With fashion week making its rounds and red carpet news of the Oscars still buzzing, ‘tis very much the season to be style conscious. Yet the red carpet and the catwalk aren’t the only places to make the trend list because the runway is getting in on the action too, the travel runway, that is.
The last few years have seen new designers from more obscure destinations go head to head with fashion’s old favourites Milan, Paris, New York and London, putting not only their clothing, but also their places of origin in the spotlight. Here, Cheapflights explores the Top 10 Emerging Fashion Destinations that are hot for both the travel trend and the fashion trend.
Cleveland
Who would have thought it? When Fashion Week in the USA comes up it’s always New York that springs to mind, but Cleveland has its very own Fashion Week (FWC) taking place in the first week of May, timed in between New York and Los Angeles’ industry events. Established in 2002 by the Cleveland Fashion Institute, the event showcases some of the hottest new designers from across the country, and comes complete with plenty of glam in the form of parties, lectures, runway shows, and special events.
Singapore
Known as one of the world’s hubs for business, Singapore is also hailed as a great shopping destination, which makes it no big surprise that it should dedicate not only a week, but an entire festival to fashion. The Singapore Fashion Festival takes place annually from April through May, showing the latest and greatest from the world’s top fashion talent. Tickets for the event go on sale in April and it’s open to anyone and everyone. Highlights include runway shows and Oscar worthy after-parties. The destination has also produced some of its own top design talent such as Ashley Isham and Jonathan Seow.
Johannesburg
After hosting last summer’s World Cup, South Africa’s popularity as a tourist destination has continued to rise, expanding tourism interest to the rest of the continent as well. The games also helped to spread African culture to the rest of the world, fusing its way into food, music, art, and clothing. The summer saw an explosion of colours, patterns, shapes, and accessories on the fashion scene, and the continent itself has been producing plenty of talent in the way of fashion designers with Johannesburg leading the way. The South African capital hosts its own Fashion Week, which took place during the third week of February, featuring popular fashion labels like Loin Cloth & Ashes.
Sydney
Australia’s oldest and most instantly recognizable city is very much ‘à la mode’ not only for sightseeing and social culture, but also for style. Having produced designers like Collette Dinnigan, whose garments (and prices) certainly rank at the couture level, the city also plays host to the continent’s fashion week, which takes places from May 2-6 2011. Famous Aussie X Factor judge Danni Minogue is also a huge advocate of fashion and Australian fashion in particular, showing off her countrymen’s talents at red carpet events.
Tokyo
Japan’s love for fashion needs no introduction with Tokyo posing as one of the East’s fashion hubs, hosting Japan’s Fashion Week, which this year takes place from March 18-25, 2011. With couturiers like Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto ranking among the style heavyweights, the country continues to produce more widely popular designers such as Junya Watanabe and Rei Kawakubo. Much like the country itself, Japanese style tends to be modern,cutting edge, quirky, sleek, and elegant.
Beirut
Recently, Beirut has been making plenty of headlines not for its politics, but for its culture, nightlife, swish hotels, beaches, and restaurants. Yet, it’s less instantly recognized as a hub for style. Lebanese haute couturiers Elie Saab and Zuhair Mrad, both award winning, have showcased in none other than Milan and Paris during Fashion Week, taking away top designer titles over the Valentino’s of the fashion world. Elie Saab in particular is famously known for dressing Hollywood royalty for the Oscars and is a favourite of Catherine Zeta Jones, Beyoncé, and Halle Berry.
Dubai
More known for glitzy hotels, wild nights out, and miles of beaches, Dubai has also been making a name for itself as a shopping destination in the last few years. The destination hosts its own Fashion Week, taking place April 19-23, as well as housing some of the best shopping to be found anywhere. Apart from beautiful local markets that are particularly famous for gold and silver jewellery, it’s also home to giant shopping malls that contain some of the world’s most famous department stores including Galleries Lafayette from Paris, Saks Fifth Avenue from the US, Harvey Nichols from the UK, and an absolute ton of quirky, independent designers from all over the world.
Delhi
Long standing as one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations to experience culture, history, authenticity, and spirituality, India is also one of the modern world’s centres for film and now fashion. The country’s fabrics, patterns, and use of colour have been making their way onto the world stage for the last few years as well as producing fashion heavyweights in the form of Delhi based designer Manish Aurora, who has shown in Paris Fashion Week, has his own label, and will soon be designing for Spanish label Paco Rabanne.
Toronto
Canada’s largest city is trendy, cosmopolitan and has been attracting both tourists and immigrants from all over the world for centuries. Featuring its very own international hubs in the form of Chinatown and Little Greece, it’s also hugely famous within the film world for its plethora of screen legends and the increasingly popular Toronto International Film Festival. So, it’s not surprising that it should follow suit in the fashion stakes hosting LG Fashion Week, the second largest Fashion Week in North America, which takes place from 28th March through 2nd April 2011. This year’s line up promises talent in the form of Pink Tartan, Rudsak, Comrags and Joe Fresh Style.
Often referred to as the “Gateway of the Americas” due to its cultural and linguistic mix of North, South, Central America, and the Caribbean, Miami is a destination popular for many things. With some of the world’s best beaches, night-life, music, and architecture, the reasons for its popularity as a tourist destination are obvious, but its talent for ‘cool’ also lends it to being popular as a fashion destination. Miami Beach International Fashion Week takes place from March 3-6 2011, and is the world’s largest Latin American fashion event. Showcasing 50 designers from around the world, it will, unsurprisingly, kick off with lingerie and swimwear followed by the style line up featuring emerging designers such as Erin Healy, GooRoo Baby, and Somy Ali, among plenty of others.
Photo by *L*u*z*A*, Charlie Brewer, kowaleski
