WOAH – What is Pleatherette?
It’s just us (Emma + Merin) but a little more legit looking. This site won’t be going anywhere, since roughly 16 people a day are looking for how they can make a tulle bustle (shocking statistic, I know). But we won’t be updating Birds and we’ll be doing more actual *work* and less, you know, blogging. Such is life.
check us out: www.pleatherette.com
Free Legal Advice (Really)
Lawyers are almost never free. Except for in February, when the DC Bar Pro Bono program is giving you chance to chat with a lawyer one-on-one about your growing/good idea for a/business plan-stage company!
Saturday, February 11 @ 9:30am – the DC Women’s Business Center (727 15th Street NW, 10th Floor)
Email Lauren Paley (lpaley@dcbar.org) for more info
Market Research: where there’s smoke…
One of the things that really great businesses do a lot of is market research. You know, identifying who their customer is and what that customer wants/likes/needs. There are a handful of people and brands who famously brag about not doing market research. Don’t listen to them – they are silly and potentially foolish (albeit really lucky). You need to do market research.
In the vein of classic market research, check out this brief Vanity Profile that Living Social commissioned as part of the market research they do for all of their cities. While fabulous in its brief underlying smirk about DC, it’s useful.
I say where “where there is smoke…” because it generally leads to the fire that we all guessed was there. In this case, it is the duality between the District ranking first in beautiful women (yay!) and fourth in the category of dressing badly (boo!). Now, if you have lived in DC for more than a moment, you know this to be true. So designers, stylists, bloggers, style entrepreneurs out there: we need you.
And don’t get discouraged. If they did this five years ago, DC would have surely ranked first for dressing badly. Behold… Progress!
Watch The Future of DC Fashion Panel
The full panel discussion is up online, check it out!
Thanks to Nigel Lyons for putting the video together!
24 Hours Later: Aidah Fontenot of Aidah Collection
(This November we brought together 9 panelists who are catalysts for a bigger and better DC fashion community (read more about The Future of DC Fashion panel). We’ve asked our panelists to give us their post-panel thoughts on where the industry is going and what we can do to help grow it.)
Aidah Fontenot creates unique eco-chic handmade designs for her label Aidah Collection. Aidah’s timeless style unites urban flair with coastal cool in unique, comfortable designs.
Let me start by saying how excited I was to participate! I love what Washington DC has to offer, we house so much local talent and wealthiest counties in the nation. So why aren’t we a fashion capitol? I didn’t know exactly what to expect from the other panelists, but knew I wanted make the voice of local designers heard as best I could.
My perspective: I love the glamour of fashion. The shows, photo shoots and press coverage are all so much fun and fulfilling. It is a completely image driven (and somewhat vain) industry in which aesthetics are most important. So, I understandably put great effort into building an image for my brand.
But ultimately there will be no brand if there’s not enough sales to fund it. A panelist mentioned that designers tend to get stuck in a creative bubble and lose site of business. I agree, however, that bubble is necessary, we have to be inspired and focused in order to create. So how do I find balance?
Reality check, head out of the clouds, bubble burst, etc…
I wear many hats, as do all entrepreneurs, and it can be hard to accept that some things slip between the cracks. It took a certain amount of humility to publicly air my weaknesses, but I decided to “get real” and take advantage of the resources present. So on behalf of local designers, I shared some of my frustrations, like manufacturing and sales support.
Briefly I became discouraged at the reminder of just how hard this business is (sigh). But was uplifted by Christine Brooks-Cropper’s (of the GWFCC) recognition that what we need most is the infrastructure to support an industry and great programs like the Fashion Incubator is making that happen. (Yay!)
It was nice to put faces to familiar names and I learned so much from each of the panelists. There was a genuine sense of camaraderie, we all had suggestions on how to keep our network connected. I left feeling motivated, but keeping in mind that in order to continue our forward motion we must stay connected and in the collaborative spirit.
24 Hours Later: Holly E. Thomas of Refinery29
(Last week we brought together 9 panelists who are catalysts for a bigger and better DC fashion community (read more about The Future of DC Fashion panel). We’ve asked our panelists to give us their post-panel thoughts on where the industry is going and what we can do to help grow it.)
Holly E. Thomas is the Editor for the brand new DC contingent of the national style blog Refinery29. Holly is also a co-founder of the DC retail and design collective Butler + Claypool.
There are two key points that I think independent designers in D.C. have to realize in order to be successful: First, that it’s not enough to design a collection — you have to actually produce it, which is a major impediment here because of the scarcity of resources and the high cost of supplies. Networking with other designers is a good way to share resources, supplies, and ideas, and networking with bloggers and store owners will help get your products in front of a wide audience. It’s so easy to get comfortable in a creative bubble, but you really have to be your own advocate if you want to succeed. And second, every designer needs a business plan — and to that end, a business partner. Even if it’s just a savvy friend/family member, a designer needs someone who can constructively criticize his/her ideas and provide sound advice about their viability. And it’s my personal wish that the city would make an effort to utilize more of the empty storefronts that are so plentiful in D.C. — there’s no reason why there shouldn’t be a “temporium” of some sort every weekend, and I can’t understand why building owners should be allowed to neglect buildings and contribute to urban blight just because properties are expensive to maintain. There’s an angle here that the city can use to get involved and create an incentive for building owners to collaborate with artists and contribute to cultural and creative growth in the District.”
