Fall RTW Report

Upcoming Events

3Frontliner:

The Making of a Beauty Entrepreneur

4Frontliner:

The New Sustainability

5Five Questions with a Rising Star

Mike RubinDr. Marion Parke

iTalk Bulletin Board

ChairKatie Kretschmer

Editor / Contributing Writer

Writers / EditorsWendy D'Amico, Creative Consultant

Nancy Jeffries, Contributing Writer

Carolyn Moss, Contributing Writer

Melissa Pastore, Contributing Writer

Graphic DesignDebora DeCarlo, DDC Graphics

THE PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE

M A Y 2 0 1 8

1CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

.

F a l l 2 0 1 8

BEST BETS:The Belted Coat • Capes • Blankets • Ponchos • Skirts: The Mini. The High-Rise Pencil. The Fuller Skirt •

Pants: The Cigarette • Pantsuits • Sweaters: The Cable. The Oversize •

New Day / New Night • The Long Scarf • The Belt • Bags: The Logo Shopper. The Belt Bag. Shoes: The Chunky Sneaker • Boots: The Western • Hats: The Wide Brim • Jewelry: The Statement Necklace

DOLCE & GABBANA

TRENDP R E S E N T A T I O N

On April 20, FGI held its semiannual ready-to-weartrend presentation for the Fall/Winter 2018 seasonat the Hearst Tower in New York City. After a viewingof FGI creative director Marylou Luther’s trend presentation, a group of industry experts shared theirtakes on the forecast. The panel was moderated byKen Downing of Neiman Marcus, who was joined byAlex Badia of WWD, Erica Russo from Bloomingdale’s,Megan Hayes from Moda Operandi and AngeliqueSerrano of InStyle. Downing was well-qualified tolead the discussion, having attended 185 showsduring the past fashion month, including the morethan 100 shows he saw during New York FashionWeek alone.

Downing began by asking the panel to discuss therelevance of fashion shows in the quickly evolvingretail environment. Badia suggested that designersand brands should test new formats and see whatworks. Hayes agreed and added, “We have tothink—what’s the purpose of a show? Is it aboutbuyers and editors or consumers? Maybe a showisn’t the best way to reach customers.” Downingsaid he doesn’t believe there’s a “silver bullet” and

2

suggested there are probably different solutions fordifferent brands. Coming from a retail perspective,Russo said that even though 85 percent of her buyingis done before she attends the season’s shows, shestill loves going for the inspiration and styling.Serrano shared a similar sentiment, saying that she isalways inspired by what she sees at runway shows.

The panel also covered social issues, including diversity and sustainability. Downing feels that NewYork Fashion Week embraced diversity on the runwayearlier than other cities. “The runway replicates thesidewalk of life,” he added. Hayes said the ModaOperandi customer cares about social issues like theenvironment, which helps them create emotional con-nections to brands. Russo shared a similar sentimentabout the Bloomingdale’s customer: “There is muchmore of a conversation” with customers asking forsocially responsible brands and the industry workingtogether to make it happen. Serrano said it’s a littletrickier when it comes to the beauty industry becausenatural or organic doesn’t mean sustainable but customers are still hungry for information and transparency from beauty brands.

To close the discussion, Downing asked each panelist to share their favorite shows of the season.Serrano loved McQueen for showcasing a practicalpower lip and Carolina Herrera for the cat prints.Russo was inspired by Gucci, Paco Rabanne andfinally Marc Jacobs for “putting the exclamationpoint on New York Fashion Week.” Downing concurred, saying that he had customers texting himimmediately after the Marc Jacobs show. Hayes lovedthe mood at Paco Rabanne, the plastic trenches atMarni and the layering at Calvin Klein. MeanwhileBadia’s top picks were Marc Jacobs and Calvin Klein.In particular, he said Calvin Klein created an immer-sive experience with popcorn on the ground at theirshow. Downing joked that he was “facedown in pop-corn” at the Calvin Klein show and the set at theshow helped to “deliver the dream.”

