On Friday I had the pleasure of attending Fashionista's How To Make It In Fashion event and it was such an awesome experience. For those of you who aren't familiar with FashionistaCON, it's a day long conference where some of the most dynamic figures in fashion speak about how they themselves made it into the industry. When signing up to attend the event you're given the option to sign up for a mentoring session with someone who is in the fashion industry, so you can ask questions and get advice on what you should be doing.
This was my first time attending FashionistaCON and I left with a handful of notes that I will be sure to put to good use. The first panel they had was 'Why Menswear Is Having A Moment.' This panel was moderated by Fashionista's deputy editor, Tyler McCall. She spoke with Jian DeLeon, senior menswear editor at WGSN, Jacob Gallagher, men's fashion editor, off duty, The Wall Street Journal, Tom Kalenderian, executive vice president and general merchandise manager of Mens & Chelsea Passage, Barneys New York, Lawrence Schlossman, brand director at Grailed, and lastly Todd Snyder, president and founder of Todd Snyder.
The second panel was moderated by Fashionista's editorial director, Dhani Mau and it was 'How To Get Your Fashion Label Off The Ground.' Mau spoke with Molly Howard, co-founder of La Ligne, Rachel Roy, designer, Timo Weiland, creative director and co-founder of Timo Weiland, and Scott Studenberg & John Targon, designers and co-founders of Baja East. Even though I have no intentions of ever becoming a fashion designer, the advice they gave applied to all areas in the fashion industry. Some of the key takeaways I got from them was that relationships are the most important part of being in the fashion industry. Whether it's friends or friends of friends, don't be afraid to put yourself out there and stay focused and honest.
The last panel was moderated by Fashionista's senior editor, Chantal Fernandez. This panel was 'What Does It Mean To Be An Influencer Today?' and included Danielle Bernstein, digital influencer of We Wore What, Reesa Lake, senior vice president of Brand Partnerships at Digital Brand Architects, Krista Neuhaus, director of digital marketing at Kate Spade, and Jennifer Powell, head of special bookings at Next Model Management. This was probably my favorite panel because it related the most to what I wanted to do in the fashion industry. All of these ladies are so educated on this part of the industry which resulted in some of the best advice.
In between panel's the ladies at Fashionista held interviews with four people in the industry. The interviews were with Cathy Horyn, critic-at-large at the Cut, Patricia Field, award-winning costume designer, Christian Siriano, designer, and Linda Rodin, founder and creative director of Rodin Olio Lusso.
Honestly, I could go on and on about FashionistaCON and all of the amazing speakers who gave so much good advice. But if you have the chance to go, buy a ticket next year and go—you will not be disappointed.
