American Fashion Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 151: 151 – Outlier.nyc Co-Founder Abe Burmeister Oct 10, 2017

Show notes

Abe Burmeister just wanted a better pair of pants, but the quest has taken him and Outlier co-founder Tyler Clemens on a long strange road through the depths of the fashion industry. They now release a new product every week, constantly developing new ideas and trying them out on eager fans. The company has a strong ethical fashion ethos, and a fascinating product development process, which Abe details in this interview.

“There is a core functionality to almost everything that we do. That resonates with people and gives them a reason to come back and buy more. We’re interested in a deep level of quality, so it’s not just ‘oh, that looks cool.’ How does it function? What do the fibers do? Where do they come from? How are people treated all along the supply chain? These are questions we can’t always answer completely. When you start digging into fashion supply chains, it gets really deep and far back.” – Abe Burmeister, Outlier.nyc

Outlier.nyc References:

Abe’s Reddit AMA from 2013

Episode 150: 150 – Is Brandboom Reinventing Wholesale? Sep 19, 2017

Show notes

Amy Zhou is COO of the online fashion wholesale marketplace Brandboom (link), which is giving bulk purchasing of luxury apparel a digital dimension for brands and retailers.

Thorsten Roth is a veteran fashion and lifestyle photographer who currently teaches a continuing education photography course at the School of Visual Arts entitled Photographic Identity: Artistic Self-Expression and Professional Application.

Episode 149: 149 – Talking Timelessness With Jeweler Izaskun Zabala Sep 08, 2017

Show notes

Izaskun Zabala discusses her business and history as a New York City-based jewelry designer whose major inspiration is an idea of timelessness. We also talk about ancient cultures and palm reading, though that provokes a bit of an argument when she tries to explain how palm reading is a science.

Timelessness References:

Episode 148: Business of Fashion Professional with Nick Blunden Aug 24, 2017

Show notes

Our guest, Nick Blunden, is the Chief Commercial Officer at The Business of Fashion. In this episode of American Fashion Podcast, he discusses the new Business of Fashion Professional “information platform and community.”BoF Pro is a members’ platform and community furthering BoF’s mission to “open, inform, and connect the global fashion community.”

We also discuss BoF’s editorial process and tone, and Nick reveals who really reads and approves all the commends on the articles, why BoF is publishing a print edition twice yearly to feature their long-form content, and how the company thinks about its member and leadership events.

Episode 147: 147 – The Ensign, the Made In USA menswear hub Aug 16, 2017

Show notes

The Ensign is an e-commerce platform showcasing American luxury menswear: https://theensign.us/

Co-founders Luis Morales and Jason Wagg have backgrounds defined by work for premiere labels like Tom Ford and Ralph Lauren. In this interview they discuss the state of American menswear design and domestic garment manufacturing, and the company they are running to amplify and ride its resurgence.

“We really waned to highlight and create awareness in America on the design talent that is here, but also the fact that it’s resolating on a global level, and that was always our goal. We wanted to take the concept of Neo-American Luxury to the global consumer.” – Luis Morales

“It wasn’t surprising that so many Japanese retailers were very invested, and were very interested in designers that we wanted to work with that were based here in America. What was very surprising is how little American retail support they had. We understood the first part of it, but the second part was really– it really reaffirmed that what our idea was, and what we felt our motivations were, were in the right direction.” – Luis Morales

“One of the exciting things about menswear right now, is that guys don’t have that uniform anymore. We don’t have to wear suits and ties, and sometimes it’s great to wear a suit and tie, but now it’s a more special thing. Now when you wear a suit and tie you want it to look right. You want it to be for a certain occasion, and you are able to distinguish yourself in a way that you weren’t able to before, because everybody was wearing a suit and tie.” – Jason Wagg

“Every single one of our designers is a passion project for us, because we believe in them. Our business is to take an investment in them, a lot of times emotionally, and we want to communicate that to other people, and we want them to get excited about it too.” – Jason Wagg

Episode 146: GQ Creative Director Jim Moore Aug 02, 2017

Show notes

Jim Moore details how he directs fashion coverage and visual language at the leading men’s magazine. He discusses their Best New Menswear Designers of America feature, and its new global variant in collaboration with Gap. Mr. Moore has been at GQ for nearly 40 years, was instrumental in the creation of New York Men’s Fashion Week, and delivers deep insights into the here and now of men’s fashion.

