HBS EVENT: Building a fashion Brand
HBS SPECIAL EVENT
Building a British Fashion Brand
Day: Thursday
Date: 2nd June 2011
Time: 18.30 p.m - 21.00 p.m. (Presentation starts at 19.00)
Venue: Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street, London, W1G 7LP
Cost: £26.00 for members; £34.00 for non-members and guests.
Date: 2nd June 2011
Time: 18.30 p.m - 21.00 p.m. (Presentation starts at 19.00)
Venue: Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street, London, W1G 7LP
Cost: £26.00 for members; £34.00 for non-members and guests.
In the last two decades, British fashion has come into its own. While a few iconic British designers caught the attention of the world in the 60s and 70s, by the 90s and 00s this had blossomed into a whole industry with a solid infrastructure led by high profile designers such as Stella McCartney, John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Christopher Bailey, Matthew Williamson, Philip Treacy, Julien Macdonald and Paul Smith – some of whom achieved international acclaim whilst heading up world-renowned fashion houses abroad.
Today British fashion is big business, directly contributing almost £21bn in 2009 to the UK economy and a total contribution of about £37bn when the indirect “spill over” effects are considered, according to the recent report The Value of the UK Fashion Industry by the economic consultants Oxford Economics. The report, commissioned by the British Fashion Council, sought for the first time to quantify the true economic and social impact of the UK fashion industry. It confirms British fashion's status as one of the UK most important creative industries and its largest employer - directly employing 816,000 people - 2.8% of total employment in the UK. This makes the industry similar in size to food and drink services, generating over twice as many jobs as real estate, and considerably more than telecommunications, car manufacturing and publishing put together.
The British Fashion Council formed in 1983 showcases British designers and has develops London’s position as a major player in the international fashion arena. As a result, the twice annually London Fashion Week ranks alongside New York, Milan and Paris as one of the 'Big Four’. London Fashion Week makes £20m a year for the capital and draws in orders of £100 million.
The HBS Alumni Club is delighted to welcome a stellar group of speakers from the British fashion scene to discuss the present state of the fashion industry, its impact and position internationally and its challenges for the future. The discussion will address the opportunities and risks of the growing internationalisation of fashion and fashion brands including the emergence of both talented designers and luxury brands in emerging economies and the difficulties of turning a brilliant designer into a thriving fashion business and of building a British brand that is truly international.
MODERATOR – IMRAN AMED - Founder and Editor of The Business of Fashion - www.businessoffashion.com
Imran is a fashion business adviser, writer and entrepreneur and has emerged as one of the fashion industry’s leading thinkers on digital media, working for international luxury brands, private equity firms and independent investors as a bridge between the industry’s most gifted creative and business talent and in shaping strategies for the new digital reality. He is an Associate Lecturer at Central St Martin’s College of Art & Design and leads a bespoke mentoring program for promising young designers at Fashion East, London’s premier fashion incubator. He has sat on juries at international fashion competitions including The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp and the Austrian Fashion Awards in Vienna and appears regularly on the international fashion and business media including CNN, BBC, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Luxury Briefing, Dow Jones, The South China Morning Post, and Women’s Wear Daily and his articles appear in the Financial Times, Vogue India and Style.com. In 2011, British GQ included Imran on its annual list of the 100 most influential men in Britain. He sits on the Digital Committee of the British Fashion Council and the Board of Dasra, India’s leading strategic philanthropy foundation. Previously, he was a management consultant at McKinsey & Co. He has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.Com from McGill University.
PANELISTS
CAROLINE RUSH - CEO of the British Fashion Council
Since her appointment in 2009 Caroline has been charged with strengthening London Fashion Week, engaging the industry and creating a legacy for the organisation’s 25th anniversary. She has played a key role in attracting brands such as Burberry and Pringle and British designers such as Antonio Berardi and Jonathan Saunders back to London. Her focus is to maintain and enhance the UK’s reputation as being a global innovator in fashion design, promoting the industry to a global audience and assisting designer businesses to develop and grow through projects including BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund, BFC/Bazaar Fashion Arts Foundation, and BFC/ELLE Talent Launch Pad. She has 18 years’ experience in Marketing and PR across both consumer and corporate communications in fashion, music and lifestyle sectors, managed her own business for five years, during which time she delivered strategic communications and full press office function for the British Fashion Council.
