The Business of Fashion is getting a lot of play of late. At the recent CFDA/Fashion Fund awards in November, Marc Jacobs spoke at length about the ups and downs (and downs) of starting a new fashion business. Many young designers rush into setting up a business, attracted by the perceived glamour and fun that is associated with the fashion industry. There are wonderful fairy tale stories of young talented designers graduating from St Martins or Parsons and then going off to achieve fame and fortune. The stories we hear less of are those that describe all of the failed companies and dashed hopes that are the cruel reality of this industry. I am glad that Marc shared his stories with some of the upcoming stars of American fashion who were in the audience, including Doo.Ri Chung, Proenza Schouler and Peter Som.

One of the most common questions I am asked by designers who have just come out of fashion school (at both the bachelor’s and master’s level) is: “Should I start my own business or should I go work for a big fashion house?”. The truth is, the right answer depends on you and your aims. In our first article on the Business of Fashion Basics, we will pose the questions that you need to ask yourself – so you can make the right decision.

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Vanessa Friedman has written an insightful article on the career of Giles Deacon, one of London’s most celebrated emerging designers — though, the ‘emerging’ title can’t be his for much longer, especially now that he has been appointed Creative Director of the British fashion house, DAKS.

As I suggested in a previous post, I still wonder whether Giles’ destiny is actually to become Creative Director for a Parisian fashion house of international renown. (Suzy Menkes asserted the same point this week in her glowing review of Giles show yesterday in the IHT). It would not be hard to fathom that DAKS is yet another stepping stone in a career that has seen Giles go from Bottega Veneta to Gucci and finally to his own label. If one were looking for a case study on how to carefully build a platform for success in the fashion industry, Giles’ story is a good one. Before he set up his own label, he trained with the best at St Martins and then went on to work with the best, including a stint with Tom Ford at Gucci where he must have learned a great deal from Ford, one of the masters of luxury brand management. Now, with 6 seasons of his own label under his belt and his widespread recognition as a creative force to be reckoned with, Giles has also proved he has the creative wings to soar with the biggest names in the industry. But, before he can do that, he needs to prove that his designs have the commercial muscle to support an international fashion brand, and hence the new role with Daks.

In her article, Friedman makes much of the fact that it would have been a dealbreaker for Giles if DAKS required him to shut down his label in order to focus on their line full-time. In fact, she says, DAKS encouraged Giles to keep his own label, as a furtive playground in which he could explore his vast creative interests, while keeping to a more commercial formula for DAKS. I would have recommended that DAKS think about going even further by investing directly in Mr. Deacon’s label to share further in the benefits of the increased attention that Giles will surely earn as a result of the DAKS’ substantial investment in rejuventating the brand. Also, by tying Giles’ own label’s future to their cash and operational support, they may have at least been able to try to hold on to him for longer than his 2 year contract, by offering more support for his business in the future.

What will DAKS do in 2 years if Giles leaves, once DAKS have found some of that creative momentum they are looking for from Giles? What’s to keep him from going off and designing for a big fashion house in Paris when they come knocking (and come knocking they will — they already are). Even then, Giles may not have been open to taking any investment from DAKS because his plans may always have been to leave. Also, why give away any equity in his business when the consultancy fee may be enough to keep his business running? On the other hand, his business could surely use some professional management and operational support to grow more quickly and deliver what the buyers are expecting, when they are expecting it — and DAKS could have brought this to the table. Now Giles will need to find someone else to help him with that if he is to truly monetise the elaborate groundwork he has put into place (either knowingly or organically) to get him where he is today. He has little room for error.

Over the coming months, in addition to our regular musings on the Business of Fashion (as well as a few creative diversions  and digressions on new collections, hot fashion news, and industry analysis), The Business of Fashion will introduce a regular series of articles on setting up a new fashion business, and what it takes to be successful both creatively and financially in this competitive space.  We’ll call it “The Business of Fashion: Basics”

It is true that there is an increased market demand for collections from emerging designers largely due to the consumer’s ever-developing need for individuality and uniqueness in this world of mega luxury brands. It is also true that starting up a fashion business is tougher than ever, and more than 95% of start-up fashion businesses fail, and not just because the designer didn’t hit the right creative notes. More often than not, it is the lack of proper planning, funding and infrastructure that lets even the most creatively gifted designers down.

Stories about about the financial challenges that plagued some of the industry’s best known names early in their careers — John Galliano, Marc Jacobs, and Isaac Mizrahi, just to name a few. This series of posts will try to uncover the secrets to success and provide a logical reading path for readers who are thinking about their own fashion businesses and how to take them forward:

• How do I go about writing a business plan?
• What is better for me, equity or debt financing?
• Where do I allocate my limited resources, to a production manager or sales manager?
• How do I go about creating the necessary PR support for my business?
• etc.

