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NOW CASTING: The Fashion Show Season 2

Posted by fashionentrepreneurreport On Monday, May 17, 2010 0 comments
The Fashion Show Season 2:
DESPERATELY SEEKING DESIGNERS!

BRAVO COMPETITION SHOW SEEKS TALENTED FASHION DESIGNERS TO PARTICIPATE IN “THE FASHION SHOW” SEASON TWO

Are you a budding designer with a passion for fashion? Do you know how to conceive, sketch, cut, sew, drape, and design garments from scratch? Is it your dream to “make it big” in the fashion business?
Bravo and the production company Left/Right, Inc. are conducting a nationwide search for a select group of fashion designers who will compete head to head in the ultimate fashion competition series. Hosted by Isaac Mizrahi, The Fashion Show will give designers a once in a lifetime opportunity to have their work seen by icons of the fashion industry…and viewers around the world!

In order to apply for the show, you must be 21 years of age or older as of June 1, 2010. You can be a fashion school grad or you can be self-taught; you can specialize in haute couture or street wear. What matters most is that you have a creative vision for your designs and the technical skills (sewing, sketching, etc.) to back up that vision. The winner of the competition will receive a cash prize.

 Casting begins on April 8th, 2010. There are two ways to apply:
 
OPTION #1: Attend one of our nationwide casting calls, to be held in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, and Austin* in April and May. Attending a casting call is the best way to be considered for the show! Applicants who attend these casting calls will be required to bring a portfolio of their work, three articles of clothing that they have created and which best showcase their designs, a current resume, one piece of government-issued photo ID, a non-returnable photo of themselves, and a completed application form. To find dates and locations for the casting calls and to download an application, go to www.castingfortelevision.com. You must bring your completed application and all other supporting materials to the casting call. The final casting call is presently scheduled for May 23, 2010*.

SEATTLE
 OPEN CALL: SATURDAY April 24th, 10-5pm
The Art Institute of Seattle
 North Campus, 5th Floor 
2600 Alaskan Way
(Corner of Alaskan Way & Vine St.)

LOS ANGELES 
OPEN CALL: SATURDAY May 1st, 10am-5pm
 BOX 8 STUDIOS
1446 E. Washington Blvd.
Los Angeles, 90021

AUSTIN 
OPEN CALL: SATURDAY May 8th, 10-5pm
The Art Institute of Austin
101 West Louis Henna Blvd. 
Suite 100
Austin, TX, 78728
*Held in the STUDENT LOUNGE

NYC 
OPEN CALL: SUNDAY May 16th, 12-7pm
MILK STUDIOS
450 W. 15th St. 
NY NY 10011 
Formula Studio A and B

CHICAGO 
OPEN CALL: SATURDAY May 22nd, 10-5pm
Columbia College
The Conaway Center
1104 S. Wabash Ave. 
Chicago, 60605

OPTION #2: Go to www.castingfortelevision.com and follow the instructions to apply via e-mail TODAY. A member of the casting team will contact you for an interview via telephone, Skype, or Ichat. You must also follow the instructions to download, complete, sign and send in a completed application form. Applicants must fully complete the application and send it to the address indicated on the form, along with a current resume, a photocopy of their government-issued photo ID, a non-returnable photo of themselves, any photos or photocopies of their work or their portfolio, and a HOME TAPE SUBMISSION. Instructions on how to make a Home Tape are available online. 
DO NOT send original materials of any kind, as we cannot return them to you.

Completed Home Tapes, applications, and all other supporting materials must be received by May 22nd, 2010 at 5pm ET to be considered*.

To learn more about how to apply for the series (including eligibility requirements), to find dates and locations for the open calls, and to download an application, visit www.castingfortelevision.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

* Additional open call cities and dates may be added at Left/Right, Inc.'s sole discretion. Left/Right, Inc. reserves the right to extend the application deadline at its sole discretion.
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Independent Fashion Retailer Spotlight: City Soles

Posted by fashionentrepreneurreport On Monday, April 26, 2010 0 comments

Store: City Soles

Location: Chicago

Program selected from: Independent Retail Week: Chicago 
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The interesting integration between INTENT GENERATORS and INTENT HARVESTERS

Posted by fashionentrepreneurreport On Tuesday, April 20, 2010 0 comments
Lately the title Entrepreneur usually has a www.com attached to it whether it is a web-based business or even just a website to reach a greater audience to get your product/service out there.

