Fashion Business Club

Fresh off of the inspirational words of FBC guest interviewee, Edward Enninful at  Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED™, FBC members Bunty Stokes, UK sales manager of Vente-Privee, Courtney Blackman, FBC co-founder & co-chairman, Neely Reyes, managing partner of Sapphires Model Managment, Rebekeh Roy, fashion stylist & FBC Blog Editor, Sam Fearn, MD of Fearnhurst PR & founder of Fashion Press Week, Frances Card, merchandise manager, Matches, Mark Bage, creative director of Coggles, Victoria Todd, editor of Fashion Monitor and myself all made our way to One Marlyebone to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Drapers Awards.

FBC members Anne Look, Courtney Blackman, Neely Reyes & Rebekah Roy with Joseph Wan

We were greeted in style by waiters and waitresses wearing pink ties and pink and white fedoras. Swirling pink lights ran up and down the surrounding walls and stained glass windows below high-arched ceilings made it the perfect venue to honour one of Britain’s best-loved fashion industry events.

Where there is business, there is FBC, and we mingled and chatted with industry giants. FBC member Bunty Stokes gave a speech on behalf of Vente-Privee, who sponsored the evening, and Neely Reyes got some helpful business tips from Harvey Nichols CEO, Joseph Wan.

The deadline for entries for the Drapers Awards is August 5th. Details can be found on the Drapers website, and the winners will be announced at a ceremony on November 17th.

Neely Reyes (centre) and Ian Warren (far right) with models and staff

FBC‘ers turned out in their fashion finery on Wednesday night as fellow members and managing partners of Sapphires Model Management hosted their London launch party in the Billiard Room of the Sanderson.

The event was packed thick with with the industry’s finest from Sapphires’ Neely Reyes and Ian Warren to models, fashion stylists and editors, film directors, designers and artists.

Daisy de Villeneve & Neely Reyes

Amongst the guests were FBC members: Rita Nazareno, FBC membership director & special projects manager of S.C. Vizcarra; Daisy de Villeneuve, FBC board member, illustrator, designer & writer; Courtney Blackman, FBC co-chair and MD of Forward PR; Giovanna Velasquez, founder & creative director of Magenta 8; Rebekah Roy, FBC blog edior, fashion stylist & creative director; Daniella Steadman, FBCtv’s new producer and executive producer of fashion & beauty at Love; Frances Card, merchandise manager at Matches & Drapers blogger; Sam Fearn, MD of Fearnhurst PR & founder of Fashion Press Week; Martyn Roberts & John Walford of Vauxhall Fashion Scout; myself, Anne Look, fashion stylist and blogger; and Rachael Sardelich, head of fashion & beauty at Morgans Hotels.

Rebekah Roy & John Walford

The two-hour event, commemorating the opening of Sapphires’ Soho office, spilled over into nearly five hours as guests chatted to background music mixed by internationally renowned DJ, Jeffrey Louis-Reed and sipped cocktails made from Aussie Spirits’ Vodka O & Kinky Rum, and Jameson Irish Whiskey.

Guests countered the cocktails with Mojito, chocolate-banana and coconut-lime cupcakes from Sweetie Darling’s (the Mojito cupcake was possibly the best). The VIP gift bags were overflowing with beauty products, drinks, sumptuous vouchers, a lovely handwritten scroll from Neely and Ian, and even clothes!

DJ Jeffrey Louis-Reed with Anne Look & Rachael Sardelich

Neely and Ian were delighted at the overwhelming turnout. “We’re very grateful to have the support of so many leading industry figures,” says Neely, “Sapphires’ move to Soho is a big step for the company and we can’t wait to see where this new adventure takes us.”

Congratulations, Neely & Ian!

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.

Lauretta Roberts

One of our members with the most insider knowledge on fashion and retail has launched a blog dedicated to shopping.

Titled SHOPSNOOP247, Lauretta Roberts doles out her wisdom from years in the industry as the former editor of Drapers and the current development director at WGSN – the online fashion and style forecaster…and she really likes to shop.

Why did you set up SHOPSNOOP247?

“Well, people kept telling me to do it as I’ve been Tweeting about my shopping exploits for some time and I am a journalist so I do enjoy writing and it’s a great outlet. Also there are a gazillion fashion blogs out there as we know and some of them are fantastic but I couldn’t find one that was just about good shops – most of them have a personal style focus. So that’s my niche I hope. I’ll be recounting my experiences of finding good product but also good service and interesting store environments and so on. It’ll be mainly fashion shops, as that’s where I spend most of my time, but I am becoming increasingly interested in homewares too, so you’ll get an element of that.

