Industry Fashion Founded 2013, Singapore | Founder Frank Cintamani Type of business Non-profit corporation | |
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 Profiles | ||
Asian couture federation delacour 2015
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."
Contents
History
The Asian Couture Federation was inaugurated in October 2013 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.
Objectives
The objectives of the ACF are to:
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."
Accolades
The Asian Couture Federation has had its efforts endorsed by heads of state including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan and Queen Sirikit of Thailand.
The ACF has partnered with notable fashion design schools such as Atelier Chardon Savard 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, Beyoncé and Li Bingbing, 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:
Governors
Members
Asian Couturier Extraordinaire
Invited Members