Fashion Business Club

Previous INNOVATION winner: Lalesso

On the 30^th of June at Fashion Business Club (FBC)’s venue partner, Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED™ (organised by FBC member, Stine Brogaard, CRYSTALLIZED™’s marketing operations manager), FBC board members Courtney Blackman, co-founder & co-chairman of FBC and Dolly Jones, editor of Vogue.com will be joined by FBC member and fashion director of Recognise Magazine, Shyla Hassan and other industry professionals including model Laura Bailey, ESTETHICA’s Orsola de Castro, Neil Hendy of M&S, Katie Davis of Pure and Anne Golden of St Martins Lane Hotel to make up the panel of judges for the INNOVATION Awards.

The winners will be selected from twelve finalists and on hosting the judging session, Nadja Swarovski, vice president of international communications says, “We are pleased to host the Ethical Fashion Forum’s INNOVATION Awards at our Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED Concept Store and Café. It is essential within the fashion world to support designers showcasing inspirational talent in fashion design while addressing environmental challenges. The INNOVATION Awards celebrate their creative work dedicated to making positive change in the industry which is benefiting people and the environment.”

Previous INNOVATION winner: Mia

Launched by The Ethical Fashion Forum (EFF) and the Fairtrade Foundation, the INNOVATION Awards officially recognise and aim to support emerging designers working within the ethical fashion sector.

Dolly Jones highlights the importance of the INNOVATION Awards, saying that it “supports and promotes designers who are set to make a difference for people and the environment.”

Previous INNOVATION winner: Mark Liu

Winners of the INNOVATION Award will have the opportunity to show their S/S 2011 collection at either PURE or London Fashion Week’s ESTETHICA in September 2010.

FBC’s own Courtney Blackman, also on the board of the EFF, says “Previous winners of the INNOVATION Awards have made great contributions to both environmental and social sustainability through fashion. I can’t wait to see what this year’s entrants have in store as far as design and technical advancements.”

For further details, visit: Ethical Fashion Forum

Annette & Daniela Felder

Here at FBC we are exceptionally proud of our members. So much so that we love to dedicate special trinkets to them on our FBC blog.

FBC’s  latest news sees Annette & Daniela Felder of Felder& Felder, and Alexandra Shulman, editor of Vogue UK, nominated for the Hospital Club 100 Awards. The awards are a recognition to outstanding contribution made by individuals in the world of fashion, and celebrate both established and emerging talent.

Felder& Felder told us they are “honoured to be nominated for the Hospital Club 100 Awards. Fashion is of growing importance to Britain’s creative economy and we are thrilled that over the past decade this has come to be recognised. It is also exciting to be in the same category of awards with fellow FBCer Alex Shulman, editor of Vogue.”

Not one but two FBC members! What can we say other than we are exceptionally proud. To vote for the Hospital Club 100 awards click here.

Darren Spurling, Managing Director, Terry de Havilland

FBC talks to member, Darren Spurling, MD of rock ‘n’ roll cobbler, Terry de Havilland (TDH) and the company’s recent win of the Drapers Lifetime Achievement Award.

How long have you been at Terry de Havilland and what did you do before?

I started speaking to Terry and Liz de Havilland at the end of 2008. I was amazed and impressed by the amount of goodwill towards the brand name and the opportunity there was with the brand. So after a couple of months I invested in the brand and along with Simon Bentley we set up a new company with Terry and Liz to develop the label. Prior to this I have been consulting on a number of new start ups in the UK and was the managing director of the O Neill brand.

What is a typical day like for the managing director of a renowned show brand?

It really does vary from day to day. Terry and Liz are responsible for everything creative and whilst I may have a view on product they are clear on what the brand stands for and drive this forward. I would not even attempt to provide too much advice! Our initial focus was to make the TDH brand known to a wider audience by developing press coverage and getting in place the ready to wear line. The creative stage of any new line is the most important but we also have to be able to produce and deliver perfect product on time and this is very much what I am focusing on right now. I also speak a lot to our worldwide licensee LXY Brands on the ready to wear line and international development. Today is a ‘trademark’ day as we continue our registration of the brand into new markets.

