Smashing Darling Blog

Where do you fit in if not in the tents during fashion week in NYC? Fashion happens all over the city from lofts off the park to galleries downtown and warehouses in Brooklyn. Emerging designers need support, and we are here to tell you it exists. The Darlings happily walked into an elevator cushioned with red leather up to the loft of the Bryant Park Hotel for a little Krel TO-GO during NY Fashion Week. The event: EXPOSE NY. Our host, Matt Meyerson. Learn the knitty gritty about his event below, and check out his blog for an inside look:  http://plopculture.blogspot.com

Darlings: How and why did you decide to start Expose, and what is your main goal?
Matt: I used to work at one of the largest entertainment PR firms in the world, where I started and ran their product placement division. I created a specialty in fashion where I placed product in a ton of TV shows, films, music videos, on celebs, in magazines, on websites, etc. After almost 4 years I decided it was time to move on to work on my own ventures but didn’t want to throw away years of great relationships that I built. People have always tried to get access to my fashion database and Expose was a natural extension of what I had been doing at my last job and a way for people to pay to have access to my friends in the business.

Expose is the first trade event gear specifically toward the media. Select buyers are welcome but the showcase is targeted toward the marketing side of the fashion business. My goal with Expose is to enable brands that wouldn’t normally have a presence at Fashion Week due to lack of funds a chance to get face time during the busiest time of the season. I work hard to bring in only top tier collections and designers in hopes that there are amazing new “finds and discoveries” at my show. Last show we had breakout collections from the likes of Jerome C. Rousseau (who was chosen to be part of Gen Art’s Fresh Faces in Fashion right after Expose), House of Bastion and Yeojin Bae. The Fall ’09 showcase saw amazing work from soon-to-be-known designers Marc Marmel Luggage, ic! berlin, Serpico and gr. dano.

In the end, I really want Expose to be an add on to every major Fashion Week around the world. I want to give emerging, and deserving, designers in all categories a chance to capture the attention from the media. Brands have to realize just how important marketing and PR are to making and maintaining a successful collection. You could have great product and a top notch sales team but if you aren’t getting press and being seen on top celebs, it will be difficult to translate amazing pieces into consistent sales.

Darlings: What advice would you give to an indie/emerging designer trying to land their first bits of print press?
Matt: I am going to piss off a lot of people in the fashion PR business but contrary to popular belief doing PR/product placement is not brain surgery. Before I worked at my last job, I was not in that line of business, and over 4 years I built a reputation for being one of the best in the business. PR is all about who you know and about creating long term relationships. The internet has made information readily available, from who is on the masthead to every magazine to who reps the top celebs. Use the internet as a resource to find outlets and celebs that match your brand image. Don’t miss-pitch people. If you have an avant garde and edgy style, Oprah Magazine is probably not worth pitching. Find what is right for you and be bold and go after it. The internet is also a great place to instantaneously get word out about your brand. Hit up the thousands of blogs, online magazines and fashion websites for coverage. Have lookbooks READY.

Here is one more little hint…celebs love getting free stuff. Study celebs you like and what they wear. Getting the right person to wear your stuff can literally break your brand. I have done it tons of times for small emerging brands.

Darlings: How important do you think it is for a designer to have a strong online presence?
Matt: VERY. I am a huge proponent of the Web as a tool to promote. The internet is worldwide and it gives your fans and future fans a chance to get information on your designs instantaneously. It is the new paradigm and I would suggest spending a lot of time stoking the internet fire and getting word out about your brand.

Have a great website as well. This is your virtual brand image and if you invest in a great, albeit simple if need be, site that can really provide a nice showcase for potential customers.

Darlings: For your event, when it comes to acceptance criteria for a designer, how do blog posts measure up against traditional print media? Do you see this changing as print media starts to fade, and online magazines grow stronger?
Matt: Blog posts are huge. For Expose, we look at 3 things for a brand to be accepted. We look at the designs themselves, where the product sells and what press they have gotten. For me personally, if JCReport, Omiru, Style.com or WhoWhatWear has covered you I am more interested than if a major print pub has covered you. The internet mavens search for new and hot while print stays safe and often goes with those spending money on ads within their books. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE print…but it is a dying animal. I have been prognosticating this for years on my blog.

Darlings: Would Expose accept a designer who sells only online?
Matt: This would have to depend on the designer, but most likely not. I still believe in the old paradigm of walking into a store and trying on a garment to see if it fits properly. Too many people by clothing based on labels and I just can’t adhere to that practice. I see so many people wearing items they just shouldn’t but are because it is “designer.” I believe in a mix of online and in store. This keeps the retailers honest and prices competitive but gives the consumer an opportunity to actually see, feel and try on the item.

Darlings: If designers showing at Expose must already have press coverage to be accepted, how does being a part of Expose benefit them? Can you share some success stories with us?
Matt: Often press happens serendipitously. Someone stumbles on your designs or your sister’s cousin went to school with the editor at magazine X. However, consistent press coverage is 100% reliant on building long term relationships with decision makers. Expose enables designers to literally meet these people face to face and bond with them in a way they wouldn’t get to by cold calling or email pitching.

Success stories? I would say hits with GenArt’s Fresh Faces in Fashion, Italian Vogue, Interview, Paper, JCReport, Zink!, Life and Style, MSNBC, etc. are pretty good bi-products of my show. To be honest, if Expose alumni don’t follow up with me to let me know of their successes it is hard for me to track if they are taking the tools they get from doing my showcase and applying them. That is the beauty of Expose for me. I am no longer responsible for the chase…I just bring people together and leave it up to them to make gold from thread.

http://www.expose-ny.com for more info

http://plopculture.blogspot.com for an inside look