For the fashion entrepreneur e-commerce has become an essential part of the business on many levels.  Even the bloggers that talk fashion for a hobby hope to sustain their content through advertisers, who in turn want the specific community to click through the ad they place on the site and purchase their product.  The recipe is quite simple.  But it is in the terms “intent generator” and “intent harvester” that are evolving content sites to major money makers.

An intent generator is the content part.  Basically magazines have relied solely on this part of the business to garner advertisers who sustain the revenue for the publication while the content serves as the “inspiration” to get consumers out there and shop.  Think in terms of something as simple as Dennis Publishing’s Stuff Magazine.  Simply stated, it was filled with…stuff. Gadgets, video games, newly launched spirits and the occasional t-shirt or pair of jeans.  The entire book from cover to cover was based on product recommendations.  Granted it is no longer in publication, the concept was there… there just weren’t any intent harvesters at the time that took the reader directly to the products.

Intent harvesters are the shopping sites, guides and unique sections that go along with the content sites.

For example an article entitled “Top Ten Techie Things to Give Him for Father’s Day” now can have a corresponding e-commerce site dedicated for that week, month, day, whatever; where the reader can click right into the purchase page of the desired item.

Why does this idea go well beyond fashion?  Because of “community.”  The on-line camaraderie between people with like interests is a very specific and powerful thing.  As technology grows the ability to track consumer patterns on the internet will grow as well, establishing relevancy to everything we view and buy within our community.  It will serve as its own market research as well as advertising.  

Imagine… like groups of people plugging and boasting their favorite products not even based on their words but on the amount of times they visit a site.  Your favorite little Chinese take-out place could become famous!  The fashion business has always understood that commerce and community have long sat side by side.  And it is up to the future entrepreneurs to explore how this specific recipe works for their type of business.
For more inspiration on how the fashion world is achieving this already read this informative article by Vikram Alexei Kansara, the Managing Editor of The Business of Fashion.


- Lynn Furge 


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Earth Day Kicks off in NYC’s East Village

Posted by fashionentrepreneurreport On Monday, April 19, 2010 0 comments
Auh20 and TEICH boutiques put together a sidewalk-catwalk of sorts this Sunday April 18th with five local sustainable designers.  Attendees were treated to clothing from Ryann conscious clothing, TEICH handbags, AuH10 recycled clothing and Charmone vegan.  Nolcha Presents jewelry designers The Andean Collection brought out the baubbles for the cause, partnering beaded necklaces with elements of city chic metal in a rainbow of colors which paired beautifully with the rest of the clothing.  TEICH offered 30% off handbags and 15% off jewelry, making the afternoon a perfect start to the earth friendly week.
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Walls Coming Down: How Social Media Breaks Down Barriers and Optimizes Communication

Posted by fashionentrepreneurreport On Saturday, April 17, 2010 0 comments
Heidi Sullivan VP of Media Research and Jay Krall Manager Global Product Management at Cision dissected the ins and outs of getting your brands out there through social networking. Public Relations professionals and solo business owners alike were taken through the guidelines and best practices for the rapidly growing media phenomenon.

Which Walls are coming down?

• Between Traditional media and social media

• Across types of social media

• Between your personal life and your professional life

• Between Public relations and the public

• Across job functions

1) Between Traditional Media and Social Media

“All media is social and all social is Media – Steve Rubel, Edelman Digital

90% of the blog sites are amateur, 10% professional journalists. Most bloggers don’t work for media professionally but that doesn’t mean that they are not passionate about their topic, or researching the proper information. Develop a relationship with anyone that has a bullhorn

There is more transparency in social media. People seek compelling content from social sources and journalistic sources equally as much instead of in the past where they got news content from journalistic sites only.

Facebook now drives more traffic to Perez Hilton and the Huffington Post than Google does. – WebProNews, May 2009

2) Social sites are increasingly interconnected between each other.

• Sites seek to be sources of content rather than destinations

• A variety of applications help users syndicate across multiple networks, but beware: this can look robotic and unsocial.

How do you measure success results in social networking across many outposts:

Is a Facebook friend worth as much as a Twitter follower?  For measurement purposes, yes, a person you’ve reached with a message counts the same on every platform. Ask questions like…

• How sticky is my content

• What will make people come back?

• Does my content incite people to take action or share something rather than just read or watch?

• Can those reactions be counted?

