Fashion Business Club

FBC member Pamela Reynolds and her company I Heart Studios have been shooting products, t-shirts and bags with Simeon Farrar who has created a loose fitting God Save the King and his Queen t-shirt with a Sex Pistols style slogan featured below in Grazia daily.  He  was also responsible for the ‘kate mouse’ t-shorts for Liberty.

Simeon has been asked to create a bespoke bag for Liberty London and I Heart Studios will also be photographing that signature piece.

Simeon Farrar is a London based designer who trained in Fine Art and has been a painter for the last 10 years. In February 2004 he launched his label of men’s and women’s ready-to-wear. He has won the New Generation Award at London Fashion Week three times and is stocked at prestigious stores worldwide.

Simeon is represented by Iroquis PR contact Daniel

FBC’s next meeting features two exceptional blogging talents at the up-coming by-monthly meeting on the 31st of March. Sasha Wilkins aka Liberty London Girl will be interviewed by Navaz Batliwalla aka DisneyRollerGirl.

Both are respected fashion industry insiders whose personal endorsements, tweets and blogs postings regularly mean record sales for the named vendor. The influence of bloggers such as Sasha and Navaz are gaining ground and are a respected element of any brand and marketing budget today. FBC co-founder Alison Whelan says, ‘Blogging is a fashion phenomenon, and both Sasha and Navaz play an authentic role in the new digital media and marketing wave that is realigning advertising budgets and asking brands to rethink their communication strategy’.

FBC member Navaz Batliwalla will be interviewing FBC member Sasha Wilkins on issues such as how this new audience of influencers has arisen, what the necessary skills and financial components to a bloggers business are, how to stay honest and organic in marketing other people’s products and what percentage of the money made is reinvested in the business.

If you would like to attend please let us know by contacting: membership@fashionbusinessclub.net. If you are press please contact Bukie Aje-Lloyd at press@fashionbusinessclub.net.

HEMYCA design duo, Helen and Myra, are among the growing design philosophy placing eco-friendly design and social responsibility at the heart of what they do.

This season HEMYCA presented its latest AW11 Collection, entitled “House of Shadows” at EcoLuxe during London Fashion Week revealing its sustainable designs and ethical side. Helen and Myra who describe their label as being committed to “quality, luxury, silhouette, beauty, sophistication, empowerment, charity and the experience of the individual” tell us about their latest collection. “The EcoLuxe Exhibition was a great success for HEMYCA. The new collection was very well received by press and buyers with its beautifully tailored strong geometric silhouettes, luxurious herringbone textures, cashmere and jersey paired with stunning feather-light leather detailing and indulgent faux-fur paneling while contrasting the light and dark.”

HEMYCA has an Organic Tailoring range and manufactures all the garments in London, promoting local businesses and cutting down on carbon dioxide emissions while also working with various Charities, such as Age UK and Coppafeel among others.

Click here to see HEMYCA’s AW 11 Collection, House of Shadows.

Blog written by: Bukie Aje-Lloyd FBC London

As many FBC Members have probably experienced, finding the perfect pair of jeans can prove to be an elusive and time consuming experience.  The jeans market is highly competitive and using a stitched pattern on the back pockets is a common way for jeans manufacturers to increase brand awareness and distinguish themselves from their rivals.

The oldest jean manufacturer Levi Strauss registered its stitched arch pattern called “Arcuate” (see below) as a US trade mark during the Second World War.

Levi Strauss’s “Arcuate” design

Since then it has gone on to register many other trade marks for its stitched pocket design, both in the US and around the world.

In 2006, Abercrombie & Fitch started adding a stitched design called “Ruehl” to the back pockets of its jeans.  The Ruehl design sits lower on the pocket than Levi Strauss’s Arcuate design:

Abercrombie & Fitch “Ruehl” design

In a case brought in the US courts in 2007 Levi Strauss sued Abercrombie under the Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2006 (TDRA) claiming that its trade mark for the Arcuate design was being diluted by Abercrombie’s Ruehl stitched design.

At trial Levi Strauss relied on a “confusion” survey which shows that approximately 30% of people surveyed had wrongly identified Abercrombie’s Ruehl design as the Arcuate design.  Abercrombie argued that the survey was flawed and that the trade marks had to be identical for Levi Strauss to be successful in arguing that its mark had been diluted.  The jury had agreed with Abercrombie and found that Levi’s trade mark was not diluted because the two designs were not similar enough.

Last month US appeal court the 9th Circuit reversed the trial court decision, concluding that this was the wrong standard under which to judge the designs.

It held that under the TDRA it is not a requirement that the claimant shows that a junior mark is identical, nearly identical or substantially similar to the senior mark.  Instead he must show that the junior mark is likely to impair the distinctiveness of the famous mark.  The case will now go back for a further round of litigation at trial court level, where that court will apply the correct standard for assessing dilution under the TDRA.

The case is a useful reminder to fashion designers and manufacturers that where clothing contains designs – even only on parts of the clothing such as a pocket – it may be possible under US and European trade mark law to protect that design as a registered trade mark.  The registered trade mark can then (depending on the trade mark laws in the relevant country) be used to stop competitors using designs which are damaging to their registered trade marks.