Congratulations on the recent Lifetime Achievement Award from Drapers. What does this mean for the label? Have sales increased? Have you had more wholesale enquiries?

The award is a personal award for Terry and the 50 years he has spent creating fantastic shoes. It obviously raises his profile and this is good for TDH. We have had coverage in the States and China as a result so it is very welcome. In terms of the impact on sales, we have had an increase in couture enquiries as a result and I expect buyers will be much more responsive to the new summer 2011 collection.

You’ve recently launched your ready-to-wear collection. Tell us a bit about it.

Terry has a number of classic shoes that are almost timeless and the new collection has a focus on taking these classics forward. Everyone should have a Terry wedge in their wardrobe! As well as the wedge line, there are surprises in the line whilst ensuring each shoe has the Terry handwriting. I do not want to say too much more until it is launched at the end of this month.

What advice would you offer any of our members starting out in business?

With any new fashion business the early decisions on the collection and distribution are so important. Where you plant those early seeds will have an impact on the brand in the future so know your market and avoid too many compromises early on. Do what your good at and known for and try not to chase too many new directions early on. It’s much better to be exceptional at a few things than average in many. Average does not pay today.

How does being part of FBC have a positive affect on your business?

The opportunity to meet people both in the business for a long time and those starting out is great and all advice is worth listening too. The interviews every other month with leading business people are great to see how they have achieved success. It helps us to avoid any mistakes they made early on.

And finally where can our FBC members find your shoes?

Our couture made-to-order shoes can be ordered by giving Liz de Havilland a call at our studio on 020 7254 4445 or check our the website www.terrydehavilland.com. Our ready to wear line is in the shops from the end of this year and will be on line in the next few weeks.

Seven FBC members made the final list of Leon Bailey-Green’s Online Fashion 100 – a guide devised to take people behind the scenes of online fashion world. “…buyers, bloggers, directors, entrepreneurs, editors, investors, politicians and even celebrities” form the list of people that influence the business of the online fashion sphere.

Leon was joined by a panel of experts: Brent Hoberman, Hilary Alexander, Kate Russell and Denize Hewitt, and the following are the FBC members on the list, in alphabetical order, not ranking: Courtney Blackman, Frances Card, Sarah Curran, Malika Dalamal, Disneyrollergirl, Michaela Jedinak, Lauretta Roberts. Congratulations!

See the full list here: Online Fashion 100 2010/11 Edition

Lauretta Roberts at WGSN

FBC member and digital development director of WGSN, Lauretta Roberts has launched the Global Fashion Awards and FBC finds out more:

Tell us about the Global Fashion Awards.

They’re the first awards to recognise innovation in fashion across all disciplines and across all geographies. We have categories ranging from influential designers through to best visual merchandising and marketing campaign. It really is open to all from the high end to the high street from New York to New South Wales!

There are 16 categories in total and our judging list contains some of the biggest names in fashion globally as well as some fantastic up and coming talent. There are names such as Saks, Selfridges, Macy’s, Gap, Myer and Banana Republic from retail, designers such as John Rocha, Nicole Fahri, John Bartlett, Albertus Swanpoel and Tracy Reese, as well as Mawi Keivom and Nicholas King. And of course we have great industry figures such as Fern Mallis who established New York Fashion Week and the wonderful fellow FBC member Harold Tillman CBE from the British Fashion Council. That’s just scratching the surface; there are plenty more.

It’s just great to unite the industry in this way and the response has been so warm – we’re delighted!

FBC members Lauretta Roberts & Harold Tillman CBE

What is your involvement in the Awards?

