The first part of figuring out your story is to do the one thing you wanted to do in college but forgot to do because you had four final projects, a portfolio, and an internship to complete-find your self. Start with the basic questions:

Why did I choose to go into (chosen area here)?

What brought me to that decision?

What obstacles did I face to reach this point in my career?

Those should get you thinking about your personal story, and help humanize your company, making you more than another purse-pusher. But what about your product? What makes your handbags a different option, a better choice? Think about these…

What are your products made from?

Why are your products made from these materials?

How are your products made?

Now go back to each and ask “Why?” Figuring that out now will make it easier for you to articulate it to a buyer at your next trade show. Do you use animal friendly materials or genuine leather? The finest silks or vegan-centric bamboos and fine cottons? Sew your blouses by hand or use the current technology to print your scarves? All of these options have qualities that appeal to different audiences, different markets that are looking for the next big thing. You could be it.

So now you know your story, and the story of your product, but what about your company? It’s barely a year old, and you’re not even sure if you’re doing everything right! How can you tell a story you didn’t know you had? Answering these can help.

Where are your products made?

What social issues matters to you? How does your company show it?

How will your clients involvement help?

Answering these questions can really help you get to the root of what makes your company stand out. Do you have your own work force or are you helping a small company in Midtown stay afloat? Either way, you’re keeping someone employed. If you are of Asian descent, even doing production in the far East can be seen as a way of connecting to your roots. And if you’re ensuring that those employees are given fair wages for their work, you’re taking your personal story and giving it a social message, killing two birds with one stone. It’s all about how you spin it!

Need help telling your story? The Glammie can help. Contact her via email at r.y.jones@hotmail.com.

Kill them with Kindness-This one really gets me and you’ll see why.

THE LUXURY WAY: When I was an uneducated luxury shopper (ok, admirer), a friend and I ventured into the store of a major high fashion company* while visiting Chicago. We were there on a class trip, wearing jeans and t-shirts, and didn’t plan on going to the store-we just saw the store and thought we’d take a peek in.

Maybe it’s because it was a designer store and not many could afford it, or maybe other people got the treatment that my friend and I received and decided not to return.  For some reason that store was empty-the sales girl could see us from one end to the other with no problem. Yet she insisted on having my friend and I followed around the store by not one or two, but THREE security guards. My friend and I didn’t even weigh 200lb together, yet we we’re being treated like we came in with guns and trash bags ready to pull a Winona!

Well, since I’m still a student, I can’t afford to shop there, but even when I can, I can guarantee that I won’t be shopping at that specific location of that designer’s stores. Every customer no matter how insignificant they may seem, should be treated like the wealthiest, sweetest, best customer ever.

THE LITTLE GUY WAY: When I worked at The Icing, we always provided great customer service-every person that walked into that store was greeted with a smile, was asked their name, and called by it. And if we thought someone was looking for a “five-finger discount’…we didn’t change a thing.

Offering great guest service means you’re paying attention to your guests and you’re doing everything you can to take care of them. Everyone is comfortable, shoppers feel special, and possible shoplifters know you’re watching. Providing exceptional service also keeps associates from making innocent, sometimes naive shoppers from feeling singled out or disrespected when sales associates that are perceiving the situation for something it’s not.

THE LESSON: If that sales girl had just came and spoke to my friend and I, chatted with us about what we liked in the store, and let us know she’d be around to helps us out if we needed it, I wouldn’t be (eventually) boycotting that location and spreading the word on what a horrible experience I had there. I had such a terrible time at that store*, that when we went to the Saks Fifth Avenue Mens store*, I was so surprised at how kind and helpful they were to us. Even though they knew we couldn’t afford to buy anything, they helped our friend try on some shirts and even taught him how to tie a tie. Several years later on another trip when I could afford it, I did go back and buy a kerchief-I didn’t even have someone to give it to!

*Because large companies can’t always control who their lower chain employees are, I will try not to name a company if I have to speak negatively about them; on the other hand I have no problem giving credit where credit is due, and therefore will always name a place that goes above and beyond to give great guest service.

“It keeps you humble,” she explained to a group of fashion design and jewelry design students from Kendall College of Art and Design during their Career Day.

While one might think that talent is a given, its not just the talent to design, but to draw inspiration from one’s environment or an outside source, something Pinto often does. Everything from sculpture to painting to the culture of an entire nation-it’s all a possibility for Pinto, even if its not through physical presence. She frequently used resources such as books, magazines, and films to drive the overall ideas behind her collections, though she trys to stay away from literal interpretations.

“You shouldn’t think ‘Oh, she went to Morocco,’” she pointed out.

In terms of Passion, Maria’s second key element, a designer must “love what you do” because the pace is insane. You must always be working, even when you’re not.

