Fashion Council Promotes Cultural and Intellectual Property and Business
There are three days left until the Fashion Council of Fiji’s first National Designer Workshop on Intellectual Property and Fashion Business.
The workshop will be held on November 28 at the Pacific Community’s Pacifica Conference Room in Nabua.
Fashion Council of Fiji chairman Faraz Ali says the Council anticipates an attendance of 40 to 50 designers and future designers especially high school students from around the country.
The Council is targeting fashion designers and high school students who are interested in fashion and have a future in the growing industry.
The topics covered are relevant to anyone who wishes to pursue a creative career in the region and globally.
Mr Ali adds that the Council has supported Fashion Business workshops in the past, but this will be the first time for the Council to present specifically on intellectual property.
“This workshop is so important because fashion design is a business.
“Designers have to be equipped with the skills necessary to run their own businesses.
“Our industry is a small medium enterprise (SME) generator, and in order to see success of SMEs we need business owners to be fully aware of general business operational procedures as well as elements of business specific to fashion, such as merchandising and fashion marketing.
“Intellectual Property is another area where designers need to be aware of their rights and responsibilities, particularly in the Fijian industry where prints and textile design are such a big part of the general fashion psyche.
“We felt that getting a legal mind in to present and answer any questions would be beneficial to designers looking at a career based on textile design.
“All in all, workshops like this equip our designers with the skills necessary to ensure success in their creative careers,” he said.
Major elements of the fashion business such as production, marketing, merchandising and financial management will be discussed.
Intellectual property discussions will also include creating awareness around indigenous prints, cultural knowledge, and how to register copyright and trademarks, says Mr Ali.
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