For more information on how IP rights can be used to protect businesses operating in the fashion sector please contact Tamar Shafran at tamar.shafran@rpc.co.uk.

FBC member Tamar Shafran is an Associate at City law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP

FBC member, Clare Morgan, MD of Clamor Fashion Agency took part in Pure London, the bi-annual leading UK fashion trade show at Olympia. Clare says of her experience this year. “I had an exciting time at Pure this February. I opened plenty of new accounts there, which is always the aim of an exhibition.’

Clare Morgan,second from left, on stage at Pure London

Clare, who represents a number of European labels, shares the latest developments at Clamor Fashion. ”Simclan is my newest label. They are a German separates label that produce a high quality collection for the 25+ woman.  They have ‘Never Out of Stock’ trousers, which have already been a huge hit this season for me. This Spring/Summer season, they are promoting a window dressing competition with a Spa weekend prize for two.  I think this is a great idea as it sets the window dressers a bit of an extra challenge.”

For more information about Clamor Fashion Agency, please contact clare@clamorfashion.com

Click here to see more designs at Clamor Fashion Agency

Blog written by: Bukie Aje-Lloyd FBC London

FBC member and British designer, Samata Angel has won the Red Carpet Green Dress Challenge.  The winning dress was unveiled at the Global Pre-Oscar Awards on March 3rd following a competition requiring an eco-friendly dress made from natural, organic, or recycled fabrics to be designed for the red carpet at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. Samata, who designs under the label Samata’s Muse, walked the red carpet with competition founders Suzie Amis Cameron and James Cameron and a model of her choice wearing her creation.

Samata who entered the competition after seeing it on VOGUE.COM, tells us “meeting and spending time with Suzy Amis Cameron was both inspirational and educational. Not only did I learn so much about ‘green’ fashion, I also has the opportunity to showcase one of my designs on the ‘green’ carpet to a high profile audience. The whole experience has opened some huge doors for me and I am just so excited and grateful.”

Blog written by: Bukie Aje-Lloyd FBC London

Designer and FBC member Yan To provided an unusual opportunity for pedestrians on Conduit Street’s busy shopping area to see a designer at work, when he created a special one-off piece, live in store at Layers London for London Fashion Week (LFW).

What was the reason for this approach? Yan says that pragmatism and cash constraints made him more creative in more aspects than just his collection. “I wanted to do something during LFW but didn’t have the funds for a catwalk show or even an exhibition space. I then got to thinking about ways in which I could do something different yet creative and connect with a wide section of people for minimum cost.”

The finished product (seen below), a black dress base overlaid with three boxes of elastic will also be featuring as part of his collection in the Eastern Block Showroom in Paris from 3-9 March.

You can see more designs by Yan to on is website www.yan-to.com

Blog written by: Bukie Aje-Lloyd FBC London

FBC member Adam Holdsworth of N.Peal  would like to invite all FBC members and guests to the Cashmere Sample Sale and Winter Clearance. Renowned for it’s exceptional quality and timeless style for men and women, the N.Peal cashmere sale is always well attended and savvy shoppers come early for the best pieces. For an idea of what to expect at the sale, please view the image below.

Open from 12 noon Thursday 10th March to Saturday 12th March 2011

Location: N.Peal, No. 37 Burlington Arcade, Mayfair

http://www.npeal.com

Autumn/Winter 2010 Campaign image shot by Photographer Terry McGough

FBC is looking for new committee members to support and become a valued asset within the FBC team. We have a great history of wonderful people –  The committee is made up members who volunteer their time, who are credited on the FBC website, further promote their name through committee activity, meet once every two months for an informal breakfast to keep everyone in the loop and remain connected. Thanks to everyone who worked on the committee in the past, and looking froward to meeting the next generation.

FBC Membership Director

Social butterfly. Working closely with prospective and current members , the FBC Membership Director is the linchpin in the FBC Team. We are looking for someone who is highly organised, professional, able to work with confidential information, manage member database and guest lists, someone who enjoys people and champions good, old-fashioned service with attention to detail

Commitment: 5 hours a week, increase during event week and fashion weeks.

FBC Press Director

Connection specialist. Working closely in developing our relationships with our venue and media partners, distributors, speakers and interviewers, the FBC Press Director is professional in attitude and well connected. Instrumental in creating the Press strategy and setting new goals for the business,

Commitment: 5 hours a week, increase during the event week.

FBC Editor

Punctuation perfect. Working closely with Membership Director and Press Director, the FBC Editor is responsible for all content on the highly successful FBC blog/Twitter accounts. Posting frequently with images and agreed editorial style. Excellent understanding of the fashion business, English grammar, available to attend FBC events, able to work organically with members information and with a good understanding of increasing page views and followers.

Commitment: 4 hours a week, increase during the event week.

If you are interested in one of these positions, please contact Bukie (bukie@fashionbusinessclub.net) for a chat and discuss availability. It would be a good idea for all potentials to have a smartphone and laptop.

Many thanks

FBC Team

Yan To invites all FBC members to Yan To Organic Creation.

Opening at 12 pm Saturday 19 February.

Location: Layers London 16 Conduit Street W1S 2XL.

The event will be an innovative live in store special creation, showcasing Yan’s organic approach to fashion design and garment making. See you there.