Applications are now open to stage your event as part of Brussels Fashion Festival’s Official Program, October 2022.
The Cultural Program is an independent, diverse and curated selection of events staged across Brussels as well as online, promoted as part of the official Brussels Fashion Festival program. The Cultural Program features runways, talks, exhibitions, performances, workshops and more with each event and activity is brought to life by Belgium's leading fashion creatives, institutions and organisers.
Applications will be reviewed as received. The final date for submitting an application is 15 July 2022. Please read the details below before submitting your application.
BFF independent CULTURAL PROGRAM 2022
Essential Information
Brussels Fashion Festival will consider applications that:
- Have fashion as a central theme;
- Contribute a unique and intelligible point of view on fashion’s presence in contemporary culture, in a manner that will appeal to BFF’s audiences;
- Engage with and are available to the public to attend, whether free or paid;
- Demonstrate capability to appropriately market the activity, including providing promotional content to the Festival by the set deadlines;
- Have a strong event production plan (including a proposed venue, date/s and permits) to ensure your event will be presented at a high standard;
- Agree to provide attendance and participant information in a post-event survey, to enable BFF to report on the total Festival program impact and audience engagement.
Brussels Fashion Festival reserves the right to reject applications including (but not limited to) where:
- There is a conflict of interest with the Festival’s values, objectives or partners;
- There is inadequate evidence to show that the applicant will be able to deliver required materials to the Festival by agreed dates outlined below;
- There is inadequate evidence to show that the applicant will be able to deliver the outcomes to the expected standards;
- The application does not comply with the conditions set out in the application criteria
We are welcoming applications for both live and digital events in 2022.
Participants who have been accepted to the Independent Program in 2022 will be featured in the BFF Official Festival Program, and will receive:
A dedicated event page listing on the Brussels Fashion Festival’s website
Your event will be listed on brusselsfashionfestival.com, as well as listed on our ticketing website.
Your event featured in Brussels Fashion Festival’s digital campaign
Your event will be featured in the Festival’s campaign via at least one of the Festival’s digital channels, including:
- Paid social media ads
- Email marketing campaigns
- Google Ads
- Organic social media posts (e.g. Instagram Stories, Instagram grid posts (image, carousels, video), Instagram guides, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn)
- Facebook event page
Please note that feature in the digital campaign requires promotional image quality criteria to be met. More info below.
Media and PR Opportunities
Your event will be included as part of the Brussels Fashion Festival’s PR agency scope for press opportunities with a broad range of journalists and publication.
To help us with this, we encourage you to submit a media release to us so that our PR agency has as much information about your event and organisation as possible. Your press release is due by 10 January 2022.
Assistance from the Brussels Fashion Festival team
Our experienced programming and ticketing teams will be available to provide guidance on your event at every step.
Usage rights to BFF Independent Program logo
Access a suite of MFF assets for use across activity-related promotional materials.
Participation in the BFF Independent Program 2022 is subject to a listing fee of €1250 + VAT.
The listing fee will be invoiced to the participant by BFF, and is payable within 14 days, or prior to the first instance of public promotion, whichever comes first.
Please note, it is free to submit an application.
1 March 2022
Independent Program applications open
10 August 2022
Independent Program applications close at 5pm.
10 August 2022
Applicants notified of application outcome
(Please note, applications will be reviewed ongoing so you may hear from us prior to 10 August 2022).
15 July 2022
Event Contract, Media Release & Promotional Matierials are due
10 July 2022
Brussels Fashion Festival tickets on pre-sale
5 – 9 October 2022
Brussels Fashion Festival
BFF Ticketing
Brussels Fashion Festival is working with Eventbrite as the ticketing system for the 2022 Festival. All Independent Program events (free and paid) must be ticketed through Brussels Fashion Festival’s ticketing system so that audiences are able to book for all programmed BFF events from one central location (unless otherwise approved).
The BFF’s ticketing team will create your event within Eventbrite or our own online platform. Participants will then be offered the opportunity to attend an induction with the BFF ’s ticketing team to learn how to access the platforms for managing customer service queries, promoting your event, viewing ticketing reports, and making any updates to capacities or pricing.
We require that all events, whether free or paid, are to be ticketed.
This comes at no extra cost to you or your audience. There are no booking fees for free-ticketed events.
This will help you communicate with your ticket holders should you need to send them any pre-event details or information regarding COVID-19.
General admission is easier for you to manage and for audiences to book, and provides you with flexibility should your seating plan need to change for any reason (including should COVID-19 event restrictions change).
BFF only recommends allocated seating if it is absolutely necessary and you have the capacity to manage the logistics involved.
There is no extra charge for allocated seating. However, we will need to work with you to build a seating plan in the ticketing system. Speak to us to discuss via ticketing@brusselsfashionfestival.com.
Promoting Your Event
Your event title, description, and image/video are critical components in ensuring your event stands out and is well received by audiences in the Festival Program and online. Please see some guidance below. Please note, if your application is successful, you will have until 10 August 2022 to send us your promotional images and/or video.
Your BFF Event title
- Ensure your title is not too long so you allow space for copy in the BFF Program. Aim for no more than 5 words.
