CENTRESTAGE 2018 Concludes

Press Release9 Sept 2018

CENTRESTAGE 2018 Concludes

Nearly 60% of Fashion Traders Expect Steady Sales in 2019: Survey

9 September 2018 – The 2018 edition of Asia’s premier fashion event, CENTRESTAGE, drew to a successful close yesterday. The four-day event (5-8 Sept), organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), brought to Hong Kong 230 fashion brands from 22 countries and regions, attracting 8,700 buyers from 80 countries and regions, up 2.4% over last year. Those from Canada, France, Germany, India, Korea, Russia, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates increased significantly. Buyers from Asia accounted for 35% of the total.

“We’re pleased to note that CENTRESTAGE has become a premier event for the Asian fashion industry, offering regional fashion brands and designers a platform to promote and launch their collections. In its third edition, this year’s CENTRESTAGE attracted many global brands and buyers to participate. An increased number of overseas buyers came looking for business opportunities and talents, which solidified Hong Kong’s position as Asia’s fashion capital,” said HKTDC Deputy Executive Director Benjamin Chau.

Fashion Industry Optimistic on Sales
The HKTDC commissioned an independent research agency to conduct on-site survey during this year’s event to gauge the outlook for the fashion industry and product trends. Interviewing more than 300 exhibitors and buyers, the survey found that the industry is cautiously optimistic about sales in the coming year. Nearly 60% of the respondents expect overall sales to remain steady, and about 30% expect growth. While about half of respondents expect increases in sourcing prices or production costs, almost 60% of the respondents said they will not raise unit or retail prices, reflecting a general tendency of the industry’s hesitance in transferring increased costs to customers.

The survey results also showed that over 70% of the respondents are optimistic about the potential of the mainland fashion market, which is seen having good growth prospects. On upcoming fashion trends, about 60% of respondents expect casual wear and urban fashion to be the most popular product categories, followed by fashion accessories and high fashion/occasional wear. For e-commerce, women's wear is anticipated to be the most popular product category going forward, followed by fashion jewellery and bags. Nearly 50% of the respondents believe that brand crossover combined with joint promotion is the most common product development strategy. Approximately 30% of respondents agreed that celebrities’ or key opinion leaders’ endorsement is also an effective strategy.

Exploring Future Fashion Trends
CENTRESTAGE 2018 centred on the theme of “TOMORROW LAB”, with three thematic zones showcasing 230 brands. The event also presented about 40 activities over its four-day run, including more than 20 fashion shows. Brands and designers had the opportunity to connect with buyers, media and fashion professionals during these activities.

Japanese avant-garde streetwear label FACETASM, Hong Kong ready-to-wear womenswear label IDISM, and Chinese luxury womenswear label Ms MIN presented their latest 2019 Spring/Summer collections at the opening gala show CENTRESTAGE ELITES, attracting over 1,000 guests. At the FASHIONALLY Collection #12 and FASHIONALLY Presentation shows, 13 budding local designer brands paraded their 2019 Spring/Summer collections. CENTRESTAGE 2018 also introduced the latest collections by renowned Hong Kong brands including DORIAN HO, ARTISTIC PALACE, HARRISON WONG, HOUSE OF V, and LOOM LOOP.

Furthermore, CENTRESTAGE provided market insights through the Trend Talk Series and Meet the Visionaries Series of seminars featuring distinguished industry experts. These included Anupreet Bhui, Senior Editor of Global Street Style at trend forecasting agency WGSN, who explored upcoming fashion trends and the influence of streetwear among Generation Z. Euromonitor International’s Head of Fashion Research Jorge Martin examined Asia-Pacific as the key growth engine for global fashion expenditure.

CENTRESTAGE: Ideal Launch and Promotion Platform
Designers and key fashion industry players found their CENTRESTAGE 2018 participation fruitful. Mitsuo Nakahashi, Fashion Merchandising Director at Barneys Japan, discovered several new designer brands that could be potential partners, including a brand showcased by first-time Hong Kong exhibitor nano-secc showroom. Barneys Japan has decided to carry some of these brands in Japan, and looks forward to exploring collaboration in carrying these brands at its six Barneys New York flagship stores across Japan and developing new collections.