Well, it was kind of my idea; I floated it past our very dynamic CEO Susanna Kempe one day and the next thing I get an email instructing me to get on with it. It’s a collaboration here at Emap between WGSN and Emap Networks, which runs our conferences and events such as the World Retail Awards so they are perfectly placed to realise this event for us. My role is to control content – so I conceived the categories and criteria and helped secure judges (though I have to give due credit to our amazing event producer Martin Fearnley who just hit the phones and secured us some fantastic names – he’s been a godsend!).

I’ll oversee the judging process and will also encourage those companies and we really feel require recognition to take part. Am also working on – again with Martin – striking up some media partnerships globally.

Why did you set it up?

Because there seemed a big hole there to me and I felt that WGSN being the world’s leading trend and style forecaster was in the best position to fill it. I can’t think of another organisation with the global reach and influence across fashion design, buying and retail who could credibly do this. But I am somewhat biased! There are some fantastic awards that celebrate success regionally or in specific areas such as design but none that do it on a global scale in this increasingly global business.

Why are Awards such as this important to the industry?

Because they recognise innovation and those who propel the industry forward and they shine a spotlight on true talent. Clearly people agree as within 24 hours of our site going live we have more than 70 entries. It goes to show that the appetite is there for an event like this. I do think it’s the uniting of the industry from a global and sector perspective that has been so appealing. And who wouldn’t want to get in front of those judges?!

How can FBC members get involved?

Enter! These awards are open to businesses large and small so check out the categories and have a go. Also there are nomination only categories such as the most influential designers and the global style icon and they can put forward their favourites free of charge. For the larger businesses, we have many attractive sponsorship opportunities.

If anyone has any ideas of how they would like to be involved they can drop me a line, I’m interested to hear. We really want as many people as possible to join in the celebration!

www.globalfashionawards.com

A year has passed since online expert Leon Bailey-Green published his hugely successful and much talked about Online Fashion 100. FBC has been given the exclusive on which FBC members are on the list this year and we make up 5%!

Congratulations to the following FBC members for making the cut: Sarah Curran, founder of my-wardrobe.com; Frances Card of the Frances Card Consultancy; Lauretta Roberts, creator of the Global Fashion Awards and digital development manager at WGSN; Disneyrollergirl (yes, she’s a member and we don’t know what her real name is); and Courtney Blackman, FBC’s co-founder & co-chair, MD of Forward PR and EFF board member.

The full list will be published on Monday, June 21st on both Leon Bailey-Green and The Online Fashion Agency.

A review and FBCtv’s edit of our last meeting which featured Matthew Williamson co-founder and CEO, Joseph Velosa interviewed by FBC member and editor of The Business of Fashion, Imran Amed is now available to watch exclusively on The Business of Fashion website.

Join us on Thursday the 29th of July at Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED™ where one of the world’s most renowned stylists and creative director of i-D magazine, Edward Enniful will be interviewed by FBC member and newly appointed creative director of Bally, Michael Herz.

Membership Enquiries: membership@fashionbusinessclub.net

Press Enquiries: press@fashionbusinessclub.net

Indulge in a little retail therapy and a glass of wine with FBC member and designer Britt Lintner shopping evening hosted by Mayfair boutique, Rous Iland.
June 23rd, 5-9pm.
Rous Iland, 45 Clarges Street, London W1J 7EP
Please RSVP to event@rousiland.com or call 0845 0038945.
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FBC’s amazing membership director, Rita Nazareno of Vizcarra 1925 is giving a away an ‘Amanda‘  handbag in this week’s Grazia.

Thinking about doing a show in New York? FBC member and fashion account director for the Sanderson and St. Martins Lane (Morgans Hotel Group), Rachael Sardelich would like to help.

At Hudson is a Morgan’s Original and is a new multi-level event space near Lincoln Center and Central Park in New York City.

The 6,000 square feet of space can hold up to 700 people, has concert-grade sound and all sorts of other options.

Contact Rachael for more details: rachael.sardelich@morganshotelgroup.com