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?ÂÂ
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.
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Thank you, Rafa!
To pitch a story to blank, you can send an email to:  info@grupoblank.com
Courtney Blackman Co-Chairman & Co-Founder
