What is Fashion? – #Day1 – 7 Days of The Fashion Industry With Brian Ahumuza

During the past week, Brian Ahumuza the founder and proprietor of the Abryanz Style and Fashion Awards has been sharing on his social media a 7 part series of insightful think pieces on his knowledge and thoughts on the fashion industry in Uganda.  Starting today, we shall be sharing this series. Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions in the message box below.

Introduction – What is fashion?

Fashion is a popular style in clothing, footwear, accessories, makeup and body care. Broadly, fashion can also encompass furniture and décor, but let’s stick to clothes. Fashion design is the use of aesthetics, art and creativity to create clothing, footwear, accessories, makeup and body care.
It is a multi-billion industry that is surprisingly broader than you would imagine. As we all know, clothes start as fabric that’s cut, stitched and manipulated by a seamstress or tailor. This they do with the designer’s vision in mind. Ideally, the designer’s role is to visualize something new and different which is put on paper in some sort of sketch. Fabric is cut and manipulated as per that vision.

The final product is then put in stores for sale. In most cases, especially with established brands, the final product is put out for the world to see at a fashion show which is usually held during fashion week. Buyers, bloggers, press and select celebrities are invited to attend the fashion show. Their role is to preview the collection of clothes and share with the rest of the world. The role of buyers is to pick particular pieces from the collection that suit their customer’s needs.

In developed countries, fabric is sourced from another country, manufactured in another; final touches on them made in another, before they are distributed to retailers all over the world.

By the time you find something on display in a fashion boutique, it has gone through a number of hands. It’s very important to note that as a fashion collector or boutique owner, I contribute directly to the industry just like a designer. I might not have the expertise to make clothes, but my platform (fashion store) offers window display for so many designers. At Abryanz Collection I display various designer brands. You wouldn’t have gotten your hands on them if it wasn’t for a collector.

Share your thoughts in the comment section.

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