LONDON, United Kingdom - 15 December 2008

I launched The Business of Fashion in January 2007 with the goal of facilitating an intelligent discussion amongst professionals in the rapidly-changing fashion and luxury industry. I aimed to say what the mainstream media might not be willing (or able) to say and cover the industry in an opinionated but fair way.

Over time, I have found that BoF has become a great forcing mechanism for me to fine-tune the ideas that are bouncing around my head. That said, I am not a professionally-trained journalist or editor. And while I always aim to edit the BoF with principles of integrity and accuracy, I earn my living from advising fashion companies, and therefore a potential bias exists in my writing.

The flipside is that unlike professional journalists, my writing reflects real insight from experience and observations at fashion’s front-lines and benefits from the analytical rigour of my day-to-day work. I don’t have to do tons of research or go out of my way to speak to a dozen sources to develop a point of view. Rather, I am privileged everyday to meet with CEOs, designers and other industry professionals with whom I discuss their broader business and creative challenges and successes. The collective sum of these conversations enables me to see patterns which often spark ideas for articles, commentary and advice. That said, I advise you to seek other advice and information before acting upon any ideas contained herein.

From time to time, factual information regarding my clients may appear in news reports, analysis or commentary on BoF, but for reasons of confidentiality, I do not disclose my clients nor do I discuss or comment on any of the work that I have performed for them. They do not sponsor or endorse the content found herein.

This past year, I have also invited other talented industry professional and journalists who share the BoF spirit to contribute to the site. I am extremely grateful for their thoughtful contributions, but the views of these writers remain their own, and we do not necessarily endorse their opinions.

BoF has also evolved into a dialogue with thousands of you around the world. I always welcome differing points of view as long as they are delivered with the same respect and integrity as the other content on the site. We encourage and carefully monitor comments and do not publish those which are abusive, inflammatory, profane or overly self-promotional. We encourage commenters to identify themselves to provide the same level of transparency as the rest of the contributors to our community.

In the end, as BoF continues to evolve, it is my commitment to you to maintain the bold, independent and honest approach that has enabled BoF to build a global following, through a campaign of whispers, one reader at a time.

Imran Amed, Editor