Teaser: Introduction to the Future of DC Fashion Panelists
Meet the panelists from the Future of DC Fashion Panel we put on at The Big Board at H Street NE as part of DCWEEK. Full video to come soon.
Thanks Nigel Lyons for putting together the video!
24 Hours Later: Elizabeth Fassbender of So Much to Smile About and CapFABB
(Last week we brought together 9 panelists who are catalysts for a bigger and better DC fashion community (read more about The Future of DC Fashion panel). We’ve asked our panelists to give us their post-panel thoughts on where the industry is going and what we can do to help grow it.)
Liz Fassbender is the owner and editor of the fashion and lifestyle blog, So Much to Smile About, and the co-founder of CapFABB (Capital Area Fashion & Beauty Bloggers), a network for DC area fashion and beauty bloggers that now has over 250 members and counting.
Participating in this discussion with panelists from such different backgrounds really gave me a new appreciation of the state of the fashion industry in DC. It was fascinating to hear about the different challenges and opportunities that exist for local designers, boutique owners, and others involved in fashion, along with initiatives like the Fashion Incubator.
As a blogger, I see an incredible amount of enthusiasm that continues to grow for the DC fashion community, and I would encourage others involved in the industry to take advantage of that enthusiasm. Whether you reach out to bloggers to feature a designer, host an event at your boutique, review a product or just generally get the word out about something, there are countless individuals who would love the opportunity to support DC fashion. Obviously, there is a lot more that is needed to advance the industry, but blogs can increase the conversation and raise awareness and support for important causes. There are so many hard-working people willing to make things happen here, I feel certain if we continue these kinds of discussions and utilize the resources we have the fashion community in DC can grow even stronger!”
24 Hours Later: Christine Brooks-Cropper of the Greater Washington Fashion Chamber of Commerce on The Future of DC Fashion
Last week we brought together 9 panelists who are catalysts for a bigger and better DC fashion community (read more about The Future of DC Fashion panel). We’ve asked our panelists to give us their post-panel thoughts on where the industry is going and what we can do to help grow it.
Panelist Christine Brooks-Cropper is spearheading a fashion initiative that will change the way the world will view Washington, DC. She launched The Greater Washington Fashion Chamber of Commerce and co-Chaired the first Creative Economy Summit under the leadership of Councilmember Michael A. Brown. Christine is a change agent and innovative strategist for the Creative Economy… Here are her thoughts:
1. DC has come a long way but we still have much work to do…
2. The fashion community needs to come together and unite a little better to help put the infrastructure in place with regards to education and training. A lot of the emerging designers of DC need formal training… and the trained designers need to step up and… start mentoring and provide apprenticeship so we can grow this industry.
3. The DC Fashion Incubator…provides studio space at 760 N Street NW for designers to start production and manufacturing so we can start to show we have an industry/trade in DC… The only way we can show fashion design in DC is by promoting and marketing that we have production. Apply [for the DC Fashion Incubator] on the www.gwfcc.org home page…
4. The Fashion Blog community is here to help!! People utilize them… Elizabeth [creator of CapFABB] has done an excellent job of getting 250 bloggers to create this community. Keep up the great work! So Much to Smile About.
5. We need a fashion grant or microfinance program for fashion designers in Washington, DC. Let’s figure out what type of process or structure is needed. This can be housed at the Arts Commission or possibly a function of the Commission on Fashion Arts and Events that was created by legislation in 2008. Just need the Mayor to appoint the Commissioners and get this Commission active.
The Pleatherettes featured by the Greater Washington Fashion Chamber of Commerce
From the GWFCC newsletter:
…we interviewed Merin Guthrie and Emma Fisher, Creative Directors of Birds of a Pleather, who presented the [Future of DC Fashion] panel on H Street NE during Digital Week. When asked what message they were trying to convey, Fisher explained that, ‘The idea for the Future of DC Fashion panel was something that we had been thinking about for some time because there are so many different types of people that are making up the fashion industry in DC now – designers, show owners, journalists and bloggers, and of course, organizations like GWFCC.’ Merin then added that with their experience in the field and while working at Worn Magazine, she had ‘…the idea to bring them all together to create this panel for DCWEEK and to start a conversation around what the DC fashion community needs inorder to grow in a national force.’ In Merin’s opinion, ‘We have all of the resources – we just need to bring everyone together to make this happen.'”
birdsofapleather.wordpress.com 