–– Melissa PastoreContributing Writer, melissa.pastore@gmail.com

From left: Angelique Serrano, Erica Russo, Megan Hayes, Alex Badia, Ken Downing

Fall 2018 RTW Panel Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

BRUNELLO CUCINELLI TOM FORD

Tuesday, June 5th, 2018Retail Symposium Breakfast

“Retail Radicals”

Check in: 8:00 am - 8:30 amProgram: 8:30 am - 10:00 am

Roosevelt Hotel, 45 East 45th Street at Madison Avenue

iTalk Calendar of Events

For more information and to purchase tickets, Visit www.fgi.org or call 212.302.5511

Wednesday, June 20th, 2018The Tastemakers:

Victor Luis, Tapestry And Rose Marie Bravo

Arrivals: 8:30 amSeated Breakfast: 8:50 amConversation: 9:45 am

The Cosmopolitan Club Breakfast, 122 East 66th Street

find that, as well as provide advice. “Manzanita took amajority investment in our business three years ago, andI have to say, it’s been great. We chose wisely. Theyhave a network of brands that aren’t competing with us,and there’s a real synergy,” he said.

“At the end of the day, no one will care about yourbrand the way you do. It’s not fair to expect them toshare your level of passion. If you’re engaged, they’llfeel motivated,” said O’Banion. “I’ve done everysingle job in my business, which has given meinsight,” she said. “Understand what strengths willcomplement yours. You’ve got to understand thebusiness to keep what you have created.”

Market Strategy

“The toughest part is distribution,” said Fekkai.“Department stores aren’t that healthy, so today, forBastide, we’re banking on e-commerce, digital, andretail stores, as well as partners who want to show-case the brand the way we like it.”

Twine noted that the business environment was verydifferent when she launched Briogeo in 2013.“Now, it’s all digital, it’s press, it’s social, Instagram,and video content. For our product pages, we lovecontent, and everyone loves taking photos and beingpart of the content aspect of what we do. We arenow the number-two digital hair-care brand onSephora.com,” she said.

Malin’s strategy began close to home. “We startedin our building in NYC. We then went to Barneys,London, and e-commerce. We also did hotels, andairlines, and garnered a lot of attention for thebrand,” said Malin. “Press is also key, magazinesand digital.”

“The most important message is captaining yourown ship,” said O’Banion. She concluded, “We allhave 24 hours in a day. When you start owning thatyour decision today will drive the next day, that’s animportant lesson. Put a stake in the ground andkeep captaining. That’s how I run the business andmy life. I’m choosing to do this. Reframing will helpyou define what success looks like to you.”

— Nancy JeffriesContributing Writer, bnjcasa@aol.com

3

made with natural ingredients, she was motivated tocreate her brand, Briogeo.

Timing Your Business

Asked when to start a business, Fekkai said, “Idon’t think there is a right time. An opportunity iswhen you have a passion. Bastide was right for me.When I saw that Cote Bastide was for sale, I thoughtit would be an opportunity to rebrand the line, torun it like a family, but on a global scale.”

Twine, who worked on Wall Street for seven yearsbefore starting Briogeo, needed time to save money,develop products, and prove her concept before shequit her job, which she did when she received herfirst product placement at Sephora. “That was theright time. The hustle of being an entrepreneur is adifferent lifestyle hustle every day,” she said.

O’Banion’s father, who had a long career in R&Dand started his own lab, introduced her to the busi-ness at an early age. “When you start your businessis a choice. Go big or go home. You have to definewhat success is for you. It’s personal. When theopportunity is in front of you, you may not evenhave a business card, but you pivot, be agile, bedecisive, pick up, pivot, and move on. From anindie brand perspective, this is the journey.Organize, prepare, plan, and jump off the cliff.Build an airplane as you go down,” she said.

Business and Family

As a mother of three, O’Banion said the challengesof running a business and juggling the demands ofa family are huge. “The truth is that some days I’ma kick-ass CEO, and some days, I’m an excellentmother. I no longer apologize, because that intimates that what I’m doing is wrong,” she said.

