Bogota, May 30, 2024. The seventh edition of Bogota Fashion Week - BFW, a program for the promotion and circulation of the fashion sector of the Bogota Chamber of Commerce (CCB), ended successfully on Friday, May 24, with the attendance of 18,165 people at Agora Bogota - Convention Center, and 8163 digital viewers through the BFW YouTube channel and the CCB's Digital Community platform. The event was attended by 80 national and international guests and sectoral experts in the Conversations academic segment, as well as the participation of 110 Colombian brands and more than 70 national and international buyers who gathered in business spaces.

Its comprehensive commitment to strengthening the value chain of the fashion sector included, for three days, components focused on sales promotion with Wholesale Business (wholesale space), the Multibrand Store (retail space), the Catwalks, Independent Fashion Shows and [P u e n t e]; as well as Conversations, focused on updating the sector, which offered a free program in Agora Bogotá - Convention Center.

Negocios Wholesale is the space dedicated to the effective match between supply and demand of the local and global market. Participating brands and designers prepared for more than 8 months for the three days where more than 500 business appointments were held with buyers from countries such as Belgium, Canada, Qatar, Costa Rica, Spain, United States, France, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, among others. A total of US$3.3 million in business was generated, a figure that is expected to grow to US$8 million over the next 12 months. The countries and regions with which the greatest business opportunities were generated were Mexico, the United States, the Middle East and the European Union.

Ovidio Claros Polanco, president of the Bogota Chamber of Commerce, stated that “Business was the protagonist of Bogota Fashion Week, where Colombian brands shone for their quality before international buyers. It is with great satisfaction that we highlight the historic participation of 10 companies from San Victorino in this edition of the BFW, which, for the first time, were present with their catwalk 'El Madrugón' in this meeting of the fashion industry, thanks to the commitment we have from the Bogota Chamber of Commerce to promote the popular economy and MSMEs”.

The Multibrand Store, a space for on-site marketing of pieces from the most successful collections of the participating brands, which housed the best of Colombian design, served as a great retail showcase for the 18,165 BFW attendees. For the first time, personal shopping and styling activations were carried out by Franklin Ramos and Daniela Riaño, which contributed to increased sales. The retail spaces generated a total of 445 million Colombian pesos, with an increase in the Multibrand Store of 69% over the previous year.

The novelty of the seventh edition was the launch of [P u e n t e], which allowed 10 entrepreneurs from San Victorino to have a unique opportunity to strengthen their productive units, promote their economic development, strengthen business processes and models within the framework of the popular economy and highlight the best of local talent during the three days of BFW. The brands benefited from 110 hours of specialized accompaniment by Pilar Castaño and Ana María Londoño, which materialized in a capsule collection presented on the El Madrugón runway, a tribute to cotton transformed into denim. In addition, their pieces were available for retail sale at the Multibrand Store and the entrepreneurs had a space with international buyers in the framework of the business rounds of the Wholesale Business component that generated a business expectation of US$95,000 for these entrepreneurs. [P u e n t e] is the new BFW component that seeks to establish links with projects, regions, organizations or communities of the national fashion ecosystem that can take advantage of BFW's positioning to expand their impact.

The Conversations had five slots: sustainability, craftsmanship and design, business, future and experience vs. novelty, which brought the public closer to different problems and issues that affect the fashion sector by experts such as Sass Brown (Leader of the Master's program in Fashion and Sustainable Business at Kingston University in London), Brigitte Baptiste (rector of the EAN University), José Forteza (Senior Editor at Vogue Latin America), Pilar Quintana (writer), Angélica Gallón Salazar (fashion consultant, editor and journalist SModa El País of Spain), Ana María Fríes (architect, editor and founder of Despensa Creativa), Adriana Soto (Secretary of Environment of the Mayor's Office of Bogotá) and Mónica Fonseca (journalist and consultant specializing in technology, sustainability, marketing and gender), among others. This component was curated by Silla Verde, directed by Rocío Arias Hofman, who curated the guests and the editorial program which, together with other activities, included more than 30 talks, meetings and conversations with more than 80 national and international guests.

María Paz Gaviria, Cultural Programs Manager of the Bogota Chamber of Commerce, stated that “Bogota Fashion Week - BFW 2024 is the result of a year of constant work, where participating brands benefited from a specialized consulting process. In addition, this year our [P u e n t e] component successfully connected the productive heart of the fashion sector and allowed us to expand the segment of entrepreneurs that BFW impacts. Throughout the seven editions, we have impacted more than 700 entrepreneurs and brands in the country, whose passage through these preparation cycles has allowed them to concretize commercial proposals and strengthen their productive units.”

The buyers:

Roge Hanlon, (Fiftytwo Showroom - United States), stated, “I believe that Colombia has always been on people's radar and on the international level. However, in recent years we have seen new proposals that have made the sector grow and new talents and segments have become visible”.

Vernon Montero, (Piso Siete - Costa Rica), said: “This is my fourth year attending Bogota Fashion Week and every year I enjoy it more because we can find different brands. In addition, talking with each designer to work together ensures that we can do a job that will last over time.

The designers:

La Petit Mort Studio noted, “This was our first edition of Bogotá Fashion Week - BFW and it was wonderful. It exceeded our expectations because beyond having a very organized runway show, it allowed us to show our work the way we planned it since September. We met the expectations of buyers, we met with retailers around the world who knew the brand for the first time. From the training that took place in the consultancies, they helped us to strengthen our brand.”

Etérea said: “What we highlight about BFW is the 100% support they give to each of the brands, the tools they provide us with, all the expert knowledge they put at our disposal. We find the work done by the BFW team to bring buyers from each of the targets extremely valuable.

Etérea said: “What we highlight about BFW is the 100% support they give to each of the brands, the tools they provide us, all the expert knowledge they put at our disposal. We find the work done by the BFW team to bring buyers from each of the targets extremely valuable”.

Tejidos Rebancá said: “This is the third time we have presented ourselves and Bogota Fashion Week has been fundamental for the growth of our brand. We would not be what we are without the work of the Bogota Chamber of Commerce. It is very important for us to have such an important, conscious and sensitive visibility stage as this one. We have taken full advantage of the consulting stage with Inquire and DO2, and we are very grateful for the CCB's openness to other regions of the country because it is very important for businessmen who are far from Bogota”.