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First Person | Victoria Bartlett Says Take Small Steps, Not Giant Leaps
Victoria Bartlett | Source: VPL NEW YORK, United States — “It was almost like an experiment,” says Victoria Bartlett, of starting her much-loved underwear-as-outerwear line VPL in 2003. “I felt like a...
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First Person | Yigal Azrouël Advises, Build Slowly and Be Strategic
Yigal Azrouël | Photo: Claiborne Swanson Frank NEW YORK, United States — “For me it’s all about longevity,” says designer Yigal Azrouël. “You see a lot of brands out there becoming stars over night....
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First Person | Anya Hindmarch Says You Have To Sweet Talk, and Sell
Anya Hindmarch | Source: Anya Hindmarch LONDON, United Kingdom — “I started my business when I was 18,” said luxury handbag designer Anya Hindmarch. On her gap year in Florence, Italy, she saw a bag...
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First Person | Phillip Lim’s Four P’s: Partner, Price Point, Production and...
Phillip Lim | Photo: But Sou Lai NEW YORK, United States — “I always believed in making clothes with affordable prices,” said Phillip Lim, one of the many young designers to have emerged in New York...
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First Person | Jenna Lyons Says You Have To Make Quick Decisions From the Gut
Jenna Lyons at New York Fashion Week | Source: J Crew NEW YORK, United States — “You have to make quick decisions,” Jenna Lyons, the president and creative director of J.Crew, told BoF. “Ultimately,...
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First Person | Tory Burch Says Work Hard, Think Long Term and Be Patient
Tory Burch | Photo: Patrick Demarchelier NEW YORK, United States — “There were a lot of people doubting what we were doing in the beginning,” Tory Burch, both creative director and chief executive of...
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First Person | Rag & Bone’s Wainwright and Neville Say Focus First
Marcus Wainwright and David Neville of Rag & Bone | Source: Rag & Bone On the eve of their first ever presentation at London Fashion Week, to be held at their new Sloane Square flagship, BoF...
View ArticleFirst Person | Brian Atwood Says Never Compromise on What You Love
NEW YORK, United States — “Freedom lies in being bold,” luxury footwear designer Brian Atwood told BoF, quoting American poet Robert Frost. “That’s what I started the company with — never compromise...
View ArticleFirst Person | Vera Wang
NEW YORK, United States — “People have done far better than me in far shorter periods of time, but that wasn’t my story,” Vera Wang tells BoF. “It was brick by brick, client by client, store by store....
View ArticleFirst Person | Chitose Abe of Sacai Says It’s About Following Your Instincts
TOKYO, Japan — A crescendo of applause has been her constant companion ever since deciding to give into pressure and start showing Sacai on the Paris runways four years ago. For all but the most...
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First Person | Pamela Love
Pamela Love | Image by Jordan Sullivan First Person, a new series on BoF, brings you business stories and lessons from real fashion entrepreneurs. First up, cult jewellery designer, Pamela Love. NEW...
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First Person | Scott Sternberg says Fashion is Wonderful for an Entrepreneur...
Scott Sternberg at Lego installation at Opening Ceremony | Source: Selectism Today, BoF brings you First Person with Band of Outsiders’ Scott Sternberg, followed later this week by the exclusive global...
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First Person | Viktor & Rolf say Flowerbomb was their modern day business weapon
Viktor and Rolf | Photo: Philip Riches NEW YORK, United States — “We had big ambitions,” says Viktor Horsting on creating fashion house Viktor & Rolf with Rolf Snoeren. “From the very beginning we...
View ArticleFirst Person | Philip Crangi says jewellery design was his perfect business...
NEW YORK, United States — “I want to own this whole thing,” Philip Crangi says of his popular jewellery brand. “I’d rather own 100 percent of something small that 10 percent of something huge.” The...
View ArticleFelipe Oliveira Baptista Says Go Slow and Don’t Court the Spotlight
LISBON, Portugal — “I was never the new hot thing. Which is great. Booming too quickly is dangerous, because it can only last for so long.” So says Portuguese designer Felipe Oliveira Baptista, who,...
View ArticlePaul Smith Says You Need a Head that Can Change Hats Every Hour
LONDON, United Kingdom — Paul Smith’s office is filled to the rafters with a rambling hodgepodge of pop-cultural objects from the last four decades. It hovers somewhere between a junk shop and a high...
View ArticleJean Touitou of A.P.C. Says Be Cautious, Expect the Worst and Be Ready to Die
PARIS, France — “I think A.P.C. is some sort of unique case, the utopia of a brand being able to be in business while not giving up its principles,” Jean Touitou, the label’s founder and owner, told...
View ArticleThom Browne Says Stay True to Yourself
NEW YORK, United States — “I just knew I needed to stay in business. I’m stubborn, but I’m not foolish,” designer Thom Browne told BoF of his brand’s conceptual-meets-commercial balancing act. “Fashion...
View ArticleJohn Varvatos Says It’s All About Focus
NEW YORK, United States — “Every guy wants to be a little bit of a rock star,” says John Varvatos, who has built a formidable menswear empire on this very notion. His seasonal advertising campaigns...
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Margaret Howell Says Keep as Much Control Over Design as Possible
NEAR WOODBRIDGE, United Kingom — Dense fog hugs the road to Margaret Howell’s seaside residence near Woodbridge in Suffolk, a flat rural landscape with big skies that played muse to the designer’s...
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Kris Van Assche Says Do What You Are Good At
PARIS, France — “Every season is more exciting, because I feel the expression is becoming more and more clear. And as I grow older, I keep learning, so at 20 collections, there have been a lot of small...
View ArticleStuart Weitzman, Master of Mid-Market Glamour
NEW YORK, United States — The Stuart Weitzman showroom, located in a nondescript office building next to the brand’s flagship on Madison Avenue, is impressive in its vastness. Every colour, make and...
View ArticleIsabel Marant Says Build a Strong Base and Stay Focused
PARIS, France — When Isabel Marant was studying fashion design at Studio Berçot, the school’s director, Marie Rucki, gave her an invaluable nugget of wisdom. “She told me to never design anything that...
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Woo Youngmi Says Focus on Design and Trust Your Team
SEOUL, South Korea — “Making it perfect, making it better, making it different — that was, and is, the guiding force for the business,” declared Woo Youngmi, long regarded by buyers as an unsung hero...
View ArticleKaren Walker Says Collaboration is the Key to Growth
AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Launched in 1989 with two t-shirts and the paltry sum of NZ$100 (about $78), Karen Walker — often called the designer for “anti-It Girls” — has grown into a globally recognised...
View ArticleStacey Bendet of Alice + Olivia Says Focus on Making Beautiful Product
NEW YORK, United States — With no prior experience in the fashion industry and no design training, Stacey Bendet has built her contemporary-priced brand Alice + Olivia into what she described as a...
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Charlotte Olympia Dellal Says Believe in Yourself and Your Product
LONDON, United Kingdom — “I think I wanted a brand before I even knew what a brand was. I remember thinking about what my logo would be, not just about designing a dress or a shoe,” Charlotte Dellal...
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Christophe Lemaire Says Cohesion and Teamwork Are Most Important
PARIS, France — In many offices on a Friday afternoon in Paris, you might expect a more laid back atmosphere. But the headquarters of the freshly rebranded Lemaire (formerly known as Christophe...
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