AREA DÉFILÉS
revolution in the Paris
fashion show system
| For years,
independent designers had been blocked by a press and media system controlled by large
corporate interests. Independent and
emerging artists were forced to pay impossible
fees to stage press shows, and barriers to
creativity and name-building were everywhere. AICI aimed to provide
a new solution for serious independent designers to be able
to show their collections to the world press at an affordable cost,
with the best possible artistic conditions, and if necessary, apart
from the established existing system. On January 30th 2005, AICI broke
fashion barriers with its first program of Area Defiles fashion
shows at
the Espace Saint Martin in Paris. The event was kept
totally secret up until the very last moment and launched 6 individual
'flash' catwalk presentations--outside of the industry's traditional
system.
For 5 of the 6
designers, the event marked their first-ever fashion show presentations
in Paris. AICI has since staged 12 editions of Area Defiles. In March 2005, Area Defiles were recognized by the official Modem Calendar of Paris Catwalk shows, and in July 2006, Area Defiles were recognized for the first time on the off calendar of the Federation Francaise du Pret a Porter. By the end of 2006, commercial trade show organizers in Paris, Berlin, Barcelona and Milan were also attempting to offer imitations of catwalk show proposals for designers. The original however, remains true to its mission, as the purest platform for the best in independent design. To date, Area Defiles have helped to generated almost 3 million cumulative impressions of worldwide press coverage for participating designers and their collections, and enabled independent designers from nine countries to present a total of 34 catwalk collection presentations in Paris to the world press, some of which have introduced major directional changes in world fashion. |
left to right: pre-show testing October 2006, Jerome Chichet, Lionel Csinski (Fashion Therapy), Maurice Giraud, Guido Barbegelata, Stephan Olivier.
Area
defiles prioritize the production and capture of the highest possible
quality images for press work, archives and promotional campaigns for
its participating designers. Area defile
images are unique and have appeared in media around the world. A
very special artistic team of the world's best has collaborated on Area
defiles with AICI at the Espace Saint Martin since the beginning,
resulting in a collaboration approaching studio-level quality. Area
defiles sound and light are done by Maurice Giraud, who has
worked for decades in Paris and around the world for clients including
Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, Sonya Rykiel, Jean Charles Castelbajac and Jean
Michel
Jarre's world tours. Area defiles official images are photographed by
Guido Barbagelata, one the world's best runway photographers and a
frequent contributor to the New York Times and Collezioni. Area defiles
models are casted by Stephane Olivier, one of the world's top working
models with hundreds of magazine appearances and runway work with John
Galliano, Comme des Garcons, Junya Watanabe, Number Nine and many
others. Area defiles videos are filmed on hi-definition dvd by
Paris independent filmmaker Jerome Chichet for Fashion Therapy.
Area defiles Paris press operations are done by Lionel
Csinski for Fashion Therapy.
Area defiles are by invitation only and open exclusively to active Area showroom participants.