Medellin

The 30^th IAF World Fashion Convention began today, with 329 national and international Fashion System entrepreneurs and leaders in attendance.
Getting to know the consumer, innovation and the importance of response time in the supply chain are some of the conclusions drawn on the first academic day of the convention.
Claudio Chiaromonte, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of The Walt Disney Company and Adriano Goldschmied, Co-Founder of Diesel were among the 12 guest speakers.

September 30^th, 2014. Under the premise of covering the main challenges of the fashion industry, the first day of the IAF World Fashion Convention focused on the importance of adapting business models to the realities of each market and being conscious of the fact that the consumer is gaining more and more control over brand experiences. The supply chain and innovation were also discussed.

In his opening speech, Carlos Eduardo Botero Hoyos, President of Inexmoda, realized a call to action to the sector by harnessing its industrial potential, demonstrating through figures the impact of fashion in Colombia, a country with a globally recognized perspective, which led to the IAF (International Apparel Federation) choosing it as the seat of their 30^th convention. This convention is being attended by delegates from all over the world, including far-off countries such as Taiwan, Russia, Sri Lanka, India, Lithuania, Germany, Japan, Korea and Turkey.

“In 2013, Colombia was the third largest economy in Latin America, with a growth in GNP of 4.7%. It also attracted direct foreign investment of over USD 16 Billion, 20% more than in 2005. These figures confirm the opportunities presented by this sector to structure a business model which operates with a fast, integrated and flexible supply chain, implementing retail strategies and utilizing more channels to reach the customer, among other strategies whose objective is to surprise the consumer.”

Kicking off the convention’s academic day, Emiliano Duch, Leading Specialist, Trade & Competitiveness Global Practice of the World Bank, mentioned in his talk that “the fact that the textile and apparel sector contributes 7.5% to the GNP highlights the importance of this industry to the country and therefore reveals the imperative nature of transformation as the key to competing.”

In the second talk of the day, which was one of the most anticipated talks of the convention due to the fact that it offered experiences from sectors other than the world of fashion, was given by the Executive Vice President and Managing Director of The Walt Disney Company Latin America, Claudio Chiaromonte, who spoke about how the consumer is the centre of all operations within their company and how they therefore always think of the consumer when developing products and experiences.

The rest of the day was dedicated to important speakers such as Horacio Broggi, Director of Desigual Latin America; Adriano Goldschmied, the Co-Founder of Diesel and one of the most important specialists in the denim market in the world; Fernando Pimentel, the Director of ABIT, the Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association, among other renowned industry experts.

Tomorrow, on the second academic day of the convention, speakers such as Stefan Siegel, Founder of “Not Just a Label”, the leading design platform which discovers and supports young talent in contemporary fashion and Leandro Furno, Director of VF Supply Chain Strategy, Customs & Compliance (North Face, Timberland, Vans), among other important speakers, will delimit the importance of exploring new markets and working according to models of cooperation.

Finally, the two training and networking days will end with a Retail Tour of El Tesoro Shopping Park, which will include visits to Arturo Calle, Offcorss, Cueros Vélez, Onda de Mar and Bésame stores aimed at bringing international participants closer to Colombian business and brands and thereby showing the nature of the country on the world fashion map.

The IAF (International Apparel Federation), which organized the convention, chose Inexmoda as its local partner in order to help coordinate the 30^th year of this event, which has brought together 329 national and international entrepreneurs and leaders to debate the challenges posed by this industry at an international level and to offer them the information and knowledge which will enable them to make better decisions within their companies.

The next meeting with industry leaders will be next year in the 4^th Strategy Forum, which is organized every year by Inexmoda and which in 2014 became the academic component of the IAF World Fashion Convention.

Source: prensa.inexmoda.org.co

“Welcome to heaven” my pilot says as we soar several hundred feet above the city of Medellin.

Your instructor will buckle you straight into your harness, fit your helmet and take off before you have time to feel afraid.

Sailing hundreds of feet above solid ground, with only a glorified jacket between your body and certain death, is off-putting for the majority of the sane, mortal population.

Against all expectations within a few moments you will begin to feel at ease, at that insane height in the air, and enjoy the spectacular view below. The paragliding harness is surprisingly comfortable. Get over the vertigo long enough to appreciate the perfectly angled recline, and paragliding will feel more like an airborne deckchair than an extreme sport.

Glide with the birds

As your instructor steers you towards the drifting birds the reality that you’re flying hands-free will hit home. The fabric wing that makes the canopy of a paragliding apparatus is designed to mimic bird flight. Paragliders use “thermals,” bubbles of rising heat energy, to attain impressive heights. Thermals and “ridge-lift,” wind forces that bounce off hillsides, create a greater pressure upon the bottom of the kite wing than the top and lift the entire apparatus from the ground. Birds are natural indicators of thermals, giving an authentic “flying” experience.

My instructor urged me to “open your wings” as we circled above the take-off site, experience had not jaded my instructor as he pointed out coffee plantations and waterfalls. With the city of Medellin sprawling below, and surrounding Andes mountain range, views will not disappoint. The San Felix site permits in-flight use of cameras, allowing all those who do not own a helicopter a unique opportunity to take birds-eye Medellin photographs.

