Arcadie: collective of young rappers, designers create multicultural fashion event concept

A collective of young rappers and up-and-coming designers has set up the Arcadie association, a discreet way of breaking into the world of events by organising festive fashion shows with human creativity at the heart of the organisation, which is disconnected from the digital world.

Arcadie is the story of three young men, Joran, Basile and Killian, who set up an association to organise events that combine fashion shows with other artistic disciplines.

Unlike the classic fashion shows promoted by brands, whose aim is both to create buzz and to get buyers into the shops, the Arcadie association's fashion shows aim to bring together a community of people who share common values.

It's a sort of intergenerational, multiracial Date Working, where people share the same views on social issues. The business plan is based on paying admission (fashion shows are, by their very nature, glamorous and attract a public that doesn't have access to them). Each evening attracts between 300 and 350 people.

But where Arcadie differs from other social events is in its refusal to invite people via social networks. And why is that? Quite simply because events posted on Facebook or Instagram (for example) alert people who don't necessarily have anything in common, apart from being highlighted by the algorithms as potentially interested.

A new generation withdrawn from social networks and the fashion world

"The people who attend our parties come as a result of contacts they've made in person or by word of mouth, in a rave party spirit," Joran tells FashionUnited. "People who are professionals in their sector, to facilitate meetings around the same areas of activity".

Another highlight is the promotion of young designers who no longer fit into the traditional pattern of "creating prototypes, taking part in trade shows, whole sale sales, production of orders", which we know is suffering.

The young brands presented by Arcadie are moving towards what we might call Couture, in the sense that their clothes or fashion accessories are made in their own workshops (or at home for the youngest labels), to order and promoted on a B2C basis. An innovative business model that may well revolutionise the sector.

The next Arcadie evening will be held during Paris Fashion Week in September 2024. Stay tuned.

This article was originally published on FashionUnited.FR. Translation and edit from French into English by Veerle Versteeg.