1st Fashion Week kicks off in Cambodia

Cambodia on Friday evening launched the first ever Fashion Week 2011, aimed at boosting the country's fledgling fashion industry, said Ellen Jones, the event' s public relation manager.

The Cambodia Fashion Week 2011, running until Saturday next week, would highlight global fashion trends, featuring international and national designers and introducing up and coming designers from Cambodia and across the region, providing designers with opportunities to network with buyers and potential investors, she said.

The event includes invitation-only runway shows, exclusive parties, a fashion exhibition and more, at selected venues across Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia.

The CFW 2011 is being hosted by the Cambodia Fashion Council. It will direct 10 percent of all proceeds to fund scholarships for Cambodian youth pursuing careers in the fashion industry, according to the press release.

It is expected to attract over 2,000 participants from across the Asia and South East Asia region, it will be by far the biggest fashion event to be held in the Kingdom, it added.

Em Riem, painter and designer at X-M Design-Cambodia, said, "it 's the largest and most impressive fashion show I have ever seen in Cambodia."

"In recent years, Cambodia's fashion industry has been mushrooming -- clothes with most famous brands around the globe are available in most shops in Phnom Penh," he added.

Sun Sreymom, a model and trainer at Saphor Fashion Training School, attributed the growing fashion industry to Cambodian people's better living conditions.

"Now, most urban Cambodians, especially among teenagers, have begun to look at up-to-date fashions and expensive clothes," she said.