- Please do not include “Brussels Fashion Festival” in the title of your event.
- We do encourage you to use the words “As part of / a proud participant of Brussels Fashion Festival’s Independent Program” and the CFF logo on your promotional materials.
Your BFF Event description
You will need to provide two versions of your event copy:
- A short version of approx. 55 words for the BFF Program & ticketing platform
- A longer version of approx. 250 – 350 words for the BFF website
We have listed some tips below to guide you in writing clear and compelling copy:
- Write your event copy from a third person perspective.
- Remember that the goal of your event copy is to get audiences to come to your event, so although your event might hold a deeper, more complex message, keep the copy clean and simple.
- Sense-check your copy with colleagues, friends or family, to ensure they can understand what to expect or experience at your event.
Your promotional image(s) is one of the most vital tools in attracting the audiences’ attention. It should be striking, represent your event truthfully, and be taken by a professional or skilled photographer to optimise your chances for promoting your event.
There are some guidelines that you will need to follow (otherwise, we may request an alternative image). Please:
- Avoid including any words/text on your image, not even the title.
- Avoid including any logos on your image.
- Avoid providing a low-resolution image or screenshots. We recommend a professionally shot image.
- Avoid providing a highly detailed image with lots of content.
Our program guide images are small, so simplicity works best.
Your event listing can include a Promotional Video either shot by us (at an extra fee) or by yourself. This is a great way to give audiences a visual taste of your event.
Keep the following in mind when shooting your promotional video:
- Keep it short (between 15-55 seconds)
- Ensure the footage is of high quality and high resolution
- Be creative!
Your Responsibilities
As a participant in the BFF Independent Program, you have certain responsibilities to ensure your event is a success, including:
Provide all required event information and promotional materials to us by 10 August 2022.
Market and promote your event. We will provide guidance and support in promoting your event, include your event in our digital campaign (as outlined
above) and where possible our PR team may be able to arrange a media opportunity for your event, but the primary responsibility for marketing your event
lies with you as the organiser
Organise staff and volunteers for your event (if required)
Secure a venue that is accessible from both a transport/parking and mobility perspective (if required)
Manage production schedules and budget
Secure financial support for your event (if required)
Complete an Independent Program participant survey at the conclusion of your event and provide us with attendance figures and creative participant information
Organise Public Liability Insurance for your event
The BFF’s programming team are available to provide support and guidance on all of the above, so please get in touch if you have any questions – we want to make your experience working with us as rewarding and fulfilling as possible. Email us at programming@brusselsfashionfestival.com.
Event title
- Ensure your title is not too long so you allow space for copy in the BFF Program. Aim for no more than 4 words.
- Please do not include “Brussels Fashion Festival” in the title of your event.
- We do encourage you to use the words “As part of / a proud participant of Brussels Fashion Festival’s Independent Program” and the BFF logo on your promotional materials.
BFF Event description
You will need to provide two versions of your event copy:
- A short version of approx. 50 words for the Brussels Fashion Festival Program & ticketing platform
- A longer version of approx. 250 – 300 words for the Brussels Fashion Festival website
We have listed some tips below to guide you in writing clear and compelling copy:
- Write your event copy from a third person perspective.
- Remember that the goal of your event copy is to get audiences to come to your event, so although your event might hold a deeper, more complex message, keep the copy clean and simple.
- Sense-check your copy with colleagues, friends or family, to ensure they can understand what to expect or experience at your event.
Your promotional image(s) is one of the most vital tools in attracting the audiences’ attention. It should be striking, represent your event truthfully, and be taken by a professional or skilled photographer to optimise your chances for promoting your event.
There are some guidelines that you will need to follow (otherwise, we may request an alternative image). Please:
- Avoid including any words/text on your image, not even the title.
- Avoid including any logos on your image.
- Avoid providing a low-resolution image or screenshots. We recommend a professionally shot image.
- Avoid providing a highly detailed image with lots of content. The program guide images are small, so simplicity works best.
Your event listing can include a Promotional Video. This is a great way to give audiences a visual taste of your event.
Keep the following in mind when shooting your promotional video:
- Keep it short (between 15-55 seconds)
- Ensure the footage is of high quality and high resolution
- Be creative!
Application Checklist
Here’s a list of what you’ll need to prepare for completing the application form:
- Your organisation’s details
- Primary contact details and optional secondary contact details
- Your event name and details, including the event description, dates/times, ticket prices, venue details (if applicable), access information
- Details on whether the event is live or digital
- Information on your previous participation with the Festival
- An overview of how your event will be funded
- A brief outline of your proposed marketing plan
Please ensure you have read the below policies before submitting your application:
If your application is successful, you will need to submit further supporting materials by 10 August 2022 (the BFF programming team will be in touch to discuss this). Here’s a checklist:
- Your BFF contract agreement
- Your Venue Contract (if required)
- Further details for your event listing, including short & long copy & image.
- Further ticketing information (if required)
- Any further promotional materials, including images, video, social media handles, website links
- Payment of your event registration fee
- Your event media release
- Public Liability Insurance Certificate
If you have any questions related to the BFF Independent Program application process, please contact us at programming@brusselsfashionfestival.com.
BFF Application Form
