JT at Fashion Conference in front of Steinberg Hall

Bubblingwitheleganceandgrace.com attended the Midwest Fashion Conference on Saturday. This informative conference gave fresh perspectives on how Saint Louis can become a fashion destination.  My hubby and I work near Washington University, where the conference was going on. So, we decided to walk from our job’s parking lot to the University. When we arrived, we were trying to get in — literally looking in the door — and could not get in the glass doors. No one got up and opened the doors to let us in. We had to walk back to ask the greeter how to get in. She said that we would have to knock for them to let us in.
When we all walked up the steps, someone opened the door for us to let get in. It turns out that we were trying to get in the back doors of the hall. The entrance was actually on the other side of the building; but still when we stood at the doors with everyone looking at us; but no one got up to open the doors for us.

It is ironic this happened because Fern Mallis, creator of NYC Fashion Week, spoke to people who want to break into the fashion industry. Her number one suggestion was “Be nice!” because you will encounter and have to work with various different people from all walks of life.

The first session of the day was Saint Louis Fashion Fund Presents: Fashion as a Civic Agenda

The panelists included Fern Mallis  (Creator of NYFW), Stan Herman (Renowned Fashion Designer and Former President of CFDA), Gary Wassener (CEO, Hilldun Corporation), Derek Blasberg (Editor-at-Large, Harper’s Bazaar), and Timo Weiland (Designer).

Fern Mallis

Fern Mallis, Founder of NYC Fashion Week, introduced the panel.

Panelists (Left to Right): Stan Herman, Gary Wassner, Derek Blasberg, Timo Weiland, Fern Mallis

It was so interesting to hear in person from Stan Herman and Fern Mallis how NYC Fashion Week started and what it took to raise the funds for this event. I have seen videos with Stan Herman talk about how NYC Fashion Week started, so it really means a lot to hear him in this forum.  To hear Fern Mallis talk about how she had to get on the phone and call Anna Wintour and other corporations to get  NYC Fashion Week started.  Reaping the knowledge of Gary Wassner who has worked with Betsy Johnson for years discuss how he helps designers regarding financing.

Can St. Louis have a better focus on Fashion?

The focus for St. Louis is to keep the local talent here where they will not want to get their break in NYC they want to stay here. One of the key factors was to engage the local financial community such as the banks.

Bring Production Back to The US!

Fashion Designer, Timo Weiland, discussed how he has been able to bring his production back to NYC from Asia.You can have a tighter handle on quality control in NYC. Gary Wassner discussed how by having your production in the US it gives designers an upper handle on having their designs to be first on the floor of a store and not last.

On a side note I have seen Stan Herman on QVC selling his designs of lounge sleepwear, I have a leopard robe of his, and he’s working in collaboration with Carol Hoffman amongst the major provider for uniforms. It was such a treat to see him.  I was this close.

TAO Designer with Fern Mallis and Stan Herman

BUTIK Vendors were showing a wide array of designs.

Fern Mallis’s main point was to BE NICE! Make friends and be sincere, have passion – and work hard. Talk about fashion in St. Louis locally and get noticed nationally.  The profile will raise as the industry raises. St. Louis had been a fashion destination with the Garment District downtown, but if everyone gets involved and puts a plan in place, it can make steps to grow fashion in the area.

Ideas of creating tag-lines and posting images downtown to start branding are all great ideas but we have to start somewhere.

Is St. Louis Ready to be the next Fashion Destination?

Fashion a Community In St. Louis

A town-hall discussion featuring above local civic and cultural leaders, moderated by Jill McGuire (Executive Director, Regional Arts Commission). Panelists include Jerry Schlicheter, president of Arch Grants; Kitty Ratcliffe, president of the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission (CVC) and Mobin Kahn, director of economic development and research at the Downtown St. Louis Partnership.

The beginning got pretty hot because Ms. Ratcliffe said that not everyone in New York is not fashionable; but it’s still considered a fashion city.  Why did she say that? Fern Mallis corrected her and said that NYC is the Fashion Capital of the World. Ms. Ratcliffe than said she didn’t mean that and that she meant more like Brooklyn (paraphrasing).  Stop now.  Fern Mallis said Brooklyn has become one of the most expensive places to live now. Kitty said okay I will give you that one and the session started moving on.

The focus of this session discussed the creation of a Fashion Incubator in Saint Louis that helps designers get their start, have a business mentor, show them how to create a business plan and get their business off of the ground.

The key is to keep the momentum growing and create that marketing PR campaign and create a steering committee.

The audience was heavily involved in both discussions and are very pro-active that Fashion is St. Louis.

After lunch, three sessions were geared to Professional Development.

— The Art of Storytelling in Fashion: A look at impactful styling, photography and narration for brands and blogs.
— Brand Smart: Brainy Solutions for Creating Your Marketing Plan
— The Business of Fashion: A Look at Entrepreneurship in the Fashion & Lifestyle Space.

The panelists in these sessions discussed a wide range of topics, including blogging tips, how to create your niche, how stick with it, how to take quality photographs and how to be true to being you because your followers/readers can tell.

The Art of Storytelling in Fashion

The sessions in the afternoon made me think about my blog and how to focus more on social media presence.

The Business of Fashion