Digital Pitti January 18, 2011
Posted by SCAD Fashion Department in : Careers, Industry News, Manufacturers, Organizations and Associations, Retail, Trade Shows, Trends , comments closedLeave it to the Italians to surprise you. In a country known for it’s strong grip on tradition, the modernization of their fashion industry has never been a focus. In fact, many of the most fashionable houses have seemed to consciously resist technological advancements. That is, until now.
The Pitti fair, arguably the world’s preeminent menswear fair, has taken place in Florence since 1972. Now it has gone digital.
Annually hosting over 1000 brands and more than 23,000 buyers from around the world, the fiar is a great way to see a variety of apparel and accessories offerings from numerous vendors. The difficulty for buyers is remembering everything they saw.
Suzy Menkes of the International Herald Tribune recently interviewed Francesco Bottigliero who has been tasked with creating a digital platform to showcase the goods on display in Florence each year. According to Mr. Bottigliero “research shows that the typical buyer stays at Pitti for a couple of days, visits about 50 stands in depth and leaves with a few fashion impressions and ‘pockets full of business cards.’”
His aim? To recreate the Pitti fair in a virtual environment. “The idea is to offer attendees a second or third look, using their screens to “visit” stands that they did not have time to see and to compare and contrast products, materials and prices.”
The online fair will launch at the next edition of Pitti, but some sample images are online now. Be sure to read Ms. Menkes’ article and visit the online edition of the fair e-Pitti to get a sneak peak at the possible future apparel buying.
- Tiffany Horton
A Conversation with Hilldun President Gary Wassner January 12, 2011
Posted by SCAD Fashion Department in : Careers, Industry News, Local Sources, Manufacturers, Organizations and Associations, Retail , comments closedDean Michael Fink recently directed me to excellent the blog Truth Plus. Yesterday, they featured an interview with Gary Wassner, President of the fashion factoring and finance corporation, Hilldun.
The Hidden Stitch: A Conversation with Hilldun President Gary Wassner
This article is a great primer on what a factor does to help manage the business side of growing fashion firms, how to build a brand that lasts, why focusing on PR isn’t always wise, and the pitfalls of handing your label over to a private equity firm for fast cash. Hilldun has worked with Betsey Johnson, Marc Jacobs, Tommy Hilfiger, Tuleh, and numerous other major American brands. He discusses what his firm looks for before taking on a designer as a client “We look for designers who have heads on their shoulders, who understand the important aspects, the salient aspects of running and owning a business and know that it’s all about product; it’s not about press.”
Additionally, he shares his thoughts about the difficulties of manufacturing in China and possibility of bringing manufacturing back to the US. This a MUST read for all students on both the Fashion and FASM sides.
- Tiffany Horton
Maison Martin Margiela March 2, 2010
Posted by SCAD Fashion Department in : Careers, Industry News, Organizations and Associations, Retail, Trends , comments closedIf you’ve been in fashion school or worked in the industry for more than a few months, there’s no doubt you’ve heard about an elusive guy named Martin Margiela. The announcement of his departure from his design house was all over the fashion press last fall. But the news that got everyone talking about him again was, strangely, related to the death of a book editor and writer from Albequerque.
Like her design hero, Martin Margiela, not much is known about Marcia Berger, who amassed a collection of over 1,000 pieces produced under his label. When she died in January 2008, she was working as a college textbook editor and living in the Koreatown part of Los Angeles, where she rented an apartment. The apartment was packed with rare and carefully selected Margiela pieces that she began collecting since the inception of the Martin Margiela house in the late-1980′s.
Now, the pieces from her collection are for sale online at 1st Dibs and you can get a great look at the amazing shapes and ideas that brought him to notoriety over the past two decades. Such comprehensive and detailed glimpses into a designer’s career are very rare – especially a designer as private as Mr. Margiella, so please take advantage of this great opportunity to study his work.
To learn more about Martin Margiela, click here.
