When working an event, it's hard to really see it all in big picture as its happening. So many little details need to be taken care of that important parts of it can be lost. Here at DGG, we try to soak in as much of the event as possible but for our recap we wanted more, so we sent our intern, Emily Semroc, to FashionSpeak to partake in the conference as one of our 10 bloggers. From continental breakfast to cocktail reception, she has helped us capture the whole day so if you missed any of it, or would like to relive it one more time, read on.
 |
| Photo c/o Emily Semroc |
From floppy hats and Louboutins, to leather
jackets, some of the best dressed fashion enthusiasts of Michigan came together
for a very educational and cutting-edge day of workshops and networking at the
beautiful One Woodward Building for FashionSpeak 2015. As soon
as the doors opened, every single chair was quickly filled with the excitement, gaining momentum with each passing minute bringing us closer to the
first presentation.
The
morning started with a tasty breakfast of pastries, coffee, tea, and goodies
from On the Dunes as we all got settled into our seats preparing for a day of
networking and learning. Taubman kicked the day off with our first
presentation, “What Does it Really Take to Open a Store?” where they taught us
the in’s and out’s of being successful in your own store front. It was helpful
to hear that Taubman offers temporary leasing opportunities as well as a
permanent lease. When digging into which type of lease is best suitable for
you, we have to ask ourselves what is your product? Is it seasonal? Can you
fill the entire space? Is this a short-term or long-term product? By answering
these questions we can learn that maybe a kiosk, cart, or temporary store would
be the best fit or maybe your business is a bit more substantial and you would
benefit from the permanent leasing.
Once you decide which type of lease you
want, it is important you use the resources Taubman provides to support it’s
businesses such as creating a custom eBulletin, Facebook posts tagging your
business, press releases, and in-mall media. With a lot of smaller companies
that haven’t been too exposed, getting people into the store can be a very hard
step in the process so we are very excited that Taubman is here to help us out!
Owner and Operator of Gameday Detroit provided us with some insight as to what
his experience was like when trying to open a storefront. His biggest piece of
advice is to be very smart when it comes to the location of your property and
knowing that to be a successful free standing store, you must be a destination
and people already know about you, where if you’re located inside a mall people
are more willing to wander into your store to keep shopping. I found his
presentation to be very genuine and realistic, especially when he said that
your company will consume your life and you need to be willing to work
full-time to create the best company you can.
Following
the presentation from Taubman about moving into a physical store location, our
analytical side of the brain kept going while we listened to Kim Banat from
First Merit Bank present, “Money: How to get it, what to do with it, how to
make more of it”. Getting capital for your company can be a seemingly
impossible task and she provided us with a cheat sheet of possibilities for your
company. Her biggest piece of advice for business owners is to attend the
workshops at the Small Business Development Center. These workshops focus on
putting together a business plan, networking, expanding your business, and
learning more about all the loans available to you. An important aspect of
getting a loan is ensuring that you have an eligible credit score. With capital
coming in slower than hoped, many businesses use their credit cards and
completely max them out. Banat’s advice for those in that situation is to keep
a 20% cushion between what your credit limit is and what you actually borrow on
that card. By paying down a little bit and not going past the 30 day late
payments, your credit score will slowly start to rise. Once we get the capital or
loan we need, what do we do when we actually start making money? It’s so easy
to get excited with profit or money flowing into the company that we can make
rash decisions and not use the money to the best of its ability. By investing
excess profits in your company, purchasing new equipment, continuing your
education, and upgrading software you are investing for future growth of your
company by doing any of these strategic moves. Money can be a hard topic to
focus on, and a stressful one at that, but with the tips from Banat about
lowering your credit score, investing in yourself, and be smart with your
capital, we left the workshop feeling much better about our financial
situations and the potential opportunities with getting a loan.
Roslyn
Karamoko was next to take the stage as we were on the edge of our seats to hear
her tales of entering the world of buying. Originally from Seattle, WA,
Karamoko has worked as an unpaid intern, merchandising assistant, buyer, and
now store owner. When asked why she loved the world of fashion, she replied
with loving it because “it represents a group of people in the most unique and
individual way that is very personal to them”. She walked us through her
exciting life in New York, trying to find her passion, and finally finding it
through a training program at Saks Fifth Avenue. After working up the corporate
ladder, she moved to Singapore where she led a jet-set lifestyle with fashion
shows, trunk shows, and designer meetings. The job not only sounds fashionable
and fabulous, but it also provided the ability to bring relevant fashion to
under deserved and isolated regions while giving brands exposure and customers
access. After traveling and making strides in Singapore, she returned back to
the United States where she attended courses at the BUILD Institute (which just
so happens to be one of our incredible sponsors). Detroit spoke to Karamoko
because of the rebuild and how persevering the city was to overcome the
negativity. She created the iconic brand,
Detroit is the New Black, and opened her own stand-alone store in the heart
of the city, just this past year. Karamoko’s vision is to represent Detroit in
a way that isn’t shown to outsiders, so each season she introduces new
designers, brands, and fashion to the city in an accessible way with varying
price points and styles. She is creating the platform for future retailers to
find success in Detroit. After giving valuable insight to pricing metrics for
success, market positioning tips, and ways to trend forecast, the audience was
captivated for the Q&A portion of the workshop. Many students were in the
audience that was very inspired by not only her presentation, but her life’s
work as well. Some of the valuable advice she gave to us was to make sure your
trends aren’t just about fashion, but that there’s an emotional connection with
the customer and what they are buying as well.
