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Detergent, Chocolate, G-Strings: Weird Freebies at Colombian Fashion Week
By Alice Pfeiffer
MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA–Colombia Moda 2010: The show of local designer Camillo Alvarez is about to start. As I sit down at my seat, I find an unexpected freebie awaiting me: a canvas bag with the logo “Blancox” is filled with a range of washing powders–for whites, colors, wool. Quite a change from Mark Fast tights awarded to London Fashion Week goers.
The catwalk is also heavily branded with Blancox, the local equivalent of Persil detergent. And there’s more–before and after the show, the sponsor’s extensive advert is screened, and nobody seems surprised.
Over the week, I gradually collect free fabric softener, chocolates and fluorescent g-strings. A show, sponsored by a fridge factory, even hands out their store’s catalog, and holds a fridge demonstration outside the show (but gives no freezer away, sadly).
Sure, fashion weeks round the world have seemingly unrelated sponsors–Mercedes-Benz for Berlin Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week is one the most visible examples. However, in most cases, the sponsors remain slightly more under-the-radar than what I witnessed in Medellin.
But regardless, why was I so disturbed? Perhaps it’s because these live infomercials break the theatrical bubble catwalks create, and brutally remind viewers they are watching a purely commercial event?
As Santiago Duque Mendoza, 24, local fashion student and socialite explained, “This isn’t like in Europe. Brands pay and there is little negotiation. The sponsor wants the highest brand visibility, and doesn’t care about being subtle.”
What do you think? How much branding is just too much?
Tags: Blancox, Colombian Fashion Week, Mark Fast, Persil
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get over it, this is the only way that a city like Medellin can afford to put on a fashion week. And since I am sure they paid for you to attend, I (and certainly, Colombia) would like to hear more positive, interesting things about an up and coming fashion week, rather than your complaints about the freebies. This is a spoiled New Yorker attitude.
BRAVO! Care to tell us something about the actual clothes Lauren? guess not.
Okay angries–Alice has written several great pieces on the fashion at Colombian Fashion Week: http://fashionista.com/2010/07/the-return-of-es...http://fashionista.com/2010/07/vogue-latin-amer...http://fashionista.com/2010/08/colombian-fashio...Also, just to be clear, I don't think she means to complain–she's making an observation! There is massive sponsorship from brands everywhere in the world, but not everyone chooses to market their products as the companies in Medellin did.
If you are commenting about it, they did the job (how many people reading this would like to give a try to blancox?)
I live in Costa Rica so I also complain in the same way Alice did; massive ads and blatant branding every take the charm away of fashion shows. Of course, it's all about the clothes, but something very important is the mood in which the clothes are presented. Whatever happened to minimalistic branding? That just tells me that Blancox knows squat about how to offer themselves as a brand but then again, which related brand does?
I read the title of this post too fast and totally thought fashion shows were giving away detergent and chocolate g-strings. I have to admit I was a little disappointed to find out they were only giving away normal chocolate and normal g-strings.
Thank you Lauren — yes, my point wasn't to criticize the clothes, but suggest that sponsors should keep it more low-key, to put designers in the spotlight rather than themselves: in some of the shows, the sponsors' logo was bigger than the designer's. I just think that -especially for such a young fashion week- the main focus should be on the clothes and the designer, even if he/she is less famous than Blancox…
Well said Alice. I thought that this was a very interesting take on the Columbian fashion week, and it gives us a well-rounded idea of what was going on there since so few of us have the opportunity to see it for ourselves. Keep up the good work!
Aw, you missed the Haceb press conference, where thed DID give away a fridge! they had a draw among local reporters, as international press members could not fly home with it. It would have been nice, however, to have included us. We could have donated it to a community center ;)
Terrible!Those things should not happen! It just shows how badly organized and defined is the industry in Medellin, which it is! I'm a colombian and I agree, and not being a critique this type of reviews should help improve the industry here.
Well, I'd never heard of Blancox, but it's now firmly entrenched in my brain. Despite Medellin getting quite good at hosting ColombiaModa, it has some way to go.I guess, it will all come out in the wash eventually.http://www.themedellinmap.com