What does that mean?

After you’ve left school or work, don’t stop. Do research on companies you want to work for, update your portfolio, look for events you can attend or help out at (even if for free), try to set up a meeting with someone that can be beneficial to your career (either beginning a new relationship or nurturing an older one). There is always work to be done, you can always go one step higher.

Reality-we all try to escape it at some point through books, movies, T.V., or taking a night out. But when it comes to fashion, reality is the only way to go. Sure the parties and fashion shows are a part of that reality, but even they have an element of grime work that goes into them. Going into a fashion career with real expectations is going to better prepare you for what you’re setting out to do-be a fashion designer. So keep the long hours, low wages, and high competition in mind as you look for that first job- don’t expect to be handed a six-figure salary with a corner office and two personal interns before the ink dries on your diploma, or even five years afterward. It takes time to prove yourself and your value to a company.

Another piece of advice from Pinto, who started her company after a short stint at Geoffrey Beane- don’t be anxious. Try different fields within the industry as you find your way.Brian Weaver from Kenneth Cole knows exactly what she’s talking about. Stay tuned for his story.

Be More. Be Glam.

Shining stars from these companies, including Maria Pinto herself, took time to educate Kendall College of Art and Design Fashion and Jewelry majors on what it takes to make it in the ever-changing fashion industry.

With five presentations and a panel discussion, one idea seemed to flow from speaker to speaker: flexibility is critical.   Whether doing their dream job in a different industry, or representing a different niche within an industry, each of the speakers found that they ended up in a place similar to where they thought they’d be, but just a little different from what they planned.

Visual/Creative Director at Leigh’s Patrick Plank started in sales, slowly moving toward his more creatively rewarding role. Maria Pinto began work at Geoffrey Beane, but soon opened up shop selling scarves and accessories, eventually evolving to an apparel collection. Brian Weaver, Vice President of Creative Services at Kenneth Cole, found his way there after stints as a graphic designer for an insurance company and a self-employed graphic t-shirt designer. Elad Barouch used a degree in Industrial Design to meander through product development in industrial design and toy design before joining Noir Jewelry. Alan Lugo on the other hand used his Industrial Design degree to solve problems in the “brown shoe” market working for Hush Puppies of Wolverine Worldwide, going the opposite of his initial desire to design athletic footwear.

Stay tuned as I delve into their individual career details and what they think young designers should know about the fashion industry.

Tomorrow: Maria Pinto-The Elements of a Designer

Until then,

Be More. Be Glam.

"The Cerulian Sweater"

In The Devil Wears Prada when editor Miranda Priestly asks which belt will go with a dress better, Andy chuckles as a styling assistant holds up two turquoise leather belts whose only difference is their buckles and says “It’s a tough call, they’re so different.” In her own defense, Andy pleads “No, no. Nothing’s…You know, it’s just that both those belts look exactly the same to me. Ya know, I’m still learning about this stuff and uh-”. In a monologue that gave Meryl Streep an(other) Oscar nod,  Andy is then lectured about how when magazine editors choose an item, designers pick up on that and those items become trendy, making its way into department stores and small boutiques, even being watered down for versions to be sold at big box stores like Wal-Mart, K-Mart, and Meijer, the apparel hunting grounds for those with a lack of funds or preference.

The same can be said about the economy and employment. The workspaces utilized in the garment center create products, which in turn create jobs all over the country-to not only manufacture apparel and accessories, but to market them, ship them, repair them, and sell them to the final consumer. Forcing businesses out of the district by consolidating the space will force companies to pay import taxes and tariffs, which will lead to either a raise in cost or a reduction in workforce-two things Americans don’t like. So the most important key in saving the garment center is informing the American people about the impact it has on their daily lives by taking the rallying and marches outside of New York and out into the country. Bringing the plight of the industry to the forefront of America’s minds, not just Mayor Bloomberg’s front door, is what it’ll take to see some positive action taken.

Toward the middle of The Devil Wears Prada, Andy came to understand the fashion industry, and why her role at Runway did in its way serve a purpose. She began to dress stylishly, even brushing her hair before she left her apartment. And although at the end of the movie, she decided that fashion wasn’t for her, that she’d pursue her writing career somewhere else, she did not lose any respect for the people she met at Runway, but gained respect for them and their profession. That is all that the Save the Garment Center campaign is about- maintaining the spaces reserved for garment companies out of respect for the contributions that they have made and will continue to make to the work force, the economy, and more importantly, the heritage of this country.

Besides, if we won’t take pride in our work, who will?

In 2008, the federal government bailed out the financial and automotive industries with $700 billion, the fourth time that year the government stepped in to keep Wall Street from crashing (www.Investopedia.com). Whenever Detroit or Wall Street come calling the government answers, yet city and federal officials are slow moving to keep the garment industry from shrinking, eventually disappearing altogether.

