The Venue Is As Important As The Collection! 

Colombo Fashion Week presented Swim Week Colombo, at the Colombo Port Terminal recently. Quite possibly one of the most elaborate and incredible settings ever, for a  fashion show in Sri Lanka. The perfect location for the collections shown as the sense of scale resonated with the scope of the industry and where the organizers see it heading. 

Designers and design houses around the world recognize the importance of the right venue, creating an ambiance that embodies the spirit of the collection and no one understands this better that Karl Lagerfeld who in an iconic first by the French brand Chanel, became the first European fashion house since Castro took power in 1959 to stage a show in Cuba. 

His show for Fendi last weekend started with this dedication illustrating that harnessing the natural might of water is a symbol of absolute power. 

"Back in the 17th century, Louis XIV was obsessed with fountains: he installed 50 at Versailles, with 620 jets spewing more water per day than the entire city of Paris consumed. Such was the outlay that, as the king promenaded, the fountains behind would be switched off to enable those ahead to be fully fed, a logistical nightmare handled by a team of fountaineers specifically devoted to the task." 

When it comes to fountains, all roads lead to Rome. The most famous, bar none, is the Trevi, where Anita Eckberg frolicked while living "La Dolce Vita," and where tourists still flock to hurl coins into the depths for good luck. 

Fendi lavishing in the region of $2.4 million to restore the Trevi to its former glory created the prefect backdrop for Lagerfeld’s models who walked on water — across a plexiglass panel set flush with the bubbling basin of the Trevi. 

Dolce and Gabanna turned the historic city of Naples into their catwalk last weekend, with their Alta Moda collection paying tribute to Sophia Loren and the countless ways she has inspired them. There were many charming references to Loren’s life, from a 1950s floral bathing suit and sash embroidered with the legend Miss Elegance (it was winning a beauty pageant, aged 15, that kickstarted her career). 

Naples has something of a gritty reputation. Its warren of impossibly narrow, slightly menacing dark streets, dating back to Roman times are not ideal for parading around in couture dresses and chandelier diamond earrings. Inviting so many of the super-rich, plus fashion journalists, to a city they might normally pass quickly through on their way to Capri, has made them local heroes. Attended by Loren, who along with her family sat on maroon velvet thrones, this was Italian opulence at its best.