“I think what you’re finding is this new breed of designers that really… they have a mission, they have a business plan, and they want to get their clothes into Barneys or they want to do a collaboration with Uniqlo someday. They’re hungry and they’ve got good ideas, and we have a lot of original talent coming out of America. I think that is something to celebrate, and we’re really interested in that.” – Jim Moore, GQ Creative Director

References:

Episode 145: Anita Dongre, A Visitor From India Jul 25, 2017

Show notes

Almost every week a new store is opening in SoHo, and this week that store is Anita Dongre’s Grassroot, at 484 Broome Street. The store feature’s the premiere Indian designer’s vision of sustainable fashion, featuring the Grassroot line which provides employment to artisan villages in India, as well as a bridal boutique.

In this interview, she discusses where the concept for the label came from, what she hopes to accomplish in New York City, and how she approaches management of the vast House of Anita Dongre fashion company.

Recorded at Voyager HQ in Manhattan.

Guest co-host Pavan Bahl joins for this episode from the Fashion Is Your Business podcast.

Episode 144: 144 – Philadelphia Fashion Incubator – Part 2 Jul 20, 2017

Show notes

This is the second half of American Fashion Podcast’s roadtrip to the Philadelphia Fashion Incubator (PFI).

This roundtable is with current members of the incubator class, Janell Wysock: www.janellwysock.com, Latasha Hall – facebook.com/Lillie-Designs-by-Latasha-172429349472334/, and Sara Keel – www.penrosedesignstudio.com/shop. Executive Director Elissa Bloom helps lead the discussion. Conversation centers on the launch point for new designers and new brands, touching on design, marketing, business strategies, social media, and runway shows.

references:

note: transportation for this episode was paid for by the Philadelphia Fashion Incubator

Episode 143: 143 – Philadelphia Fashion Incubator – Part 1 Jul 04, 2017

Show notes

Charles is in Pennsylvania at the Philadelphia Fashion Incubator, speaking with PFI founder and executive director Elissa Bloom, as well as incubator alumni Nigel Richards, Milan (Milano di Rouge), Sherrill Mosee (Minkee Blue).

“The Philadelphia Fashion Incubator at Macy’s, Center City, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is a collaboration between the City of Philadelphia, Macy’s Center City, Center City District, and various educational institutions devoted to fashion design in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Fashion Incubator is the first of its kind in Philadelphia. The city is fortunate to be home to nationally-recognized fashion design schools including Moore College of Art, Drexel University and Philadelphia University.”

Nigel Richards produces a menswear line, which rebranded while he was participating int he incubator. Milan produces streetwear and has a heavy media / events tie-in, and Sherill Mosee produces are handbags with modular sections.

note: transportation for this episode was paid for by the Philadelphia Fashion Incubator

Episode 142: 142 – Understanding Influencers with Brittany Hennessy Jun 08, 2017

Show notes

As the Director of Influencer Talent in the Hearst Branded Content Studio, Brittany Hennessy connects influencers with brands for collaboration. The content they produce is featured by dozens of Hearst publications, including Elle, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar, Esquire, Seventeen, and Redbook. Influencer marketing is a hot business right now. Brittany shares how she cuts through some of the noise to see the players and the field.

Brittany and her husband Alexander are the Co-Founders of CreatorsCollective, which provides advice to influencers and brands about how to work with each other.

“I think it works best when all of the pieces work together. People are very quick to move all their money into influencer marketing, or pull all their money from TV. It works best when it’s all a cohesive plan. And I think that’s the struggle most people have, is they can’t figure out how to make everything work together.” – Brittany Hennessy

Also, Charles discusses his recent work with the Save The Garment Center. STGC is a non-profit which protects the critical infrastructure of the New York fashion industry. They have a new position paper on the future of the garment industry. Join STGC as a member [here].

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“We really waned to highlight and create awareness in America on the design talent that is here, but also the fact that it’s resolating on a global level, and that was always our goal. We wanted to take the concept of Neo-American Luxury to the global consumer.” – Luis Morales

“Every single one of our designers is a passion project for us, because we believe in them. Our business is to take an investment in them, a lot of times emotionally, and we want to communicate that to other people, and we want them to get excited about it too.” – Jason Wagg

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