To see the full collection of Margiela garments for sale, click here.
- Tiffany Teague
Hugo Boss Design Competition February 25, 2010
Posted by SCAD Fashion Department in : Careers, Design Resources, Industry News, Inspiration, Retail, SCAD - Student and Alumni Enterprise , comments closedTo celebrate the new direction of BOSS Orange under Creative Director Eyan Allen for Spring/Summer 2010, international fashion house HUGO BOSS is launching a global t-shirt design competition. One of the main goals of this competition is to nurture young creative talent, and SCAD students have been invited to participate.
Centering around the creation of a distinctive parrot t-shirt design, the competition will run from 1 March – 30 April 2010 on the dedicated facebook website www.myparrotdesign.com
Out of the 30 best submissions, which will be chosen by the facebook community, Creative Director BOSS Orange Eyan Allen will select the most inspiring and promising graphic.
Besides being awarded the grand prize of 1.500 EUR, the winning talent will be invited to visit the HUGO BOSS headquarters in Germany, to meet Eyan Allen and to spend a day designing with the BOSS Orange Creative Team. As an absolute highlight, the finished T-shirt will feature as a Special Edition in the BOSS Orange 2011 Spring/Summer Collection.
Art of Weddings – Tonight! February 19, 2010
Posted by SCAD Fashion Department in : Careers, Industry News, Local Sources, Retail, SCAD, SCAD - Student and Alumni Enterprise , comments closedSCAD and Project Runway Alumna Heidi Elnora will debut her latest line of wedding dresses tonight at an exclusive charity event in Atlanta. All proceeds from the event, The Art of Weddings, will go toward the Make A Wish Foundation of Georgia and Alabama. Tickets are $15 in advance and $25 at the door.
- Tiffany Teague
Buying Power of the 50+ Woman February 3, 2010
Posted by SCAD Fashion Department in : Careers, Industry News, Inspiration, Retail, Trends , comments closedAs I was working yesterday with a student on her designs for a collection of garments for a full figured (read “average American”) woman, I got to thinking that it’s a bit of a shame that most of us design our businesses for a rail-thin woman who is preternaturally youthful.
Not only does a large portion of the public miss out on our creativity, but we miss out on a HUGE market when we don’t train ourselves to get inside the mind of certain consumers. I read a statistic last December that I found really inspiring – it’s that “women ages 50 and older have more spending power and discretionary income than any other group in the U.S. and wield a net worth of $19 trillion according to MassMutual’s Financial Group 2007 report. In fact, for the 12 months ending Oct. 31, women over 55 spent $19 billion on apparel, according to The NPD Group Inc.’s Consumer Tracking Service.”
This quote came from a WWD report on the apparel of female evening news anchors like Diane Sawyer and Katie Couric. It’s exciting to consider that the companies who dress one of these women have their garments seen by 14 million viewers each night. This represents a great opportunity for advertisers, retailers, and designers alike. Here is the full article in WWD – scroll to page 14 to read it: The Female Factor in Evening News.
- Tiffany Teague
Fashion and Retail: The Year Ahead January 26, 2010
Posted by SCAD Fashion Department in : Careers, Industry News, Organizations and Associations, Retail, Trends , comments closedYesterday Dean David Goodrowe sent me a link to a series of articles discussing the future of retail. Each day this week, WWD will be discussing a different topic:
Monday: Retail and Fashion
Tuesday: Media and Entertainment
Wednesday: The Financial Sector
Thursday: Emerging Markets and the Supply Chain
Friday: The Beauty Industry
This is great for those of you in the LXFM and Fashion Marketing and Management programs as well of those of you studying design. Best to know where you’re headed!
Click here to read through the series*.
- Tiffany Teague
*Note: You can find hard copies of the articles in the SCAD Library. To access the link above, you’ll need to be logged on to WWD through the SCAD library online. (Click: Connect To Online Edition.)