When the
third presentation of the day came to a close, the atmosphere in the audience
was hopeful. All these entrepreneurs came to this event and in just 3 short
presentations the idea of opening a store and being successful seemed possible.
Being noticed in a city such as Detroit that isn’t as known for being a Fashion
Capital can seem daunting, but having heard first hand stories of success and presentations
on companies that are there to support you, it has never seemed more possible.
As we closed our notebooks and started chatting, the smell of pizza overtook
the entire room. Buddy’s Pizzeria generously provided lunch for the conference
and everyone jumped to get in line. While people were waiting for food the Glam
App was there providing hair, makeup, and nail touch-ups so we could look our
best for the cocktail hour after the conclusion of the last speaker. After a
tasty and filling lunch, reapplication of eyeliner and lipstick, we sat back in
our seats to absorb more knowledge about how we can be successful.
Kristen
Deryck, production manager at Detroit Sewn was up next to present. Her presentation focused mostly on the
logistics of pattern making, sourcing, and the development process. She really
emphasized making sure that we have consistent grading patterns and that our
selling period correlated with the buyers buying period. This means that we
should be designing our collection 1 year in advance seeing that buyers are buying
6 months in advance. With tips on delivering to stores, being at the beginning
of the buying window, and what kind of samples to provide, we learned the ins
and outs of the technical aspects that go into getting your pieces ready and in
stores to be sold.
Before we
knew it, it was 4 p.m. and the final workshop of the day was upon us. Keynote
Speaker, Kevan Hall, was waiting backstage as we all anticipated hearing from
such a successful and local designer. Kevan Hall brought life to the room with
his humor, genuine desire to help Detroit, and his years of experience. With a
discussion led by DGG President Karen Buscemi, we were led through his life as
a struggling designer trying to find success with his red carpet appearances
dressing some very well known actresses. Hall was a perfect example of the perseverance
needed to start your own line or business, he road tripped to stores all over
the country with his line in the back of his car. He was persistent and
focused, which led to orders being placed. He really focused on having a
cohesive brand identity so that he would be recognized more easily. He did this
by asking himself what resonates with me personally as well as the public? What
do my images say about my brand? Hall explained the key to brand identity is to
be consistent with any singular aspect in all of your pieces as well as being
realistic about what you’re designing to ensure it’s sellable and press-worthy.
A great piece of advice he gave a fashion student at Central Michigan
University, was to focus on the quality of your pieces as it is all about the
finishing details and fine-tuning. He also stressed the importance of being
aware of how you present yourself to the world, as YOU are your brand. Being an
adaptive designer is very important in order to stay on the forefront of the
world of fashion and Hall realized that he had an entire market that wasn’t
being reached when it came to sportswear. Women that were wearing his evening
gowns were finding that they had nothing to wear on the golf course that made
them feel as feminine and beautiful as his dresses did. He internalized this
information and found the inspiration to make a women’s active line that
focused on the use of fun colors, moisture wicking material, and femininity. By
appealing to the “athelisure” market that is dominating today’s sales, he created
a collection that women could wear and feel confident in from the door, to the
greens, as well as to the clubhouse. His advice to us was to be prepared, do
your homework to know who your customer is, know how to get financing, know how
to generate buzz and interest and know how to manage a team. It was remarkable
that this piece of advice was the final thoughts he left us with that day so we
could sit back and realize that every piece of his advice was addressed in
todays workshops.
Once I
got home, I sat down to really think about what I learned and I was shocked at
the level of information received, the credibility behind it, and how so many
aspects of the fashion world were addressed. The audience was full of students,
bloggers, designers, manufacturers, sales reps, and business owners and each of
these groups had incredible takeaways from the day’s activities. FashionSpeak
2015 was an incredible day where I met some of the most talented people in
metro Detroit, networked with fellow fashion enthusiasts, learned from very
experienced professionals, and was treated to tasty treats and cocktails from
some of my favorite metro Detroit restaurants. As I was driving home that night
I was filled with so much hope and excitement for Detroit due to the reception
of this event and how passionate everyone was. 2015 has been a great year so
far and after this day of workshops, I truly feel 2016 will be even more
incredible while continuing to build Detroit’s Garment District.
 |
| Photo by Emily Semroc |
 |
| Photo by Emily Semroc |
 |
| Photo by Emily Semroc |
 |
| Photo by Emily Semroc |
 |
| Photo by Emily Semroc |
 |
| Photo by Emily Semroc |
 |
| Photo by Emily Semroc |
 |
| Photo by Emily Semroc |
 |
| Photo by Emily Semroc |
 |
| Photo by Emily Semroc |