For Fekkai, Bastide is a family affair. “I wouldn’thave done Fekkai without an investor, but forBastide, we’re choosing to do this with family andfriends only.”

“We don’t trust anyone more than we do eachother,” said Malin, “and over the course of 14 yearsin business, we’ve had to figure out balance in our lives.” His investors have allowed him and Goetz to

Frontliner: The Making of a Beauty Entrepreneur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

February 27th’s sold-out Frontliner, The Making of aBeauty Entrepreneur, sponsored by CosmoprofNorth America, highlighted the journeys of fourbeauty founders as they shared their stories ofbringing their brands to market.

Karen Young, CEO of The Young Group, welcomedattendees and introduced the moderator, ElanaDrell-Szyfer, CEO of RéVive and operating advisor forTengram Partners. The panel included FrédéricFekkai, cofounder and CEO of Bastide; Nancy Twine,founder of Briogeo; Matthew Malin, cofounder ofMalin + Goetz; and Jamie O’Banion, founder and CEOof Beauty Bioscience. “Indie brands are changingthe beauty landscape and entrepreneurs are makingthis period of time more interesting. Companiesdon’t come to market anymore, you have to be inthe know,” said Drell-Szyfer.

In her introduction of the panelists, Drell-Szyferacknowledged three key founders in the beautyindustry: “Estée, Helena, and then you haveFrédéric,” she said, noting that the Fekkai namehas long been associated with hair care. “He wasfirst in personal touch and service and he is nowembarking on something new,” she said. In 2015,Fekkai and his wife acquired Cote Bastide, nowBastide, and reframed it as a beauty and well-beingbrand. Founded on a commitment to clean, toxin-free living and made in France, the brand is anhomage to Fekkai's home, Aix-en-Provence.

O’Banion created Beauty Bioscience in collaborationwith her father, Dr. Terry James, who worked inresearch and development in skin care. BeautyBioscience offers advanced skin care products and anti-aging solutions with high quality ingredients. Thecollection sells in prestige channels, as well as HSN.

Malin originally launched cosmetics and skin careproducts at Barneys, then moved to Kiehl’s, beforehe founded his own brand, Malin + Goetz, with hispartner Andrew Goetz, an architect and designer, 14years ago.

Twine described formulating natural products athome, as did her mother and grandmother. Afternoticing that there weren’t that many hair products

From left: Karen Young, Matthew Malin, Jamie O’Banion, Frédéric Fekkai, Elana Drell-Szyfer, Nancy Twine, and Daniela Ciocan

makers of her products in order to familiarize customers with the people who are actuallyinvolved.

How does technology fit? The concepts of today’sfaster, cheaper ideologies were noted. All agreedthat products that are handmade should be val-ued and not be overlooked on the way to prof-itability. Hall said technology will be the tool thatprovides the solution. Erwiah added that technol-ogy will allow consumers to be informed and, in asense, will balance the equation.

At the end of the discussion, the panel took ques-tions from the audience. The first subject raisedregarded criteria used to measure a company’ssustainable efforts. Pierre said in order to assureproof of their specialty, background checksshould be used as well as certification by organi-zations such as NGO. Another audience memberquestioned why major companies are not yet onboard. It was noted that there are many road-blocks within larger companies and they changetheir policies at a slower pace. Technology wasagain given a vote as a path to future change.

The evening came to a close with a positive visionof the efforts so far by supporters of sustainability,the goal of which will hopefully assure a saferfuture for all.

–– Carolyn Moss Contributing Writer

Hassan Pierre is an entrepreneur and cofounder ofthe hybrid luxury ethical fashion retailer Maison-de-mode.com. His goal is to introduce sustainabil-ity to the luxury market.

Kozlowski asked the panel to define sustainabilityand explain its current progress. Cakmak men-tioned the goal today is strategic integration withestablished and emergent brands. Pierre addedthat interest is growing at the luxury retail level.Erwiah noted that more retailers are open to theidea of going to Africa and working with sustain-able brands. Hall and Punijya agreed that interestcontinues to grow in environmental issues andpeople are talking about it at an accelerated pace.

