American Fashion Podcast

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Episode 131: 131 – American Giant Founder Bayard Winthrop Feb 21, 2017

Show notes

Bayard Winthrop, American Giant CEO

Vertically integrated Made In USA brand American Giant has become an icon in the movement to “make it here.” Founder and CEO Bayard Winthrop is the man who hired a former Apple engineer to design their first sweatshirt, and has driven the company to be consistently best-in-class among the new generation of Made In USA brands.

“I think that if you’re asking a customer to make an exception for you because you are a U.S.-made brand, I think you are never going to get out of first gear. At the end of the day we owe our customers the right to make a decision based on fit and quality. And after that, after clearing all of those hurdles, if they want to support American Giant because we are an American-made brand, that’s awesome. That’s fantastic. But I owe it to my customer to compete on fit and quality and value first, because that’s what they ought to be making their decision on.” – Bayard Winthrop

Episode 130: 130 – How To Wing A Fashion Show Feb 15, 2017

Show notes

The retail incubator Flying Solo (224 Mulberry Street) decided to mount a fashion show on short notice for New York Fashion Week. Normally this would not be advisable, you really need good lead time to do these things, but with 30 talented member-designers pulling together, it becomes a little more possible to pull off.

In the studio is Flying Solo founder Elizabeth Solomeina, along with member designers Elena Rudenko, Silvia D’Avila, Jenny Lai, and Stephanie Schedraui, who were instrumental in helping to plan and execute the collective’s fashion show.

On the phone is the fashion show’s publicist, Cathleen DaCosta Bombard. Cathleen is also the founder of the opiate addiction awareness non-profit Heroin Is Not Chic.

The American Fashion Podcast hosts are a bit more a part of the story in this episode. Charles Beckwith produced the show for Flying Solo, and pulled in co-host Cathy Schepis to help manage backstage.

This episode also introduces a new joint venture podcast, between Flying Solo and Open Source Fashion: The SoHo Show (iTunes).

Episode 129: 129 – How CLO Is Changing Everything Feb 13, 2017

Show notes

CLO Virtual Fashion Director of Operations Daniel Seo

A fashiontech startup called CLO Virtual Fashion (link) has developed software that lets you drape fabric in the computer and see how it will really fall and move. This is remarkable and groundbreaking technology. Our guest in the studio is Daniel Seo, Director of Operations at CLO, who has been responsible for much of the thinking behind how the software supports designers’ visions and needs.

“At the core of what we’re doing, we’re really trying to change the way that design is communicated. And that’s not just between designers and the end consumer, it’s more so between teams. Patternmakers can talk with the designers. They can understand what they’re doing because you see it actually happening as you’re making the changes, so any change you make to the 2D CAD pattern, you see it immediately reflected in the 3D environment.”
– Daniel Seo

References:

Gerber Technology
Monsters Inc. (animated film)
Big Hero 6 (animated film)
Frozen (animated film)

Episode 128: 128 – The Future of Retail Feb 07, 2017

Show notes

Round Table on The Future of Retail

The National Retail Federation is having a giant trade show in town, and it provides an opportunity to have several retail technology executives around a table for a discussion about the future of the businesses they serve. Participants in the panel are Carlos Ponce, Business Development Director at Tlantic; CEO of Infinite Peripherals, Jeff Scott; Gerber Technology Chief Marketing Officer Bill Grindle; and Craig Witsoe, CEO of Elo. The seven main topics on the table are…

The current state of retail, and recent changes in effectiveness, including discussion of the recent mass closings by Macy’s, Sears, Kmart, Limited, etc.
Where is the retail industry being pulled? If or when will a balance be reached between online and offline shopping?
Customer experience: where is it failing, where is it shining, what can be done better?
New retail technologies: how they will affect how shopkeepers and customers interact, both with each other and with products?
What is going on with cybersecurity for the future of retail and loss prevention technologies?
A discussion on using big data for marketing and sales, and how they interrelate with analytics, and how that is changing.
A general discussion of innovation, and what is truly outside the box in retail right now.

References:

Episode 127: 127 – Paloma Young and The Great Comet of 1812 Jan 31, 2017

Show notes

Costume designer Paloma Young talks about the development process behind her current Broadway show, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812. It is a new musical based on a 70-page love triangle story inside the much longer Russian novel, War and Peace, written by Leo Tolstoy and originally published in 1869. Some of the visual and audio elements of this adaptation are very tied to the history, and many are far more contemporary, projecting a fascinating singing and dancing collage of the connections between now and then.

“In our costumes, I have a lot of Easter eggs. Maybe ten percent of the audience every night is going to see them, depending on what corner you are in or who you are paying attention to when.” – Paloma Young

Costume is a vital part of the communication of the show, and Paloma Young soundly delivers with a remarkable array of costumes. This interview with the remarkable young artist uncovers a detailed process and a deep thoughtfulness. She previously won a Tony Award for Best Costume Design In A Play for her work on Peter and the Starcatcher in 2012, and Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 puts her squarely on the line for another.