I hope I’m disciplined enough to keep it up! I shall put up some of my favourite blogs too, so will link to FBC!”

Drapers Etail Awards 2010 – FBC member and fashion journalist Navaz Batliwalla (for The Fashshot Studio) interviews FBC members: Mark Bage from Coggles, Frances Card and Sarah Curran of My Wardrobe!

S.C.Vizcarra handbags by FBC member Rita Nazareno are now available at Suzannah boutique, including the lovely little handbag that Courtney Blackman Co-Founder & Co-Chairman has named “Blue Bell“!

Suzannah
6 Bristol Gardens,
London W9 2JG

The 28^th of January is a busy day for FBC members. It’s the first official meeting of 2010 – marking the club’s 4^th birthday – and we’re excited to have FBC member and founder & CEO of my-wardrobe.com, Sarah Curran as our guest speaker to kick it all off.

Well, to add excitement to the mix, a few FBC members are dashing over to the BT Centre hours before the meeting to take part in the Drapers/Retail Week E-commerce Summit.

According to the Summit’s site, Britain is thought to have spent £50 Billion online in 2009, which is expected to increase by over 10% this year! The E-commerce Summit is designed to help delegates navigate and grow their businesses in the ever expanding and already crowded online market.

Frances Card, Courtney Blackman, Miriam Lahage

FBC member Frances Card of the Frances Card Consultancy (who will also be interviewing Sarah Curran later in the day) will be chairing the fashion-focused blogger and tweeter panel, where FBC co-chairman Courtney Blackman will sit as a panelist. They’ll be chatting about everything from bloggers’ influence on consumers to reputation management.

FBC member Miriam Lahage will be on another panel talking about discounting online and not compromising brand values as the former CEO of Koodos.

If any other FBCers are interested in attending two events in one day, find out more about the E-commerce Summit by visiting their website: E-commerce Summit

Fashion Business Club celebrates its fourth birthday in January 2010 and has a brand new sparkling partner for the New Year: the Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED™ Concept Store and Café on Great Marlborough Street.

In 2009, FBC held two meetings at the Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED™ Concept Store and Café (DailyCandy and Jonathan Saunders/Dolly Jones) and it felt just like home. The space is perfect for holding the live interviews, the production of FBCtv, and networking.

Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED ™ says, “We are very excited to become part of the FBC partnership, we see the match as being perfect and a great opportunity to facilitate great networking in a beautiful and very fashionable space that is the new Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED™ Concept Store and Café.’’

FBC’s six meetings for 2010 will take place in the space and will be filled with bright-minded fashion professionals looking to do business together and share in the experiences of the guest speakers, including Tamara Salman, creative director of Liberty of London in January; and Harrods fashion and beauty director, Marigay McKee in March. The Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED™ Concept Store and Café is the perfect backdrop for FBC meetings and creates an informal social environment that allows members to casually engage with one another.

“Swarovski has long been associated with recognising new creative talent and we’re very super happy to be inking the deal with Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED™, new venue partner for our FBC meetings.” Alison Whelan, FBC co-founder and co-chairman

“The Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED™ Concept Store and Café is the one space that our members have been wildly enthusiastic about. The synergy between what FBC does and the way the lounge is architected couldn’t be more harmonious. It was the natural next step to formalise the relationship and we’re really excited!” Courtney Blackman, FBC co-founder and co-chairman

FBC is a business-focused members club, created on the basis of bringing bright-minded fashion professionals together six times a year at an informal venue to listen to inspiring speakers, learn and do business together. The ethos of the club is generosity and the desire to share knowledge, along with at least two-years’ experience in the industry.

The club was started by Alison Whelan and Courtney Blackman in 2006, and they, along with Vogue.com editor, Dolly Jones and Daisy de Villenuve renowned designer/illustrator, make up the Board.

Members include home-grown and internationals, well-known and aspiring designers, journalists, photographers, stylists, buyers, brand managers, make-up artists, manufacturers, lawyers, graphic designers, copywriters, retailers, IP specialists, creative directors, PRs, brand managers and more.

Photo by Dave Wise for FBC

-Rebekah Roy Fashion Stylist & FBC Editor

After just three years in business and hot on the heels of an impressive catwalk show at London Fashion Week, FBC member Bryce Aime has a brand new home for his eponymous label, and big plans for the future. Find out what’s in store for Bryce on Drapers.

FBCtv launched an independent and glittering logo yesterday on Drapers blog. Alison Whelan says, ‘Happily housed with the FBC brand, FBCtv is a great new opportunity for our business and we look forward to developing the initiative further for our members to enjoy.’

Full story here Drapers – FBCtv

FBCtv Goes Live