What’s going on in… fashion television

 

"I wonder if there was a point that sports was once considered 'niche' until someone realized how to produce it properly... we plan to do that with fashion."

 

Design Genius A contest challenging seven designers from Belgium, India, Spain, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Italy and Philippines to create original and innovative clothing and accessories. In each episode, designers compete in three challenges - accessories, undergarment and wardrobe - using unconventional materials such as wood chips and rubber gloves. The last designer standing gets US$25,000 in cash. Fashion Correspondent Search Three different series - in Hong Kong, London and Benelux are being produced under this brand. The aim is to find fashion personalities to cover fashion and lifestyle events in their home towns for Fashion One's global audiences. Corsets and Catwalk A history of fashion, including a look back to the inspiration for some of today's most modern looks.

Ashley Jordan is changing the face of fashion television in Asia as we know it, beginning with what she knows best: producing content. Six months into the job as global chief executive of Fashion One, Jordan has a healthy handful of original shows in production, on air or coming soon... and no shortage of ideas for more. "Our key focus is to enrich our content... we believe that's the most important element in a channel," she says. With a decade of development and production on her resume, including an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short for West Bank Story and a stint with Live Planet under Ban Affleck and Matt Damon, Jordan says her aim is to fashion fashion television into "sports for women". "We sometimes get comments about fashion being niche," she says, adding: "I wonder if there was a point that sports was once considered 'niche' until someone realized how to produce it properly and make the element of watching from the home as entertaining as watching from the arena. We plan to do that with fashion". Jordan is doing everything she can to bust the perception that fashion on television is all about runaways and models. "You can find fashion, trends and style everywhere. From photography, street style and beauty tips, to designer retrospectives and the latest celebrity trends... we want to reveal fashion in all aspects of life," she says. Her fashion genre style bible covers everything from news and reality to documentaries and short films. "The genre boundaries are coming less obvious," she says, adding: "The important thing is not about genre, but whether the programme is entertaining enough". Jordan's background is film production, and she has her hands and clapperboard all over the Fashion One studios, owned by sister company Bigfoot Entertainment, on the Philippines island of Cebu. Original productions are coming thick and fast, so far including Design Genius and Fashion Correspondent Search. By the end of this year, she will have trebled the number of original shows from 2011. "By making our content, we take full control of the quality... We make sure that our core target, women 18-44, are fully entertained. On top of that, by having full rights to all content, we are already prepared to create our mobile channel, our online channel, our VOD channel. This gives our cable operator partners more value and flexibility," she says. Fashion One has five feeds: Asia, Europe, South America, Chinese and Middle East. About 30% of the programming Fashion One airs come out of Asia, and she has put in place a network of producers across the region and around the world. Language localisation is under way. Jordan says most Asian countries are spending more than ever to build a modern aesthetic, and that the high focus the global Fashion One operation has on the region makes sense. "The world is fascinated by this fast growing side of the globe and it seems crucial for us to showcase it through the growth of the local fashion industry," she says.