Noting that since design and production sourcesare interested, Koslowski asked why we are notfurther along. What is standing in the way?Punijya said that more education is needed. Pierreadded that consumers need this education tolearn how they should be shopping. Hall said fastpaced production cycles add to the concern ofkeeping prices at bay. Erwiah mentioned thatthese conversations are drawing larger audiences,and smaller brands have an opportunity since theyalready support sustainable concepts. Decisionmakers must be committed to balance profit withsocial impact.

Cakmak then explained how Parsons is addingnew courses to its curriculum. These classes will encourage future creators to think differentlyabout their designs by inventing new fashion models that connect reality and social issues. This includes using biodegradable materials.

Koslowski asked Hall how the Eileen Fisher company is doing this. Hall said the company hashired a consultant to coordinate all divisions to work toward sustainability. Pierre mentioned thatthis idea will succeed through an educatedconsumer learning of the esthetics of the product. Erwiah endorses spreading the stories of the

“Sustainability is not about designing less, butdesigning better.” With this topic on everyone’sradar, Fashion Group International tackled theissue in a Frontliner on March 14th. The latest inthe series, a joint collaboration with the CouncilOf Fashion Designers Of America, started with awarm introduction by president Margaret Hayes.Encouraging attendees to join Fashion Group, sheannounced upcoming events prior to introducingthe evening’s subject and esteemed panel ofexperts.

Sara Koslowski was the program’s moderator.Koslowski is the director of education and profes-sional development of the CFDA, and the eventshowcased her vast expertise and knowledge ofsustainable interests.

Koslowski introduced the panel by asking each toexplain their background and how they came tobe involved in the sustainability movement.

Amy Hall is the director of social consciousnessand a member of the leadership forum for cloth-ing designer Eileen Fisher. Hall supports the com-pany’s internal and external efforts to guide thebrand toward increasing human, environmentaland economic sustainability.

Shivam Puniya is the founder and creative directorof behno. The brand was founded with the goal ofaddressing poverty and global health through tra-ditional and nontraditional channels.

Abrima Erwiah is the cofounder of Studio 189.Headquartered both in Ghana, West Africa, andthe United States, it is an artisan-produced fash-ion lifestyle brand and social enterprise.

Burak Cakmak is the dean of the school of fashionat Parsons School Of Design. Cakmak is a business strategist and sustainability expert whohas worked with many prestigious retail and luxury brands. His vision is to align business goalswith sustainability values.

Frontliner: The New Sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4

From left: Burak Cakmak, Sara Koslowski, Amy Hall, Abrima Erwiah, Hassan Pierre and Shivam Puniya

how many models we want to have and of whatstatus those models are in the industry.

Social media then takes a big role when you dosomething on the CFDA calendar. All these influ-encers and major press attend these presentationsand are very supportive of the platform. So it goeshand in hand, in our experience. Pitti Uomo hasbeen a significant factor for us on the social medialevel as well, as it is pretty much the most highprofile menswear event in the world. So attendingand getting attention there has been a huge boostfor us, and we have Liberty Fairs trade show tothank for that, as they created a partnership withPitti Immagine to bring American brands to theshow as a group, with a highlighted section, and ithas been a tremendous spotlight for the brandsparticipating, in the global market of Pitti.

MP: I think we’re all learning the hard way that alarge financial investment in a seasonal presenta-tion doesn’t necessarily translate to better growthor more sales. For us, we’re investing in growingour product assortment and on delivering the bestpossible customer service. That’s where we feelbrand growth truly lives: product and customerservice.

If you weren’t in your current profession, what wouldyou be doing (and why)?

MR: Oh boy. LOL…I would probably be doing music orart full time…Courtenay [Nearburg, co-designer andspouse] would likely being doing fashion photographyfull time. Those are our passions beyond fashion.

MP: Foot and ankle surgery! Seriously, though: I’ma surgically trained podiatrist and still maintainmy license.

In the next five years, how will your role—and that ofyour industry—play out in a dramatically changingretail environment?

