GTBANK Fashion Weekend 2016

GTBANK Fashion Weekend is a consumer-focused fashion exhibition and capacity building event, aimed at promoting enterprise within the fast-growing Nigerian fashion industry. The event was held within and around a purpose-built marquee. Our brief included the design of the overall site master plan covering a 15 000 sqm area, as well as the concept design for the exterior and interior of the 4800 sqm marquee.

The concept behind our design was “patterns versus reflections“- a theme that ran through all the elements of the project, most notably on the approach facade of the marquee. 

The façade of the marquee is, for all intents and purposes, a fairly large mirror made up of reflective acrylic panels. These panels are affixed to marine boards that have been fastened to a square-profile metal frame truss. The idea behind the reflective façade was intended to stimulate interaction with the end-users and play on our human vanity, which is a central leitmotif of fashion in general.  The interior was zoned into 3 areas, the fashion runway, the exhibition (the mall) space, and the master class.  The exhibition space was designed with a central spine connecting all activity areas and while acting as a filter to the retail exhibitors. There was also a conveniently located café at the rear of the mall, which helped to pull in more foot-traffic into the space.  The exhibition stands within the marquee were designed as minimalist folds. The materials used also tied into the overarching theme of patterns and reflection. The matte white of the backing walls, the patterning of the translucent composite panels used for the partition divides, as well as the full height mirrors at the end of each module, all worked well together to visually translate the ideology behind the theme. 

The exterior craft village featured a more indigenous aesthetic. Raffia mats were used as a ‘roofing’ material of sorts, laid atop steel frame tents that lightly demarcated the otherwise open plan area. This allowed for a flexible space that left visitors free to stroll from stand to stand, taking in the experience and picking up an item or two.