Asian Couture Federation

Asian Couture Federation

Type	Non-profit corporation
Industry	Fashion
Founded	2013
Founder	Frank Cintamani
Area served	Singapore, China, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Australia, Mongolia and Vietnam
Key people	Frank Cintamani, Founding President; Kenzo Takada, Honorary President; Emily Hwang, Vice-President
Website	http://www.AsianCoutureFederation.com

The Asian Couture Federation (ACF), founded in 2013 by Frank Cintamani, is a non-profit public company which is the first organisation in Asia to recognise, support and promote Asian couturiers who have exhibited exceptional artistry in fashion design. Currently Kenzo Takada serves alongside Frank Cintamani as the Federation's Honorary President. The Federation's mission is "to inspire, support and promote the highest levels of Asia-based fashion design artistry to the Asian and global markets."^[1]

History

The Asian Couture Federation was inaugurated in October 2013^[2] in Singapore. Its formation was the result of the need for an industry recognised-body to oversee, promote and protect the interests of Asian couture designers. Prior to this, designers may have been members of, or been represented by, fashion organisations or federations at a national level. The Asian Couture Federation was the first in Asia to provide a regional body that specifically recognised fashion designers whose work and collections represented a couture level in terms of creativity, technique, and workmanship, who have achieved commercial success, and for whom couture is a large or significant proportion of their work.^[3]

Objectives

The objectives of the ACF are to:^[4]

• Establish relationships with ACF counterparts in major fashion markets (Alta Roma, Council of Fashion Designers of America, CNMI and la Chambre Syndicale) to promote federated designers abroad
• Collaborate with fashion show and fashion event organisers and promoters to present member designers in Asian markets outside of their home countries
• Create and implement programs with corporate sponsors to support and promote ACF members' design talents and products to a global market
• Work with the top international fashion schools to organise annual design competitions to identify and support the next generation of top Asia-based couturiers
• Organise fundraising campaigns to finance and sustain the ACF and its activities from now into the future

The organisation

The organisation of the Asian Couture Federation is divided into three distinct structures – the Executive Board, the Governors Committee, and Designer Members.

The Executive Board, led by Founding President, Frank Cintamani, Vice President, Emily Hwang, and its Honorary President Kenzo Takada, regulates the day-to-day governance of the ACF and the implementation of its programs and activities.

This in turn is supported by the Board of Governors, made up of Asia’s top fashion creative and business luminaries. The Governors' role is to create and direct major policy decisions to guide the ACF’s mission and its activities.

The Designer Members are the collective grouping of individual designers whom the Federation supports. The Designer Members fall into two categories - established senior designers are inducted as "Asian Couturiers Extraordinaire," and designers who exhibit exceptional potential are federated as "Invited Members."^[5]

Accolades

The Asian Couture Federation has had its efforts endorsed by heads of state including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan^[6] and Queen Sirikit of Thailand.^[7]

The ACF has partnered with notable fashion design schools such as Atelier Chardon Savard^[8] in Paris and the Bunka Fashion College in Japan.

Designer members’ work have been showcased across the globe on prestigious platforms, and are frequently seen on celebrities such as Lady Gaga,^[9] Beyoncé^[10] and Li Bingbing,^[11] amongst countless others.

Although still a young organization, the Federation has already been elevated onto the world fashion stage. It has received support and recognition from the world’s most influential media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Fashion editors such as Suzy Menkes, the Vogue International editor, have expressed support of the Federation.

Executive Board

The executive board consists of:^[12]

• Kenzo Takada: world-renowned designer and founder of Kenzo Paris
• Frank Cintamani: Chairman and founder of FIDé Fashion Weeks,^[13] Chevalier (Knight) de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres,^[14] Doctor Honoris Causa - Atelier Chardon Savard,^[15] President of the Jury Atelier Chardon Savard 2013, President of the Singapore Magazine Publishers Association 2010, 2011, 2012^[16]
• Emily Hwang: COO of Uncharted Group,^[17] Vice Chairman of FIDé Fashion Weeks and Director of eNow^[18]

Governors

• Kim Sung-joo (entrepreneur): Founder of the Sungjoo Group, Chairwoman and CEO of MCM Holding AG,^[19] who has been selected as one of the "Top 50 Women To Watch" by the Wall Street Journal and recognized as one of the "New Century Leaders" by CNN
• Sunao Onuma: Chairman of Bunka Fashion College and Bunka Gakuen University
• Right Honourable Lisa Scaffidi: The first female lord mayor of Perth, Western Australia and an ambassador of the Telstra Perth Fashion Festival
• Dian Mulajdi: One of Indonesia's most influential women, founder of Fimela.com and former managing director of the PT MRA Media Group, which under her leadership pioneered Indonesian editions of countless foreign magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Harpers Bazaar
• Towako Kimijima: Creative Director of Felice Towako Cosme, Japanese best-selling author and renowned model^[20]
• Yuki Sakaguchi: Country Head of FIDé Fashion Weeks Japan,^[21] President of the Japanese Womens Association of Singapore and judge of the Japan Creative Centre Sustainable Fashion Contest 2013
• Daniel Boey: Creative Director of FIDé Fashion Weeks^[22] and is often referred to as the 'Godfather of Singapore Fashion'^[23]
• Georgia Lee: CEO of DrGL, an award-winning skin care and hair care line^[24]
• Kenny Kim: Key Business Advisor to the MCM Group^[25]
• Zio Song: Chairman, CEO and Creative Director of SONGZIO, one of Korea's most prolific designers^[26]
• Cerrut Taveechaiwattana (Khun Kidd): Founder of Bangkok Powerhouse, and one of Thailand's most recognisable fashion figures^[27]
• Kullawit Laosuksri (Khun Ford): Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Thailand and the world's only male editor of Vogue magazine^[28]
• Tinakorn Asvarak (Khun Kookie): Known as Thailand's event organiser extraordinaire, having hosted some of the most prestigious brands and celebrities in the world^[29]
• Lê Thị Quỳnh Trang: CEO and founder of Multimedia JSC, Executive Director of Vietnam's Next Top Model and Project Runway Vietnam

Members

Asian Couturier Extraordinaire

• Guo Pei: China
• Sebastian Gunawan: Indonesia
• Junko Koshino: Japan
• Keita Maruyama: Japan
• Yumi Katsura: Japan
• Furne One: Philippines
• Michael Cinco: Philippines
• Frederick Lee: Singapore
• Lie Sang Bong: South Korea
• Nguyen Cong Tri: Vietnam^[30]

Invited Members

• Alvin Fernandez: Australia
• Tex Saverio: Indonesia
• Tamae Hirokawa: Japan
• Tsolmandakh Munkhuu: Mongolia
• Roj Singhakul: Thailand
• Vatit Itthi: Thailand
• Hoang Minh Ha: Vietnam^[31]

References