Landing was at the back of my mind throughout my flight, but despite warnings of “bumpy landings,” I experienced a smooth glide back to launch site.

How to get to Medellin Aeroclub

Take the metro to Caribe station and follow the walkway to Terminal del Norte. The Belmira 16 Express will pass the paragliding site, otherwise ask for “San Pedro de los Milagros” and “San Felix”. Ask the bus driver to drop you off at “Restaurante el Voladero” or “Aeroclub.” The bus journey will take around 45 minutes.

Price, booking and pilot

Book in advance, but call on the morning to check climate at the launch site. Arriving before midday is recommended.

At the time of writing, the price for a 20 minute flight is 80,000 COP or $40 USD.

Reuben Vargas, with over 17 years flying experience and great English makes an excellent choice for first-time flyers.

Source: colombiareports.co

The Palace of Fine Arts (Palacio de Bellas Artes), designed and built in 1925, is a classic building among a mixture of modern homes on one of the busiest and, in the past, most exclusive, roads in downtown Medellin.

Designed pro-bono by Architect Nel Rodriguez, the Palace of Fine Arts is a Colombian National Monument and Heritage Center for Arts & Culture.

In 2003, it became home to the Fine Arts University Foundation with space for artists, designers and musicians.

Dramatic from the outside, the Palace of Fine Arts was built in a republican-style which came over from England and France around the time of the First World War. With its octagonal centerpiece, the clean lines of the building stand out from the somewhat haphazard architecture which surrounds it giving a feeling of grandeur and history.

However it is not only from the outside that this building is an architectural gem. The Beethoven Hall, the oldest concert hall in the city, is a magical place inside the Palace where eight huge scenes done by oil painting master Eladio Vélez cover the walls, combining music and art.

The Palace of Fine Arts has also had many a famous student. Colombian icon, sculptor Fernando Botero, studied at the Palace of Fine Arts and now has much of his work displayed in Botero Park down the road from the academy.

Other examples of outstanding students include Eladio Velez, Rodrigo Arenas Betancur, Debora Arango and Teresita Gomez, many of who have then gone on to teach workshops at the Institute.

Furthermore, the Palace can also boast to have been the sit of the composition of the Colombian national anthem. There is, in fact, a bust of the composer, Oreste Sindici, within the palace in memory of the historic event.

The Palace of Fine Arts hosts concerts, exhibitions, films and forums, with free admission for all.

Opening Hours: Monday – Friday from 8AM -6PM, Saturdays from 8AM-12PM

Address: La Playa, Cr. 42a No 48-86

Source: colombiareports.co

There’s no way around the steam-filled entrance corridor, you’ll have to chance “tropical hair” and near-collisions with stray children who run giggling through steamy fog. Visitors emerging at the other side will find themselves at the center of a pre-historic park, complete with animatronic brachiosaurus.

Parque Explora opened in 2008 as part of Medellin’s “urban transformation.” This was the final stage of former Medellin mayor Jan Farjado’s initiative, which saw the construction of the metro cable, botanical gardens and “library parks,” in a scheme to advance social development through high-principle architecture. These tourist attractions were built away from the upscale El Poblado and Sabaneta areas and aim to serve Medellin’s less developed communities.

The park boasts the largest freshwater aquarium in Latin America, themed upon “Amazon river.” This aquarium is everything a Saturday afternoon can promise, refreshing, fun and a little sedative. An enormous, multi-level tank filled with a native Amazonian tree and large, eerie fish is a highlight of the aquarium. The now-inevitable “Finding Nemo” spin-off tanks may tickle the inner-child, with several tanks featuring clownfish, Moorish idol, Yellow Tang, and Pacific regal Blue Tang fish.

Parque Explora features “over 300 interactive experiences.” These interactions are dispersed over the open grounds and within the unique architecture of the main building.  These four massive red cubes seemingly “float” when viewed from a distance. The open-air playground is teeming with model dinosaurs and local foliage, although the see-saws, and happy children detract from the Jurassic effect.

The indoor interactions are grouped into four themes, in each of the cubes. Parque Explora’s “physics” experience will challenge the most grown-up adult not to crack a smile. On the upper floor you can race against an elephant, walk the tight-rope and measure your strength in newtons, while the ground floor will see you fitting a bubble around your entire body. The “mind” box left my brain throbbing and insecure about my ability to multi-task. I was also, at one point, on the floor.

Visitors must pause at the vivarium. Parque Explora exhibits some of Colombia’s most intriguing creatures in a rain-forest themed experience. The mini-zoo includes some exciting snake varieties, a tarantula and highly venous tree-frogs. There are also some amiable-looking lizards and a turtle tank for those indisposed to ogle creatures that could kill you as easy as looking at you.

Parque Explora is conveniently located adjacent to the Botanical Gardens and Universidad metro station, allowing visitors to make the most of their time in Medellin’s north sector.

How to get there

The easiest way to access Parque Explora is to take the metro to Universidad station, where the park is visible from the metro station, on Carrera 52.

Prices

$10 and $9 for students.