The fifth edition of Bogotá Fashion Week ended successfully

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  • The participating brands, which represented the most prominent of national design, and 50 buyers contacted in nearly 400 business meetings during the fifth edition of Bogotá Fashion Week – BFW, a program of the Chamber of Commerce of Bogotá. 
  • International buyers participated from countries such as the United States, France, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, and from important multi-brand stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Printemps, Piso Siete, and boutiques such as L'Exception, Proyecto República, Pineapple Concept Store, Call me Lola and Theme Dresser. 
  • During the event, academic meetings and runways of 17 brands were also held, which contributed to the positioning of Bogotá as an international capital of fashion. 

The fifth edition of Bogotá Fashion Week – BFW, a commercial platform for fashion of the Chamber of Commerce of Bogotá, ended successfully on Saturday, May 21, with the attendance of 19,000 people, the presence of 20 Colombian and Latin American guests in the academic component, and the participation of 161 Colombian brands and 50 national and international buyers who met in nearly 400 business meetings. 

After two years of health emergency and a digital initiative that launched the program with the aim of boosting the sector's economy during this period, Bogotá Fashion Week returned in 2022 with a proposal that included sections for sales activation: Business Meetings, Showrooms, Multi-Brand Market and Runways, where 161 brands participated; and complementary sections, such as BFW Talks and an Experience Hall, which offered a free agenda of more than 30 events. 

Business Meetings was the component dedicated to the generation of business and the growth of companies, from the local and global market. According to a sample close to 50% of the brands, short, medium and long-term business expectations for 2.5 MUSD were generated in this space. International buyers from countries such as the United States, France, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, and from important multi-brand stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Printemps, Piso Siete, and boutiques such as L'Exception, Proyecto República, Pineapple Concept Store, Call me Lola and Theme Dresser, participated in approximately 400 business appointments, that allowed to close and plan commercial agreements, which ratified the role of the program in the positioning of Bogotá and the Region as a fashion business capital at the national and international level. 

María Paz Gaviria, Chief Officer of Commercial and Cultural Platforms of the Chamber of Commerce of Bogotá, stated that “this fashion week once again contributed to the positioning of the city as the business capital of fashion thanks to the consultancy that designers had, the quality of its sample, the strengthening of its business models, and the sales made. Bogotá Fashion Week is committed to the strengthening of the fashion sector, where design proposals with a global stamp converge, where local talent is positioned in the world.” 

The Showrooms functioned as a great showcase for retail sales, where the 19,000 attendees had the opportunity to directly acquire the pieces of the most successful collections of the participating brands. Through this space, which was inaugurated in the fifth edition of BFW, about COP 1,500,000,000 in effective sales were generated. 

The buyers 

Gael Deboise, (KM33 - Mexico, Guadalajara), stated: “On this occasion I had the opportunity to close business with Najash, Verdi, by designer Tomás Vera, and achieve a special collaboration with Lauval. The growth and support that the Chamber of Commerce of Bogotá, through BFW, offers to local designers so that they can internationalize is incredible.” 
 

Mare Ramos (COO Proyecto República – México, Mexico City) pointed out: “I wanted to come, I wanted to see the infrastructure, I wanted to know how the Chamber of Commerce of Bogotá supports designers and buyers. It's very important to me to see all this synergy and all that union that they have achieved to support the businessman in international sales.” 
​​​​​​​He also added that it's evident that the participating brands have prepared themselves to sell both wholesale (Business Meetings) and retail (Showrooms), and that, as buyer, it's a very good reference because it gives him guidelines to do different things in his country. “The commitment to support the local talent does not exist elsewhere, being able to see it here gives us references to promote it.”