Fashion Business Club

Our next meeting is sure to be a squeeze as we kick off 2009 with the man who puts the F and the B into Fashion Business Club. Pencil Thursday 29th January into your diaries as you’ll not want to miss Lauretta Roberts, FBC member and editor of Drapers, interviewing chairman of the British Fashion Council, Harold Tillman.

Harold Tillman

Harold accepted the chairman role at the BFC in September 2008 following an extensive career in fashion retail. From Lincroft Clothing and Austin Reed to Baird Menswear, Harold went on to acquire both Jaeger and Allders. So if there are any brains to be picked in this industry then we definitely have the right man in the hot seat.

His passion for helping future fashion generations inspired Harold to set up his own scholarship at the London College of Fashion and 2009 will see him participating in a BFC initiative to highlight the importance of the fashion industry in the British economy, marking the council’s 25th anniversary. His future plans also include the launch of the UK’s largest fund for designers in 2010.

FBC meetings are for members only but you can apply for membership by downloading an application form from the HOW page on the FBC website: http://www.fashionbusinessclub.net

A limited number of guests may attend for a one-off fee of £20. All attendees must have a minimum of 2 years professional experience in the fashion industry. Please submit a request to attend to: membership@fashionbusinessclub.net

For more information please email: info@fashionbusinessclub.net

** Any relevant press who wish to attend should contact: press@fashionbusinessclub.net

See you there!

Sarah Hardy Editor

When Colin McDowell launched Distill magazine last year, I was excited to find that a magazine from Panama was profiled.  I spend a lot of time in Panama (am here now) and am always on the search for good fashion reads, and blank, published by Grupoblank hits the spot.  blank is solely distributed in Panama and is a window to the world of trends in both lifestyle and fashion.

I got in touch with Grupoblank’s director, Rafa Candanedo for an interview to learn more about the industry in Panama, the magazine, and to see how FBC members could get involved.

When did blank start, and what market does it serve?

blank began in 2001 in Santiago, Chile where I was doing my university studies.  Upon completion, I decided to return to Panama and I realised there was a huge gap for a publication on leading trends and lifestyle.  Panama was suffering a series of social and economic changes and I thought it was perfect time to start the project, to reflect what the country was experiencing.  As the first lifestyle magazine in the country, it was not easy to enter the market and convince customers that blank was the right for their brands.  blank opened a new market and today there are a variety of magazines aimed at a similar segment.

In your opinion, how is the Panamanian fashion industry, and what can it offer to the global community?

I’m going to be very objective and critical on this one.  Panama is not at the level to be able to offer something to the international market, but it is starting to develop.  Quality human resources and raw materials are lacking, but that is not to be confused with talent.  There is plenty of talent.  Quality is an attribute that goes hand in hand with maturity and market demand, and fashion in Panama is not yet in high demand.  We are in the process of educating customers and the decision makers who designate budgets for large campaigns and catwalk shows.

We’re going down a good path and if we were to chart the fashion industry of Panama from 5 years ago, we would see that we are growing, slowly but surely.

If blank were to feature an international designer, what criteria do you have?  What do blank readers want?

For us, the most important characteristic is a designer who has transcended time and been able to make their mark on global trends; people who have broken the barrier of the tradition like Renzo Rosso, the founder of Diesel.  He has a futuristic vision that has set new global standards, not only in denim, but in the way to communicate the vision of the brand.

We have lots of interesting designers, stylists, photographers, etc. in FBC.  Would blank be interested in writing about them? 

We are open to write about FBC members if it is under the context of the magazine and they meet our main requirement of being leaders in their given field.  We are stong supporters of the work of many Latin American photographers who meet this profile like Gabriel Schkolnick, Raúl Higuera, Pablo Franco, Francisco Garcia, and Juan Pablo Montalva.

 

Thank you, Rafa!

To pitch a story to blank, you can send an email to:  info@grupoblank.com

Courtney Blackman Co-Chairman & Co-Founder