King of the Catwalk
March 23, 2011 In today’s business world, success requires hard work, preparation, creativity and dedication. But sometimes, even those things aren’t enough to ensure continued prosperity, and organizations have to go the extra mile – organizations other than Cotton Council International (CCI), that is.
To ensure cotton’s future success, CCI goes 3,670
extra miles.
That’s the distance from CCI’s headquarters in Washington, DC to the capitol of the United Kingdom, where London Fashion Week was held from Feb. 18-22. For the second consecutive year, CCI sponsored the work of Scottish designer Louise Gray, who is a big fan of the natural white fiber.
As both the fashion and textile worlds know, consumers prefer cotton to synthetic fabrics by a large margin when it comes to clothing and apparel. But rather than assume that will always be the case, CCI spends a lot of time, effort and money to make sure that designers remember which fabric is king when it comes to fashion.
Companies of all kinds typically market themselves one link up or down their particular industry’s value chain, but CCI’s leaders felt that didn’t spread cotton’s message far enough. And since they can’t deliver that gospel to every individual clothing consumer around the world, they decided to do the next best thing: Support one of the professionals whose work drives consumer taste and buying patterns.
While CCI, as the export promotion arm of the National Cotton Council of America, specifically emphasizes the benefits of sourcing U.S.-grown fiber, supporting designers who use “white gold” in their work benefits cotton professionals all over the world.
“Both internationally and in the U.S., we are always looking to give aspiring designers the experience of working with U.S. cotton,” says Jennifer Jackson, communications consultant with CCI. “In addition to our sponsorship of designers at London Fashion Week, we also sponsor events such as ‘Denim Runway’ in the U.S. (in which students from Texas Tech University compete to create the most fashion-forward, cotton-rich jeans), ‘Let’s Design’ in India (a nationally televised competition for up-and-coming fashion designers); and the COTTON USA design challenge in Thailand (which creates awareness among young designers that 100% cotton fabrics can be used as a raw material for fashion apparel).”
To get the inside story on exactly how and why CCI supports these fashion superstars, Cotton International went directly to Stephanie Thiers-Ratcliffe, CCI international marketing manager.
CI: When/how did CCI realize that promoting cotton at fashion shows is effective?
We’ve worked with everyone from Meadham Kirchhoff and PPQ, through to our most recent sponsorship of Louise Gray and her Autumn/Winter 2011/12 collection. Our role is to help them with contacts and provide them with a U.S. supplier for their cotton. We are then able to publicize the fact that the designer in question is using U.S. cotton – appealing to fashion-conscious consumers as well as the retail industry.
CI: How is cotton “perceived” at fashion events like this, both by the designers and the people in the audience? Is it a popular, commonly used fabric, or does it need a boost to gain market share? Is the type of material used as important as the colors, cut and style?
The U.S. grows the widest range of cotton. With so many different options, we can quickly match the fiber with the fashion trends. Perceived as a quality fabric that’s incredibly versatile, both designers and shoppers are keen to use and wear cotton. Our sponsorship at London Fashion Week champions the benefits of using premium U.S. cotton within the fashion industry, and this season we partnered Louise Gray directly with Supima, who donated fabric made with Supima extra-long U.S. cotton yarn to feature in the collection. Our support gives up-and-coming fashion creators an opportunity to explore the huge variety and versatility of premium U.S. cotton fabrics, and use their design flair to transform them into exciting and original fashion pieces to showcase to the fashion elite in London.
CI: How do you decide which designers to work with? Do you approach them or do they approach you?
We’re always on the hunt for the hottest new design talent. We review who’s set to show at London Fashion Week, and then short-list designers to be awarded the sponsorship program. Our current sponsored designer, Louise Gray, is a perfect match for us. Her confidence as a newcomer is a great synergy with cotton, as she is constantly looking at ways she can manipulate materials, from the use of texture through to hand embroidery.
CI: What, specifically, does CCI do to promote cotton at these types of events?
The catwalk shows are heavily branded with our COTTON USA “Naturally” Mark, and we also feature the mark on all of the invitations and show sheets. More than 200 journalists from high-fashion media titles attended our 2010 shows, with Louise Gray hailed as “one to watch” by British Vogue. With our sponsored designers briefed to highlight the quality of U.S. cotton in their collections, all media interviews take place in front of a COTTON USA backdrop to increase brand awareness. We also conduct our own video interview with the designer, which we share directly with buyers through our trade Web site and e-newsletter. After announcing the initial sponsorship to the press, we further capitalize on the news by securing consumer competitions in fashion media titles to win tickets to the catwalk shows and cotton items from the designer’s collections. We also run high-profile consumer advertorials promoting our involvement in the national press, such as Sunday Times’ Style supplement.
CI: Is there any way to measure how well this approach is working? How do you know when you’ve had a “successful” show?
More than 1,000 guests attended our 2010 sponsored catwalk shows featuring U.S. cotton, including buyers representing retailers such as Harrods and ASOS, and fashion journalists from high-profile media titles such as Grazia and Vogue. It can be difficult to measure the buzz and excitement around a show, however, so we also assess success by column inches in the press, as well as how we are able to interact with buyers and fashion journalists directly.
CI: How often do you work with fashion shows like this? Are there certain shows you work on every year, or do they vary from one year to the next?
London Fashion Week, which takes place twice a year, is definitely the highlight of the UK’s fashion scene, and we look to prioritize our sponsorship program around this event.
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