Ron Friedman - CPA, Principal, Stonefield Josephson, Inc.
Ilse Metchek - President, California Fashion Association
Larry Russ - Attorney, Founding Partner, Russ, Kabat & August
The lecture began with Ruth Weisberg, the dean of Roski, introducing herself and the three main guest speakers for the event. Mark I. Welts, CEO and founder of American Rag (http://www.amrag.com/), sponsored this event and talked about the issues facing people who want to start a fashion business now in the current state of the economy. He compared it to "sailing without any wind" but he stressed that if one is passionate about what they are doing, they will ultimately be able to succeed.
The first speaker was Ilse Metchek, who provided a great deal of information and statistics in a short amount of time. She informed us how LA is a thriving fashion industry because of many reasons: 1) Hollywood and the OC's influences, 2) West Coast is less conservative, 3) No rules/seasons, 4) Multi-ethnic mix. She also discussed the question of whether fashion was an art or a business. Those who understand the business of fashion, Metchek said, are more likely to last longer in the industry than those who just appreciate the art of fashion. She also went into the various business models of the fashion industry (large conglomerate, international corp. w/ a U.S brand entity, etc.), the mechanics of success for a fashion company (distinguishable, memorable logo, can survive an economic downturn), and skill requirements needed to work in the industry (work experience, communication skills, math, advanced computer abilities, organizational skills, timeliness, proper attire, responsibility, geography, history). Furthermore, she informed us of some trends in the industry which included a transnational media culture and the development of retail based on brand. Also, fashion has changed because one does not need to be rich in order to be fashionable anymore. Fashion changes quickly and new trends happen about every 10 weeks. Some predictions in the industry were that there would be more U.S. retail consolidation, specialty retailing, fabrication/materials/technology, and that style will have no cultural boundaries.
The second speaker was Larry Russ, who told us how he represented a number of different companies, such as American Rag and even Forever 21. He mostly covered the To Do's and Not To Do's while working in the industry. He stressed how "the team" is critical, meaning the people you work with. He went into the different options for people going into business (partnerships, corporations, limited liability companies) and said that the name of your company and your team agreement are key to success.
The third speaker was Ron Friedman who mostly talked about the money involved in the business. If one wants to start a business he says, you need at least $500000 to have a chance to be successful. He also told us a story about a woman he met with a 2 million dollar company who said she was genuinely interested in just designing clothes when asked if she got into the business to make money. Friedman said that the one thing you have to be focused on to be successful is the goal of making money.
Finally, the lecture ended with a Q&A session. I felt the lecture was pretty interesting - all three speakers came from different areas in the industry and all had something different to contribute. I also have interests in fashion so this lecture was actually informative and useful for me personally.
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