MR: It’s so hard to say what’s going to happen inretail over the next five years, but we are setting acourse for less reliance on wholesale, more direct-to-consumer revenue, and creating collaborations

How has winning the Rising Star award affected youcareer, and how do you see it shaping your business/career in the future?

MIKE RUBIN: Already, we are seeing a return, inthat Gary Wassner and IBIC-NY attended ourshow yesterday and that’s new. We are excitedthat FGI has such significant relationships in thefinancial sector, and of course, every emergingbrand has tremendous financial needs that cannotbe met with personal resources. To build confi-dence and recognition for a brand, you must havethe freedom to create with quality fabricationsand sophisticated manufacturing. This takes a lotof money and time. We don’t know any youngbrand that has a lot of either to reach a pointwhere the really significant players like majorretailers are prepared to take a risk on anunknown. So finding financial partners who areprepared to back up an emerging brand is ofutmost importance.

Winning the award contributes significantly to thebrand profile and recognition, which is a cost-freeway to engender these important relationships.We couldn’t be more grateful for that boost andsupport from the FGI.

MARION PARKE: Winning the 2018 Rising StarAward in Accessories has given me the opportuni-ty to tell my story to a much broader audience ina meaningful way. My hope is that this will trans-late into growth in our distribution and expansionof the business.

Does the investment in a major branding event (suchas a runway or party/presentation) make sense todayor does social media work better to grow a brand?

MR: We have found that working with New YorkMen’s Day as a platform for emerging menswearbrands has been very significant for us, and relatively low cost due to the work Agentry PRputs into finding sponsors and partners to helpoffset costs for the brands. Essentially, we must take care of our own lighting (and they provide a contractor who works at a discount for the brandsinvolved) and our casting costs, which depends on

Each January, FGI recognizes a group of up-and-coming designers, entrepreneurs and other creatives in the fashion, retail, beauty and decorfields. As the Rising Stars of the industry, we believe it’s enlightening to ask them about how they got this far, and what they see for the future.

We will be be featuring their replies here. In this issue, we talk to Rising Star winner for Accessories,Dr. Marion Parke, for her collection, Marion Parke, and Mike Rubin, Rising Star award winner for his collection, Krammer & Stoudt.

Dr. Marion Parkeof Marion Parke,Accessories Rising Star

Mike RubinKrammer & Stoudt,Menswear Rising Star

ive questions with the 2018 Rising Stars5

and unique and customizable product for our clients.We will continue to set our sights on being a brandthat gets people talking, while providing always areliable and commercially friendly upscale productthat pleases men, women and everyone in between.Increasing revenue streams and being flexible withhow we market and to whom we market to, I think iskey. It’s also very important to be tech savvy andlifestyle friendly. Expanding the KS experience to include a full range of lifestyle products and experiences…I think that’s the future. For everyone.

MP: Wow, not an easy question! I’ve watched theindustry conversation change significantly since welaunched two years ago. The conversation then was“buy-now-wear-now” and how companies might synctheir production and deliveries with the seasons ofthe year. Fast-forward to now, the dominant conver-sation is how companies—retailers and brandsalike—can juggle brick and mortar and e-commercesimultaneously, or do they have to choose one or theother? Ultimately, if you asked me this question twoyears ago, I might have said that my role would likelybe focused on the production cycle and timing. Forthe moment, it seems those efforts and conversa-tions have fizzled. Now, if I had to guess, I suspectthat my role will grow its focus on brand develop-ment and on delivering the very authentic and gen-uine product that we have from Day One. I hopethat’s true! Because those are efforts that transcendtrends and lay the foundation for a solid companythat creates something of need, exists with purposeand gives meaningful jobs to its employees.

What advice would you give to the next class of RisingStar nominees?

MR: Don’t let the dark days of doubt get you down, andmake you give up your dream. Do whatever you have todo to stay in the game and maintain course, even if itgets real bumpy and hard to see the light. Find a way toget that next collection out there, even if it takes fiveyears or you only have five pieces in it. Whatever works. .

MP: Follow your instincts. You’ll never regret it.

5