3) Between Personal and Professional lives:

Be as different as you can be when it comes to social media” – Scott Kleinberg, Social Mediaologist and Buzzmaster, RedEye Chicago

• Best practices when engaging personally and professionally

• Pick the right representatives

• Keep it clean (and do it regularly) (like old high school friends vs. work colleagues, you can limit what each group sees, there are ways you can do that)

• Be careful with syndication (if all you’re doing is pushing your own content you will look like a robot and people will not come back and read you

• Group your friends

• Embody the personality of your brand

People don’t want to engage with a logo. People don’t want you to just spit info out to you and then not have responses or communication. Be a VOICE of the brand.

Once you start to communicate you will see people start to push your message out for you.

4) Between Public Relations and the Public


There is now a conversation shift. The traditional way of getting a brands message out there used to be (PR to the Media, Media to the Public)

Social Media is now looked at as “US” a community, where you basically take out the traditional roles of PR, Media etc. and just have a group of people discussing and commenting on like things. Which allows you to tap into consumers directly.

5) Social Media for Internal Communications

But I don’t work in…Customer/Client Services, Product Management, Marketing, Public Relations, Sales, Support yet I am in charge of the social networking for the company… What now?

• Integrated Engagement Best Practices

• Don’t be afraid to respond quickly and say “I don’t know” (remember to follow up though!)

• Communicate with other social media brand representatives

• Create a social media policy for your company

• Use others’ expertise to provide great customer service

• Open up internal communications to provide consistent messaging

For more information go to:






-Lynn Furge
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Success is the Company You Keep

Posted by fashionentrepreneurreport On Thursday, April 15, 2010 0 comments
Seasoned entrepreneurs and CEO's start to face the same question with the development and growth of their companies: "How do I keep the success within my company"?  As your business starts to grow it's important to find strategic ways of hiring talent and partnerships.  Whether you utilize outsourcing, freelancers, contract talent, or other non-staff service providers, finding a way to keep everyone motivated and passionate is a constant struggle.

New York Entrepreneur Week April 2010 brought together a panelist of seasoned entrepreneurs to conquer some of these questions, and give advice from their first hand experience.  

Nancy Johnson, President of Optimyze 
Marc Cenedella, Founder of TheLadders
Kevin Scott, Director of Global Outreach of Global L.E.A.D. Program 
Kate Atwood, Founder of Kate's Club 
Ben Lerer, Co-Founder of Thrillist 

One of the most valuable things you can do as an entrepreneur is to keep your vision at the forefront of your company.  Figuring out what you're good at early on in the game so you can be more efficient is important.  Yet, how do you find people who share your same vision?

Ben Lerer explained how finding the right passion to leverage and vision will attract motivating people.  When you're collaborating with people from early on, look to build potential successful partnerships. "It's a tough personal situation to be in when you're starting a company.  The development over the years, if you find the right person, can allow you to find someone to share the success along with the set-backs", said Marc Cenedella.

Contrary to your personal beliefs, Marc strongly stated, "You just can't do it alone.  You need co-founders, support, insight, and feedback from others".  It can definitely be a challenge to have a person being your partner, but the benefits are key.  

Along with co-founders, Nancy Johnson suggests have a board to keep you emotionally stable.  "Having a sound board that mirrors your values and priorities, but that can also come at it from a little bit different perspective, is key to success", said Nancy. 

Once you find your partners, develop a board to channel your ideas, and you will see your business prosper.  Yet, your hiring process will be crucial to the success of the functioning of your company.  "If your team doesn't work, it can bring down the business and tear down all the relationships", said Kevin Scott.  Hiring well and learning relatively quickly with what works and what doesn't can potentially save your company down the road.

Your start-up team has to be okay with change because your team constantly changes.  In the beginning, you don't have enough experience to know what is working for your company.  Develop a trust within your team and with the people closest to you.  Make sure your team is aware of the expectations set and that they know what they're signing up for.  

Lastly, know when to say "no".  The panelist stressed the importance to saying "no" to partnerships that may sound good, but don't strategically add up.  "Trust your gut, and take a step back", said Ben Lerer.  Fix the situations you're in efficiently and move on if you're wrong.  When generally making changes, the panelists said, if you have the feeling that something is off, it probably is.  

Ending the event, Nancy Johnson stated, "You have to be completely honest in the fact that starting a business, growing, and functioning is not a 9 to 5 job.  You set the expectation to them (your partners) to what this going to be like, but if you don't go into the business with a partner with that same drive, they shouldn't really be a partner".

- Katie Evans

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