by trish on March 30, 2010
Today I am dreaming of the day when I can work with a photographer who can help me convey my brand. I found these lovely photos on Facebook of the new PINaR ERIS, Electrogeisha Collection. I wanted to share these with the community because Pinar always does an amazing job conveying her brand through the photos taken of her collections.
This is the place I strive to be. Independent fashion designers, such as Pinar, always inspire me and give me hope for where I know I will be someday with my brand. There are only so many hours in the day, and for now most of those hours are spent running Smashing Darling, my other love. It is because of Smashing Darling I am now surrounded by so much talent I never would have known. Being tucked away in a small little town of 3500 in the Connecticut River Valley sometimes makes it difficult to meet other independent fashion designers … but not any more.
Leave me a comment and a link to someone who inspires you to greatness. Do you dream about what could be better about your branding and how to convey the message better? What obstacles are standing in your way? Is there anything you can do today to get one little step closer to your goal? I had a great conversation with jewelry designer Dina Varano the other day, and she reminded me to not only work in my business but ON my business.
by Mo on May 5, 2009
Don’t you want to know more about Nolcha and what this Fashion – Business – Network is all about? We have been posting Nolcha opportunities here in the Smashing Blog to entice you to jump in and see how Nolcha can help you and your business. Some of you have done just that…congrats go out to Kimberly Hendrix, we’ll be seeing her designs hit the Nolcha runway this Fall during New York Fashion Week and we can’t wait! In the meantime, get to know Nolcha better below.
Darlings: Give us the skinny on “Nolcha,” and the meaning behind it.
Kerry: Nolcha provides business resources to the emerging fashion market in a professional and sophisticated manner. Although our resources and opportunities are cost effective for the emerging and independent fashion designer, this does not reflect in our events, materials or programs. We are aiming to be the one-stop destination for new fashion designers and retailers to grow their brand whether through promotion, marketing, sales and business connections. Networking is key to Nolcha. It has got us where we are today and we encourage all members and associates to do the same. Nolcha means sun in the sky in Native American. This is not why we chose the name, but you could say we are the enlightenment of the emerging fashion market (grin). On a serious note we chose a unique name that allowed us to create our own brand association and mantra.
Darlings: Where did the inspiration come from to start Nolcha, and how did the project come together?
Kerry: My background is in business communications, marketing and events. I moved to NYC from UK after college and quickly learned that there is a huge gap in the fashion industry for those starting out – they need business advice and support. I provided consultancy to brands but knew there was a larger demand and decided to grow an online network. I met Arthur Mandel, current President and Co-Founder of Nolcha, and we have grown Nolcha to what it is today.
Darlings: When was the first fashion show produced?
Kerry: It feels like many years go, but the soft launch of Nolcha was September 2007 at the Maritime Hotel in New York City. We did fashion shows for new designers in New York, London, LA, and Miami. Looking back it was a rather courageous thing to do with only enough money for our plane tickets, staff and solid relationships in these fashion cities!
Darlings: What is the most important thing you learned from doing that first show?
Kerry: Plan ahead, protect yourself with contracts and always be ready for the unprepared.
Darlings: What’s the criteria for a designer to be considered for a Nolcha fashion show?
Kerry: We are looking for designers that are bringing something new to the marketplace. A fresh eye with a strong business plan and a willingness to succeed. If they have the basics implemented we can do the rest but the designer needs to be ready to produce and sell once Nolcha Fashion Week is completed. An oooh factor from the crowd is always something we look for as well. Will the garment be show-stopping in a good way? Good cut, good drape, and great fabric choice is also very important. There are a lot of young designers that produce 20-30 looks with cheap fabric when they should be producing 15 with finer materials
Darlings: You recently opened your first retail space, will the designers change from time to time? If yes, who should designers contact to be considered?
Kerry: Yes, the designers can rotate every six months however the original eleven have first right of refusal. Designers should contact retail@nolcha.com.
Darlings: You are launching a new online resource, can you tell us a little bit about it and how you see it being used?
Kerry: The online retail portion is how we keep ahead of the trends before they even happen. We like to think of ourselves as trend makers, so if a piece by one of our designers makes it on a celebrity or in a magazine we can post it online for sale before anyone else can, giving our loyal clients the first pick. It is a new evolution in “get it while it’s hot” almost a “pre-press” instead of “hot off the press”. In the in between time we will have bi-weekly features of products that adhere to the current trends seen in the likes of the major fashion magazines chosen by some of NYC’s top stylists just to keep consumers ahead of the pack. All items will be available only for a limited time.
by trish on May 4, 2009
We were perusing our favorite blogs for posts we thought would be particularly important to our community. We found this post by Nancy for PR Couture. It was originally posted April 7, 2009. Not sure how we missed the original issue… but anyway, better late posting than never, right? We found the info not only priceless but timeless. Enjoy.
When it comes to reppin’ your fashion brand or label, strategically partnering with other brands, especially on events, can help turn a lackluster event into a star-studded affair. Not to mention that there is power in numbers, banding together can help encourage press interest and you can combine PR efforts and share contacts for greater reach. The occasional partnership, whether its with a local fashion magazine, a jewelry designer to accessorize your line, a fashion photographer working on her portfolio or up and coming club looking to make its name as the must-go venue, sponsorships and collaborations exposure your brand to new audiences, expand pitch opportunity and can generate additional revenue. – Read Full Post Here.
by trish on March 11, 2009
Have you thought about your story lately? You know the one. It’s the one that your a customer can’t wait to tell her friends when they ask her where she got the unbelievable [fill in the blank] she is wearing. It is that little nugget of information that makes her feel like she knows you personally and has for years, and maybe she has. It is this personal connection to you that makes it easy for people to pass along via word of mouth all that you are and what you are about because it just innately rolls off their tongues. This word of mouth builds credibility in the eyes of new fans because they have heard the story from someone they trust. Making sure you let people know your story is the single most important thing you can do for yourself, your company, and your brand.
This post was sparked by Seth Godin after I read his post, The Difference Between PR and Publicity. It made me think about our community and how personal our businesses are to us. How personal the story is because it really is, our story, our journey about how we arrived here, in this moment. The lifetime, to this point, we have spent learning and honing our skills, the years we have spent watching and absorbing the world’s inspirations, everything we have ever processed in our minds affects the outcome of each and every one of our designs.
It is inspiring for me to think about my story, and all the opportunities I have to share that story. This is a great time to make sure it is a clear, consistent story. Everyday, I learn something new or something I have heard a million times, finally, sinks in.