We hope to touch on these and many other topics in the months to come and look forward to receiving your feedback. In the meantime, this is the proposed set of articles that you can expect to see here soon:

• Basics 1 – Setting up your own fashion business – what do I need to know first?
• Basics 2 – What is a business plan for and how do I go about writing it?
• Basics 3 – How do I find the right investors and partners?
• Basics 4 – How do I decide where to allocate my capital?
• Basics 5 – Value Chain – Design and Development
• Basics 6 – Value Chain – Marketing and Sales
• Basics 7 – Value Chain – Production and Supply Chain
• Basics 8 – Value Chain – Retail

Malini Murjani is a talented and beautiful young handbag designer based in New York. This woven bag from her new collection is a great riff on the Balenciaga weave in next season’s hottest colour: grey.

Osman Yousefzada’s A/W Collection bowed this evening in Selfridge’s 7th floor car park. For one thing, that must have made it easier for his sponsor, Saab, to get their sleek cars into the venue for the eyes of ogling fashionistas. A lot easier, say, than a 7th floor art gallery or church or museum.

Somehow, the edgy venue and refined collection came together very well in a sort of  modern elegance, best exemplified by a hooded-dress that looked stunning from behind. There were also Lily Cole’s legs in a short sea grey skirt with ruffly pleats. A stream a immacuately cut dresses and trousers followed, each with hints of embellishment (okay, sometimes they were more than hints) and draping. While still a commercial collection you could imagine in the boutiques , it was a stronger statement of Osman’s signature than the last collection, which lacked the maturity that the new collection demonstrated. Some of the skin-tight mini dresses didnt work as well, though they were well-executed.

Selfridge’s are actively supporting Osman, having provided him with a coveted Oxford street window during Fashion Week, provided the venue for his show, and securing exclusivityfor Osman’s collection in London. It is great to see the industry get behind a designer and support him. It benefits both parties – so everybody wins.

He Kaned it.

Christopher Kane, who only hit the London Fashion Week radar one year ago after winning the best collection award from Harrod’s during the St Martins MA graduate show in February, that is. His collection was a true tour de force, hitting all the right notes, and that included the music from his show going from soft Sunday afternoon in the park to a sexy club on a cheeky Thursday night. How could anyone make golf ball size swarvoski crystals work? Christopher Kane did.

I watched the video here: Christopher Kane, Autumn/Winter 2007.

Here are some photos I took at his graduate collection show last year.

Peter Ingwerson showed his latest ec0-friendly luxe Noir collection yesterday, in his now usual opening slot of London Fashion Week. While the sexy Noir basics were there in full force, there was a move into evening wear, with Lily Cole and Erin O’Connor sashaying down the runway in slightly ill-fitting, confusing evening gowns that felt a bit like interference in the show. More successful were the pencil skirts ad loose and sexy chiffon blouses, as worn by one of my favourite models, Cecilia Mendez.

No matter, the Noir business is an interesting one in that not only are they trying to provide fashionable clothing to their clients, but they are also trying to do it responsibly in the most environmentally friendly way. Usually, this would bring to mind a birkenstock-and-sock wearing anti-fashion granola with granny glasses. With Noir, as I’m sure you’ll agree, this is not the case at all. This additional meaning behind the clothes provides further connection between the consumer and the brand, and shows an understanding of marketing that Peter must have honed during his time at Levi’s (the other big hint is that amazing, palindrome-like logo which  reads both ways…when you least expect it). That said, in order for any luxury fashion business to be successful, the product has to stand on its own and not rely only on marketing and spin.

I would never be so presumptuous as to think that my writing could even compare to that of the always insightful quasi-legendary Suzy Menkes.  But, when I read this article in the IHT this morning, I did notice there were some links between some points in her article on London Fashion Week and my rant picking up on the WWD article about fashion fatigue in New York.

You can read the article here:  http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/02/12/news/rlon13.php

This is this coolest new site to see the hottest fashion shows in London, Paris and New York, courtesy of the folks at Swarovski. This is a great find for me as I won’t be able to go to many shows this season – maybe one a day in the morning or in the evening, after work.

http://www.swarovskisparkles.tv

Season after season, Swarovski sponsors some of the hottest young talent by giving them free product to use in their creations and sponsorship money to fund catwalk shows. This year, as per usual, London is disproporationately represented in the list of designers. Now you can watch their shows, courtesy of Swarovski, in their full glory – not edited down to digestible bites (or bytes, if you prefer) like on Style.com.

So why dole out all the cash and free product to young designers? For the same reasons the MAC and Saab and many other large companies do the same. Apart from the satisfaction of supporting creative talent, Swarovski also gets its brand associated with hip young designers and the halo effect gives the brand the fashion edge it is aspiring towards.

I wonder if Swarovski will take the site any further after fashion week is over to make further links to the fashion space.

I received this invitation from a friend from McGill, Jamil Juma, who with his sister Alia, has set up a budding young fashion business in Toronto. The Juma line is a contemporary women’s wear collection carried in the US, Canada and Japan.