Episode 126: 126 – A Day In Costume At The Met With Jessica Regan Jan 29, 2017

Show notes

Curator Jessica Regan

We went uptown to The Metropolitan Museum of Art to interview Costume Institute curator Jessica Regan. Her remarkable exhibition, Masterworks: Unpacking Fashion, is on display through February 5th.

The exhibition highlights iconic recent acquisitions in the museum’s collection. Many of these pieces have never been displayed for the public. The exhibition includes work from some of the most distinguished and influential designers, covering the 18th century to today.

Jessica talks with Charles Beckwith and Cathy Schepis about both the current exhibition, and general trends in garment design over the centuries which it demonstrates. This vital historical context informs and gives a depth of perspective to where we are with fashion today.

She also provides a behind the scenes context to how the Costume Institute creates an exhibition, and where they get all those fantastic mannequins.

Also, look for The Met’s upcoming solo exhibition featuring the works of maverick designer Rei Kawakubo, opening in May.

Episode 125: 125 – Better Use of Fabric Jan 17, 2017

Show notes

Leaders of three companies making the charge toward better use of materials for sustainability and a closed loop for textiles include Patrick Robinson, designer and founder of Paskho; designers Beth Hynes and Harrison Taylor Johnson, founders of the brand Vestment; and Jessica Schreiber of the textile waste recycling non-profit Fabscrap.

“When I started Paskho, the key thing that bothered me was how was I going to source fabric, because I felt that I couldn’t just go out there and buy more fabric and become part of this sort of circle of buying fabric every season, more than I need, and keep making things and adding to the world’s landfills, adding more stuff into the world that I’m not sure anyone needs.” – Patrick Robinson

For many who embark on the path of making fashion more sustainable, there is a spiritual element, a driving force that tells them this what they are doing is right, forcing acknowledgement from others who are still doing it wrong. The question must be asked by any participants in the creation of garments and accessories who encounter this movement: are you making something that will do more harm than good out in the world?

References:

Episode 124: What’s In A Simon Collins? Jan 11, 2017

Show notes

In the studio, Simon Collins, former Dean of Fashion at Parson’s: The New School of Design, founder of Fashion Culture Design: The Unconference, and a globally recognized speaker and slogan master on the subject of good design.

Simon talks about retail fatigue, see now buy now, the changing nature of Fashion Weeks, diversity, American politics, and a whole world of other ideas in this whirlwind episode.

“It’s like sustainability– Whose fault is it? It’s our fault! It’s everyone’s fault.” – Simon Collins

References:

Episode 123: 123 – Tabii Just 2.0 – Purposeful Decisions Dec 08, 2016

Show notes

Purposeful Decisions

Already a star of the sustainable fashion world, Tabii Just designer Tabitha St. Bernard has decided she wants her company to be about more than just selling clothes. This episode explores her pivot away from wholesale accounts to being a lifestyle brand expressed though more direct customer relationships in e-commerce, trunk shows, and popups. Tabitha’s business advisor in this transition is Tessa Maffucci, who also joins us in the studio.

At the core of the need that prompted this change is the inherent lack of information about what end consumers really want and need in the tradition wholesale relationship. To change the dynamic, Tabitha has assembled an interesting customer information resource, in the form of a collective of women with different backgrounds and body types who give her regular feedback about the brand and her new product ideas. They are also contributing blog content to her website, forming an online community centered around the brand.

Charles talks about how to approach advertising your e-commerce site online.

Episode 122: Raphael Lombardo, Leather Man Dec 01, 2016

Show notes

Raphael Lombardo, Leather Man

photos by Charles Beckwith

In fashion, accessories now rival or even outshine the garment business. In the past, American Fashion Podcast producer Charles Beckwith has avoided having many accessories designers on the show because he felt he lacked the vocabulary to host a good discussion about them. So, recently he enrolled in T-Project Showroom’s Leather Handbags Design course, a one-week intensive on materials, design, pattern making, hardware, mass production, and the market for leather handbags.

This episode is a conversation with the course instructor, master handbag pattern maker Raphael Lombardo, who is the mind behind developing product designs for some of the most successful leather accessories of the last several decades for the world’s most iconic brands.

Also in the studio, one of the managers of the T-Project Showroom in New York who coordinates the education program, Giovanni Stasi.

A question for our audience:

Is there a sustainable thread that could be used in leather production as an alternative to polyester and nylon thread? Linen thread jams the machines and cotton thread is too weak. Is there a new material that could be used?

References:

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“In our costumes, I have a lot of Easter eggs. Maybe ten percent of the audience every night is going to see them, depending on what corner you are in or who you are paying attention to when.” – Paloma Young

“It’s like sustainability– Whose fault is it? It’s our fault! It’s everyone’s fault.” – Simon Collins

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