Hong Kong brand LOOM LOOP, which has participated in CENTRESTAGE since its inaugural edition, received an order from US retailer 3NY on the first day of the event this year, after securing a deal with a mainland multi-brand store at CENTRESTAGE 2017. Polly Ho, designer of LOOM LOOP, noted that CENTRESTAGE is now a key annual event in the regional fashion calendar, especially as it is strategically timed with the start of the buying season, providing buyers and VIP customers with an exclusive preview of designers’ upcoming collections.

To read more testimonials from exhibitors and buyers, please visit:
https://centrestage.com.hk/en/information/previous_show/exhibitors_comments.php
https://centrestage.com.hk/en/information/previous_show/buyers_comments.php


The third edition of CENTRESTAGE (5-8 Sept) features 230 fashion brands from 22 countries and regions, showcasing the latest fashion brands and designer collections. The event attracted 8,700 buyers from 80 countries and regions. Organised under the theme “TOMORROW LAB,” CENTRESTAGE spotlighted three thematic zones ALLURE, ICONIC and METRO

Exhibitors at CENTRESTAGE showcase their latest collections to keen global buyers
FACETASM’s 2019 Spring/Summer collection： https://bit.ly/2MTuhSi	IDISM’s 2019 Spring/Summer collection: https://bit.ly/2Nk6Ukw	Ms MIN’s 2019 Spring/Summer collection： https://bit.ly/2Q64i8l
DORIAN HO	MEIKING NG	YLYstudio
These are just some of about 40 fashion events held during CENTRESTAGE, which included the opening gala fashion show, CENTRESTAGE ELITES, along with over 20 other fashion shows

Brands reveal their latest collections through fashion shows and presentations at CENTRESTAGE, an ideal promotion and launch platform for international fashion brands and designers
	International fashion designer Martine Rose, the VIP judge of the Hong Kong Young Fashion Designers’ Contest (YDC) 2018 (left) and Lawrence Leung, Chairman of the HKTDC Garment Advisory Committee (right), present the award to this year’s YDC Champion, Leo Chan (second from right). Over the years, YDC has identified many outstanding designers for the local fashion industry and nurtured numerous Hong Kong designer brands

The “Euromonitor: Global Fashion Overview – Digitalisation Throughout” trend talk (left photo) and the “In Conversation with Martine Rose: The Eccentric in Mainstream Fashion” sharing session (middle photo) are among an array of events organised at CENTRESTAGE, which included discussion sessions, trend forecast seminars and buyer forums, allowing industry professionals from around the world to exchange market intelligence and build business networks
	CENTRESTAGE becomes “OPENSTAGE” on Saturday (8 Sept), welcoming public visitors aged 12 and above free of charge. A series of events were held, including fashion parades, lifestyle tips-sharing sessions, NARS make-up demos and music events, allowing members of the public to experience this major international fashion event

CENTRESTAGE website: http://centrestage.com.hk
CENTRESTAGE activity schedule:
http://centrestage.com.hk/en/event/schedule.php
Hong Kong in Fashion activity schedule: http://centrestage.com.hk/en/event/hkinfashion/index.php
The Hong Kong Young Fashion Designers’ Contest webpage: http://www.fashionally.com
CENTRESTAGE 2018 video: https://youtu.be/gs44K3xSKlM

Media Enquiries
For more information or to request interviews, please contact:

Sinclair on (852) 2915 1234

HKTDC's Communications and Public Affairs Department
Sam Ho Tel: (852) 2584 4569 Email: sam.sy.ho@hktdc.org
Selina Fan Tel: (852) 2584 4298 Email: selina.mi.fan@hktdc.org

To view press releases in Chinese, please visit: http://mediaroom.hktdc.com/tc

About the HKTDC
Established in 1966, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong’s businesses. With 50 offices globally, including 13 on the Chinese mainland, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a platform for doing business with China, Asia and the world. With more than 50 years of experience, the HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to provide companies, particularly SMEs, with business opportunities on the mainland and in international markets, while providing business insights and information via trade publications, research reports and digital channels including the media room. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus.