Boredom Strikes at the Cairo Fashion Festival

The biggest fashion event of the year, Cairo Fashion Festival (CFF), took place yesterday at Cairo Festival City. This is the SECOND festival this year as the management want it to be a seasonal event; one for Spring/Summer & one for Fall/Winter collections. The event -even though it was way more properly organized than the previous edition- didn't really impress and frankly was a bore.

 

Mixing prints with Nourhan Yehia from Identity Magazine

 To give credit where it's due, the event was much more relaxed and less cramped. It was organized better and the time frame didn't really expand like last time. Also the invitation list seemed to be a little bit more thought of. However, that's not enough to place CFF on a solid base.

I guess feelings lingered after the previous edition -since it was very poorly organized & went on FOREVER- as many people from the fashion industry weren't at all excited to go. Unfortunately our feelings were on point and here's why...
1. Pretty much everybody disliked the fashion shows by the big brands such as Splash, timberland, levis...etc (There was just no need to see the collections we always see at stores, especially with less-than-creative styling)

Drew Brammer modeling for Splash

2. As usual, the Egyptian designers showcased their collection AFTER the big brands -which sort of collides with the purpose of the festival- and that limited their exposure as many people left.
3. There was no detailed "order-of-the-day" on the invitations so no one really knew what was starting when.
4. The placement of the runway and sound system only allows the main screen to be viewed by those sitting center. If you're on either sides of the amphitheater, you have no sight of what's displayed on the screen.

Clash of styles with Marco Moheb

Putting in mind what Omar Madkour (Co-Founder of CFF) told me in an interview...I think that if the previous points were addressed, a lot of things will improve. The festival will gain back it's strength point of showcasing young talents & getting together the fashion industry. Also it will slowly but surely cement it's status as one of the main pillars to aid the industry, bring light to those deserving and finally elevate to a regional or maybe even an international status.