HAROLD TILLMAN CBE – Chairman of the British Fashion Council
Harold Tillman CBE is a retail entrepreneur with interests embracing fashion, retail, leisure, and lifestyle in Britain and around the world. Tillman learnt his trade at the London College of Fashion in the sartorial melting pot of the Sixties’ London and his ventures have embraced the changing face of British fashion. On graduation in 1965 he became an apprentice at Lincroft Kilgour in Savile Row, in 3 years becoming its managing director and floating it on the London Stock exchange a couple of years later.
Fashion is not merely Tillman’s work, it is his passion – a passion as manifest in his consummate eye for tailoring, as his unfailing instinct for the vicissitudes of the high street. In 2009, Harold’s ambassadorship secured a London’s Fashion week triumphant 25th anniversary. Today his investments include Jaeger and Aquascutum and he sits on the board of the Fashion Enterprise Forum which raises cash for young industry entrepreneurs; his is Chair of the Alumni Board for the University of the Arts London and also Chair of the British Fashion Council.
JOSEPH VELOSA - CEO and Co-Founder of Matthew Williamson LTD.
Joseph co-founded the Matthew Williamson fashion company in 1996 and in September 1997, the company had its first catwalk show. Joseph was appointed CEO in 1997 and since this time he has managed and overseen the growth of the company to £11 million turnover annually, employing some 50 staff. It has flagship stores in London, New York and Dubai, and is stocked in over 160 wholesale accounts worldwide.
In April 2009 the company collaborated with H&M, producing a capsule Summer range for both men and women, which was stocked in all of its stores for a limited period and supported by a global ad campaign. The company also has a long term diffusion line with the Debenhams store group and has collaborated with many companies over the years including Bulgari, Smythson, and Habitat on co-branded products. The luxury fashion house Matthew Williamson Ltd now produces 4 women’s ready-to-wear collections annually and has a customer portfolio which includes 170 prestigious wholesale accounts around the world.
Joseph is a member of the management council of the British Fashion council since 2003; a judge for the finalist selection for London's Fashion Fringe and has sat on the London Development Agency funding panel for young fashion companies for the last 2 years. He graduated from King's College London with a BA hons degree in Philosophy in June 1995
MATTHEW WILLIAMSON – Fashion Designer and Co-Founder of Matthew Williamson LTD.
The luxury fashion house, Matthew Williamson, was founded by designer, Matthew Williamson and CEO, Joseph Velosa. – showing Matthew’s debut collection, 'Electric Angels', during London Fashion Week in 1997. Bias cut dresses and separates in exotic shades this unique collection of bright, intricately detailed pieces defined and set the pace for the highly recognisable Matthew Williamson signature aesthetic. His collections have continued to gather momentum, cementing his reputation as an internationally renowned designer and one of the UK’s leading designer talents.
In February 2002, Matthew showed for the first time during New York Fashion Week and in 2004 opened his Mayfair store and in 2005 Matthew Williamson took over as Creative Director at LVMH owned Italian house, Emilio Pucci, whilst continuing at the design helm of his namesake company. In 2009, Matthew Williamson opened its first US flagship store in New York, accompanied by a further stand alone retail store in the Dubai Mall, Dubai. This was closely followed by the launch of online stores for the UK, Europe and US.
2011 saw the launch of a Matthew Williamson Bridal collection and Spring 2011 marks the launch of a more affordable diffusion collection to target a wider global audience. : MW by Matthew Williamson as part of a new licensing agreement with Italian company Mariella Burani Fashion Group.
In 2007 TSM Capital acquired an equity stake in Matthew Williamson Holdings Ltd and Baugur Group, which invested in the company in 2006, maintains a significant equity interest,. Matthew and Joseph Velosa, the company's founders, retain the majority stake in the company.
Matthew graduating from Central St Martins in June 1994 with a BA in Fashion Design and Printed Textiles. , his first job following graduation was a freelance design project with Marni.
Canapés and drinks will be served. Guests are welcome.
Please book on line at www.hbsa.org.uk .
Alternatively contact Janet Talbut on admin@hbsa.org.uk / Tel: 01799 540089