Fashion and films

When you think of fashion films words like random, long, floaty and artsy spring to mind. You almost need to have a degree in art film interpretation to understand the meaning behind most of these films. It’s all well and good gaining awards and accolades but if the everyday people who watch them haven’t got a clue what it’s about then its not going to appeal to a very large audience. Plus eight to ten minutes seems a bit excessive. I’m not saying these films aren’t worth a watch, they are! They are often intricate, deep and thought provoking. However, artsy and floaty isn’t really our style and while we don’t have the resources to create a full on 10 minutes mini movie style fashion film, we thought we could dip into this ever-increasing phenomenon and bring out our own condensed version.

Our fashion film / commercial will be launched in June and will focus on showcasing our new range of ready to wear clothing, “Kanch” by Kanchan Couture, with a funky storyline that we hope will capture people’s attention. We decided to go for a slightly edgy twist. Expect splashes of text, upbeat music and a storyline that will keep you hooked.

We felt this would be a perfect way to engage with Generation Y. The times are changing and static billboards and fliers just don’t cut it any more. It used to be that girls, in particular, were influenced by glossy magazines. Now, viral media and social networks dominate; Youtube, Facebook, Bloggers and style websites are the new influences for the woman of today.

So, keep your ear to the speaker and your eyes on the tube (Youtube that is) as the “Kanch” viral campaign will soon be making its way to a URL near you!

Check out our Facebook page for behind the scenes pictures, up soon!

www.kanchancouture.com

Souk In The City

Designer markets provide a platform for emerging artists and designers to showcase their work to the general public in a relaxed, market environment. It enables young talent to display their works and the public to purchase unique items that cannot be found commercially. For the designers, these markets often form the first step towards growth and commercialization of their design range, whether it’s fashion, jewelry, craft or art.

Designer markets are the best place to find hidden gems from up and coming designers and a great place to buy affordable, original, home grown designs right from the designers themselves. These markets are cropping up all across the globe. From Brisbane to London to New York, designers are showing their works with the hope of kick-starting their design careers.

Kanch was in New York this month and had the opportunity to show pieces from our collection at The Market NYC. This young designers market is located right in the heart of Soho and is a buzz of creativity from young emerging talent. It was a fantastic experience and we had really positive feedback from buyers.

We hate that there’s no designers market in Hong Kong. With so many talented young people in this city, you would hope there would be a place they could go to get their work out there. Having said that, occasionally opportunities do arise for designers to showcase their work in a temporary market environment. Examples include the Random Art Workshop’s quarterly RAW Marketplace event that brings together various vendors selling unique handmade products and Detour 2009, which created a unique platform for local, up-and-coming creative talents to showcase their work to the public, as well as to engage the community’s creative energy, providing an engaging environment for artists, designers and the creative public to congregate and interact.

However, these events are not very regular, so when they do arise, we jump at the opportunity to take part! Luckily for us, the Sassy girls (lovers of all things fashion and fun) have decided to host the ultimate designer market. ‘Souk In The City’ is being hailed as the ultimate girls night out with a fabulous array of local designers, artists, manicurists and our favourite henna tattooist Sara from Saras Henna, all there to help create the perfect night of shopping and socializing.

This event should be loads of fun and will hopefully introduce more lovely ladies to our accessories and new ready to wear collection. If you’re wondering what to do this Wednesday 19th then come along to ‘Souk in the City’ at The Langham hotel, TST. The event is free but alas, the clothes are not, so bring your credit cards and cash, and enjoy special discounts for this one night only!

www.kanchancouture.com

More than just a shop

With so many shops to choose from and so many products out there how does one choose where to go or what to buy? Yes, we can be swayed and influenced by large scale marketing and advertising campaigns, however now I think the times are changing and even boutiques without large advertising budgets are attracting the consumers. How, you may ask? Through enhancing the whole experience for their customer. It is no longer just about shopping; the successful shops are moving beyond traditional boutiques and becoming so much more.

The Dressing Room on Manhattan’s Lower East Side would appear to be a fairly standard retail store, with a boutique on one level and vintage-clothing exchange on another. However, what sets it apart from the norm is the full bar on their ground floor level. If you visit this unique boutique on any given night, you’ll find regulars sipping drinks, listening to the occasional DJ set, catching a movie projected on a small screen and browsing through racks of clothes. This store creates a neighbourhood hangout for its clients, a place for people to sit and have a drink. Ultimately this is a clothing store with a difference and the sense of community associated with this store not only brings people in, but encourages them to stay and peruse the goods on offer.

This bar-shop concept store is just one example of a retailer getting creative with their space to attract traffic. Yes big department stores such as Debenhams in the UK have been providing consumers with a ‘one-stop-shop’ for many years, with café’s and even hairdressers located within their four walls. However, the small boutiques are offering something that even these big stores can’t: an atmosphere, an environment, an experience, and a destination.
Saturday’s in New York’s Soho district is a surf shop that serves coffee and beer in its back garden and my gran’s favourite small boutique in the North of England sells home furnishings and trinkets in the front of the store and features a quaint coffee shop (with the best cakes in town) in the back. Both stores cleverly guide customers through the goods on sale before they sit down to enjoy their refreshments.

In my opinion, personal service, a warm welcome and a chance to sit with friends, drink, shop, listen to music and relax will truly be the future of retail. People like to feel they belong to something and these intimate, bar/coffee-shop concept stores provide a haven for consumers to relax and enjoy.

We believe Kanchan Couture is no exception. We've organised many after hours events with a difference for our clients. My particular favourite was the fabulous henna and fashion fusion event we held in collaboration with SarasHenna (see picture above). With our regular champagne evenings and personal service, we hope all our consumers enjoy their experience with us and like to come back time and time again.

Right now we are taking bookings for free individual 30 minute viewing and styling appointments with Kanch for a new collection of ready to wear clothing we are launching. To thank our customers, we want to ensure each person is given the time and treatment we think they deserve, so book one of your personal sessions now.

Details:
17th, 18th, 19th May from 10am to 8pm

To book, e-mail kelly@kanchancouture.com or call 2117 1782

www.kanchancouture.com