American Fashion Podcast

FGI Award-winning designers Wendy Brandes and Loris Diran talk about their careers and adventures, as well as the new normal in fashion. Part one of two. Recording space for this episode was provided by designers Iuri Shubladze and Luba GnaSevych. references: * Norma Kamali * Claude Montana * Thom Brown * Net A Porter is growing insanely large * Jimmy Au's (clothing for men under 5'8") * Peter Manning (clothing for men under 5'8")

Techpacker.com Co-Founder Sayam Kochar and his wife, designer Daniella Samper-Kochar, talk about a tool that is changing how small and medium sized brands are able to communicate with their manufacturers. Charles Beckwith questions the moral implications of making a tool that facilitates outsourcing more production. Additionally, this episode features discussion of the new restricted press access list from WME-IMG for New York Fashion Week, the unpaid internship fight in the courts, modeling agencies fixing their rates, Conde Nast opening fashion colleges, DKNY erasing its past to make way for the Public School designers, and more. Recording space for this episode was provided by designers Iuri Shubladze and Luba GnaSevych. If you would like to comment on the show or the topics we discuss, you can leave a voicemail for us to play during a future episode at (646) 979-8709. references: * Ajaie Alaie * How Lexus became the new sponsor of New York Fashion Week (Fortune) * DKNY Wipes Its Social Media Accounts, Drops 'PR Girl' (Fashionista) * Top Modeling Agencies Under Fire for Colluding to Fix Prices (The Fashion Law) * Inside Condé Nast's Expanding Education Business (Fashionista) * Will ‘Uber for Models’ Disrupt the Industry? (Business of Fashion) * Removing the 140-character limit from Direct Messages (Twitter's Blog) * Are Unpaid Internships Acceptable in Fashion? (The Fashion Law) * Are Unpaid Internships Acceptable? (Business of Fashion / same author) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kZg_ALxEz0

Recent and relevant news stories from WWD and Racked prompt commentary and analysis, including announced changes to New York Fashion Week, the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, and a study on consumer behavior. Listener Rachel Gregory calls in asking for trade show and market week advice. Recording space for this episode was provided by designers Iuri Shubladze and Luba GnaSevych. references: * Study: Retailers Need a Multigenerational Marketing Approach (WWD / paywall) * WME-IMG's NYFW.com * Style.com Tries to Get Readers Excited About VogueRunway.com (Racked) * NYFW Will Be Less Commercialized This Time Around (Racked) * Bed Bath & Beyond Bought Indie Marketplace Of a Kind (Racked) * FirstView * Now Fashion * NYFW: The Shows Credential Requirements * TPP Talks Face Critical Juncture (WWD / paywall) * Big Bucks: Retail’s Top Earners (WWD / paywall) * Sibling  * Lou Dalton * Todd Lynn

Why do we always come here. I do not really know. Last week Seth and Charles interviewed the hosts of Fashion Is Your Business, and this week the tables are turned, with our own hosts in the hot seats. Check out FIYB episode #45 for the whole story.

The team from the Fashion Is Your Business podcast is on American Fashion Podcast, and we're on an episode of theirs (coming soon). Rob Sanchez (Ralph and Remington), Pavan Bahl (OS Fashion), and Marc Raco (The Hope Is Project) talk about their work and the first eight months of their fashion business and fashion technology-focused show. references: * Boxycharm * FashInvest * NY Fashion Tech Lab * XRC Labs * New Ideas From Dead CEOs * FIT Library * The Three Rules: How Exceptional Companies Think * Ralph and Remington * Bonobos * Warby Parker * Rent The Runway

Becky Stern, director of wearables at Adafruit, Dr. Amanda Parkes, chief of technology and research at Manufacture New York, and Google software engineer Alex Kesling talk with Charles Beckwith about the future of fashion from an engineering standpoint. Recording space for this episode was provided by designers Iuri Shubladze and Luba GnaSevych. The big questions: * 4:20 - how long would it take a designer to get up to speed on working with wearable tech? * 6:19 - solving the battery problem * 9:49 - do Adafruit tutorial projects teach about garment design like they do electronics design? * 11:05 - where are high tech companies failing when they cross with fashion design? * 11:45 - what went wrong with the Apple Watch? * 19:41 - will sustainable wearable components be ready before the mass market explosion happens? * 22:17 - what did Becky Stern do with her Ringly? * 23:41 - wearables show-and-tell on the radio * 30:29 - what can designers do now that they couldn't work with a few years ago? * 32:28 - issues of scale in manufacturing wearable tech * 36:14 - why does wearable tech appear in athletic-wear first? * 40:08 - dragging the craft into the 21st century * 42:28 - speaking the fashion language * 43:28 - program or be programmed * 45:34 - what will it take for fashion designers to embrace more technology? * 49:49 - Microsoft Band - hack it or hacksaw it? * 53:03 - why are we so focused on the wrist? * 54:12 - what will designers do with augmented reality? * 1:01:15 - a same code faux pas * 1:03:12 - what is getting funded and why? "If you see a thing that your cell phone does, you can make your fashion do that now." - Becky Stern references: * learn.adafruit.com * Dan Steingart * Why I’m Breaking Up With the Apple Watch (NY Times) * FIRST - inspiring young people to be science and technology leaders * Cutecircuit * Transforming Dresses by Chayalan * Philip Treacy * Fashioning Tech (blog) * Thesis Couture * Chameleon Scarf

Financing fashion is a highly specialized business, and one of the most influential and long standing companies in the space is Hilldun Corporation. They've backed everyone from Tommy Hilfiger to Marc Jacobs, Nanette Lepore, Alexander Wang, Badgley Mischka, Derek Lam, Jason Wu, and so many more. Their careful shepherding of capital and buyer relationships has kept New York's fashion industry gears turning for decades. This episode is both a bit of Fashion Financing 101 and a deep dive into what can go wrong with financing a fashion brand. Tim Moore is an Executive Vice President at Hilldun Corporation, with 20 years of experience in helping brands survive and grow, so when he talks about how to avoid the most common mistakes, you should probably pay very close attention. Thanks to Rob Sanchez from Fashion Is Your Business for helping out with this episode. Recording space for this episode was provided by designers Iuri Shubladze and Luba GnaSevych. references: * Ralph and Remington * Net A Porter * ShopBop * Gilt * Karmaloop * Karmaloop gets new CEO after bankruptcy sale

Seth and Charles are busy helping designer Loris Diran set up for his New York Men's Fashion Week runway show, but manage to find a quiet stairwell and take a few minutes to review what has happened so far during the first New York Men's Fashion Week in decades. Charles interviews Loris Diran's house photographer, Sandy Ramirez, who shot several other Men's Fashion Week shows and presentations for WWD. references: * CWST * Boyswear * David Hart * Carlos Campos * Edinger Apparel * Timo Weiland

Nick Graham, Erik and Emily Nelson of Edinger Apparel, and Brad Schmidt of Cadet talk about their brands and their plans for the upcoming New York Men's Fashion Week and beyond. Nick Graham talks about Post-Prep style and shaking up department stores. Edinger talks about a major design pivot they will reveal next week. Recording space for this episode was provided by designers Iuri Shubladze and Luba GnaSevych. references: * Joe Boxer Goes To Iceland * International Woolmark Prize * Donna Karan, Fashion's $450 Million Woman, Leaves Namesake Label * Alexander McQueen - Savage Beauty * A Détacher