LONDON, United Kingdom — When Alison Whelan and Courtney Blackman asked whether I’d like to conduct an interview at London’s Fashion Business Club, the first interviewee I suggested was Joseph Velosa, CEO and Co-Founder of Matthew Williamson.

You see, Joseph is one of the unsung heroes in British Fashion and BoF has always been about featuring the people who make fashion happen from behind the scenes, to show the professional side of the industry, and to learn from their experiences. In this way, our mission is entirely complementary to that of FBC.

Joseph graciously accepted the invitation and didn’t disappoint. Late last month, FBC members packed into the Swarovski Crystallized Lounge in central London to hear what he had to say about building a fashion business from scratch, taking on investors, and extending the brand into new categories through close partnerships and collaborations with H&M, Bulgari and Harrods.

It was a refreshingly down-to-earth discussion that BoF brings to you exclusively in this video of the interview highlights today.

Fashion Business Club meets six times a year in London, bringing bright-minded fashion business professionals together.

Alexandra Shulman, courtesy of David Wise

LONDON, United Kingdom — When BoF’s Vikram Alexei Kansara explored the interactive future of fashion magazines about a month ago, a lively debate ensued in the comments section of the post and in emails with our readers. It is one of the most read articles on BoF thus far in 2009.

Clearly this is a topic on everyone’s minds, not only in the fashion media, but also print media more generally. Major newspapers like The New York Times and The Washington Post are deep in cost-cutting mode, the consequence of a perfect storm of technological change and plummeting advertising revenues which has sent the global publishing industry into a tailspin. Several magazines have been shut down, including Conde Nast’s Domino and Hachette Filipachi’s Home. Last week, music monthly Blender was the latest magazine to take its entire publication online, shuttering the physical publication altogether after the April issue.

So, when given the opportunity to pose a question to one of the most important fashion editors in the world, I couldn’t resist asking for her take on the future of fashion magazines in this climate of rapid change.

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