This lack of government support can be traced back to the superficial stereotype associated with the industry, yet at the same time, these are the people that are paid to be informed, to know of the industry’s impact and act in the best interest of the people, not those of large magazine corporations and real estate companies. And while our government isn’t weighing the true consequences of consolidating the district, other nations are doing all that they can to build their garment industries. According to the UK’s Telegraph online newspaper, France, which has a minister whose sole purpose is to regulate and promote the French garment industry, is looking to grow its industry in more than one way.It states:

The fashion industry, which the government sees as part of France’s cultural heritage, has been hit hard by the global spending slump with high-profile victims including Christian Lacroix and Cacharel.  Mr. [Christian] Estrosi said he wanted to get one or two banks to develop services specializing in lending money to fashion companies and other creative businesses with the state acting as a guarantor for certain loans.

“I want Paris to remain the world’s capital of fashion,” Mr. Estrosi said. “Today, we need people to share the risks.” Mr Estrosi said the French government was also considering handing out exemptions to the 35-hour week to staff who had to put in long hours before fashion shows [and]… also thinking of creating a school of design and creativity that would rival London’s St Martin’s School and Anvers in Belgium.

While they are not afraid to admit they’ve suffered a few major blows due to the economic crisis of the last few years, the French are not giving up, but giving everything the industry needs to thrive. Unwilling to sacrifice the world renown French craftsmanship for that of a cheap sweatshop worker all for a dollar’s (or euro’s) sake, Mr. Estrosi and his colleagues are on the right path for prosperity. Instead of providing a one-time bail out, Mr. Estrosi is organizing a group of banks that will specialize in fashion industry finances year round. Seeing as most fashion designers don’t use the mathematical side of their brains a lot, having counsel from a professional banker will aid in the prevention of an industry crash. That’s the kind of proactivity the Garment Center in New York needs-serious, understanding, and government dedication. But that type of support only comes from the cries of millions, not a few.

Coming soon: A Plea to Save the Garment Center: Conclusion-Power of the People

Until then,

Be More. Be Glam.

What they (and Andy) fail to realize is that most of those employed in the garment industry are normal, everyday people-seamstresses, patternmakers, and craftsmen that specialize in unique applications for garments- these people are hard laborers akin to those in the Rust Belt. They don’t work nine to five but from start to finish, and take just as much pride in their work, maybe even more, than their more socially accepted counterparts, such as auto-workers. This stereotype of a constant party and superficiality of the industry has led government officials and building owners in the Garment Center of New York City to believe that it’s a good idea to consolidate the district to just a couple buildings and turn the others into condominiums and offices, and what’s worse is they believe that the American people would be okay with that. But in this case, what they don’t know can hurt them.

The garment manufacturing industry is a major part of the American economy, employing more than 400,000 people, 44% of whom are not in New York City, but in the states of California, Georgia, and North Carolina -surely these people aren’t yachting in Sag Harbor, knocking back bottles of champagne, and toasting to the good life.(Bureau of Labor Statistics) These are the people creating the fabrics, threads, buttons, and zippers that go into our clothing, and they work their fingers to the bone (using the fine skills they’ve honed over years of adapting to fashion trends) doing their part in keeping American manufacturing alive by producing the millions of garments, shoes, and handbags created in this country every year.

If the jobs themselves aren’t enough to consider saving the Garment Center, then maybe the money is: the garment industry supplies $10 billion of wages to those in New York City alone. (39thandBroadway.com) Consolidating the district will limit the number of businesses that are able to do work there, and force designers to take their work elsewhere-out of the state or overseas, making the garment industry yet another to outsource work, taking more than wages out of the city, but also removing reasonably priced work space for emerging and independent designers, as illustrated on 39thandBroadway.com

Unlike other areas of Manhattan where office space goes for an astounding $65 per square foot plus, the Garment Center, thanks to government and zoning protection, is able to keep rates below market for fashion manufacturing businesses.  This is a huge benefit for many local NYC designers.  For example, women’s brand THL Inc./ Zelda Brand just got a great deal down the block on 39^th street for a 6000 square foot space and the rent is only $35 per square foot. (39thandBroadway.com)

That’s $210,000 in one month for a single tenant. Now, I don’t know what kind of condos they’re proposing, but the garment district is not a glamorous place, and I highly doubt they’ll be able to get that much for any living space that moves into the area.

To be continued in “A Plea to Save the Garment Center: Part 2 -Can the Stars and Stripes Save the Seamstresses on Seventh?”

Because yes, fashion can have a conscience.

Fight for your right-to learn, to grow, to be Glam.

Design by Raven Jones

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