to be pedantic at all,” said Cone as he launched
into a basic explanation of how designers can use PFW to market
themselves. For 2009, official photography is being handled by
Fashion Wire Press, a New York-based company that specializes in
runway photography at major fashion weeks worldwide. This was met with
chagrin by Portland photographers in attendance, but arguably justifies
the cost of participation in the event (starting at $750, plus an
additional $350-500 to buy the photos).
Speaking of money, they also put any rumors of making large profits
from the event to rest by opening the books. Last year’s event cost
$456,791, about $62,000 of which was not covered by sponsors. The total
income came to $71,270, leaving them less than $10,000 from breaking
even.
This year they’ve thrown their resources into attracting buyers
(they’ve assembled a buyer relations team and are organizing a “buyers’
hour” to increase contact between designers and the buyers they want to
pursue); have established print sponsorships with Spin and
Surface magazines as well as Lufthansa’s in-flight publication,
and are negotiating with the Portland Business Alliance on a pop-up
shop project that would feature Portland designers running temporary
shops in unoccupied downtown commercial spaces through the holidays.
They are also adding an emerging designer showcase to the event, where
up and comers can participate at almost half the cost.
“Exposure, Respect, and Revenue” are the key words propelling
Portland Fashion Week’s current agenda, and as Portland Fashion
Synergy President May Tee put it after the forum’s conclusion, “I
think Portland Fashion Week is moving in the right direction.”