Article | Angela De Montigny - San Jose Fashion Week

Angela De Montigny: 'SKINS & STONES adorn my bones and style is what defines me'
By Hollie Nash

Inspired by native culture and women’s contemporary lifestyles, Canadian designer Angela DeMontigny is making a fundamental mark in the fashion industry. Almost 13 years ago, DeMontigny recognized the unmet potential for Aboriginal designs and went with it. Such an opportunity allowed her to not only incorporate the artistic traditions she had learned growing up, but to interpret these elements in a modern way.

Angela started sketching at the age of twelve and was constantly engulfed in the fashion industry.Be it through reading the latest fashion mag or creating her own designs- she adored every aspect. Angela feels that fashion is about personal expression, “[Fashion is] a way of expressing the many aspects of an individual through clothing.” She also feels it is important to include a specific and effective message in each of her collections. “It changes from each collection,” she states, “but usually the message is that you can dress yourself as a strong, modern person in a way that fits your personality and lifestyle.”

Her trademark is hand painted symbols and beaded accents-an inherent skill that has been handed down from her native ancestors for hundreds of years. Only the finest leathers, suede and sheerings are used to develop the finished garment and whether you are in the market for men or women’s clothing, DeMontigny got you covered, literally.

Her latest collection incorporates her favorite trend of this season, rocker chic. Leather, lots of metal studs and hardware, fringe and various fur garments can be seen in her clothing line. The unique concept of Angela’s designs is that they are extremely wear-able. They have a slight ‘edge’ or sexiness to them but at the same time, they are appropriate for the office, comfortable and possess a certain je ne sais quoi that adds to the versatility of the clothing. What else could you ask for?

Angela’s success has flourished throughout the years, and her designs have gotten a lot of coverage already in 2010. Most recently at the Aboriginal Fashion Week, she produced and debuted her new collection in Vancouver, BC during the first week of the Olympic Games. One of Angela’s proudest moments to date was when Canadian Native Olympian, Waneek Horn-Miller sported a diamond gorget created by DeMontigny. She believes, “the diamond piece will kick start a legacy fund for Aboriginal Youth in design."

Angela DeMontigny Clothing and Accessories can be found in boutiques in major city centers including Montreal, Toronto, and Calgary. Her designs are also sold internationally in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and America. She currently has two specialty boutiques in the US, one in Wyoming and Colorado; however she plans to expand in the near future.

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” This quote certainly relates to the success of Angela DeMontigny as she paves the road for aspiring Aboriginal designers everywhere.

Booking orders for Fall 2010 now - if you'd like to make an app't to view the entire line of fashion for men and women or accessories, I can be reached at: 905-304-8952 or cell: 905-818-2751. For recent press, media coverage please contact Lee Arden Lewis at: 613-966-4078.

Images
Angela De Montigny
Fashion Writer
Hollie Nash

[see original article here]

some new product this week..

31.03.10

apartamento.

b store indigo dress shoe.

b store dress shoe.

b store check button up shirt.

b store check work blazer.

b store classic stripe shirt.

three over one check button down.

dr denim burgundy chino's.

b store trench coat.

Fashion Marketing

Fashion Marketing Planning

What's in a fashion marketing campaign?

This article explores the components of a fashion marketing plan and how fashion brands can enhance their marketing strategy. Fashion marketing is concerned with meeting the needs, wants, and demands of your targeted consumer, and these goals are accomplished using the marketing mix.

Fashion marketing is distinct from fashion public relations in that fashion PR is solely concerned with communications and how the brand communicates with and resonates with it's targeted consumers.



A fashion marketing plan focuses on four essential concepts: 1) product development, 2) distribution management, 3) communications, and 4) cost. In order to implement an effective marketing campaign, the marketing mix must be consumer centric and focused on niche markets rather than catering to mass markets. This concept simply means that the marketing strategy and implementation should have consumers and their needs, wants, and demands in the forefront and with a very defined market that it intends to target.

Niche marketing is more focused and cost-effective and allows the marketer to focus on a particular market segment. Otherwise, a mass marketing campaign is all over the place and lacks a defined consumer to market to.

As an example, imagine if the luxury brand Louis Vuitton was a mass retailer and did not cater to a niche market. Essentially, this would mean that Louis Vuitton would market its products to the masses, when in fact this is unrealistic. Louis Vuittton's price point does not allow the brand to cater to the masses, which is why the brand channels all of its marketing communications to the luxury market. However, that does not mean that the brand is off limits to consumers who do not exactly fall into the luxury market; it just means that the communications strategy and the brand identity would resonate more with consumers in the luxury market. This approach allows the business to remain competitive and effective in its strategic approach.

Components of a Fashion Marketing Plan

1) Product Development

The most important component of the product development phase is not the product itself. The product is just the byproduct of this phase. The most important component of this phase are the consumers. Consumers dictate all the components of the marketing plan, and consequently, dictates what the product is. Keep in mind that today's highly competitive global marketplace requires that businesses are consumer centric and focus on serving consumer's needs. Consumers dictate what the pricing strategy will be, the points of distribution, the communications strategy, and the final product outcome. In the example given above regarding Louis Vuitton, the targeted consumers dictate what the associated cost and value will be for the brand.

There are two orientations of the product development phase. The business can be product-oriented and choose to develop products first then market it to its targeted markets. Alternatively, the business can be more market-oriented and segment its markets first to determine their specific needs, wants, and demands then create the product to meet those wants.

Due to the transient nature of the fashion industry, fashion marketers are under short marketing cycles since product needs are seasonal. As the seasons change so do trends and tastes. Consequently, marketers are required to constantly adjust their product offerings with time.

2) Price: Cost vs Value

The pricing strategy strictly relies on the market segmentation. With a consumer centric marketing focus, the pricing strategy would take into account the associated costs to the consumer and the value afforded to the consumer. Pricing may vary based on the market segment and their perceived value of the product or brand. A consumer buying a luxury brand perceives the product to be more valuable and in turn is willing to pay more for the product compared to a price-sensitive consumer or a product that is mass produced with minimal differentiation.

3) Distribution Management

The distribution strategy determines the convenience and availability of the product. Traditional distribution channels for fashion brands include branded flagship stores, independent retailers, department stores, and online distribution. The more distribution channels used the more intense the brand's exposure and the greater the availability to consumer markets.

4) Promotions & Communications

The promotional strategy entails how the brand will attract its buyers and the series of activities used to communicate to the targeted consumers. The activities in this phase include developing the brand and its identity, sales promotions, public relations, product placement, advertising, event marketing, and sponsorships.(EzineArticles.com)

Check out the other guide on Fashion Shopping.

Designer Profile | Wendy Ponca

(Wendy Ponca's Mylar dresses, Santa Fe, 1996)

“I didn’t really know what Native American traditions were. I had always loved beading as a young girl – really loved it – but it was many years later that I discovered it was part of my cultural heritage – as a Native American and as a Native American woman. It was a powerful discovery.” – Wendy Ponca, 2000

Kimberly ‘Wendy’ Ponca (Osage) has been described as an Osage avant-garde, but also as an artist who continues the legacy of the traditional Osage figure Spider Woman, who, according to tribal stories, taught weaving to the people. She once stated, “Many people do art for money. Others do art for arts sake. I do art for history’s sake. I want to preserve my traditional culture, while reflecting the signs of contemporary America.” Ponca maintained key elements of her Osage traditions by re-presenting them and expressing them through new materials, rendering them compatible with contemporary society.

(Wendy Ponca as the Fashion Instructor at IAIA)

Ponca was the main fashion instructor at the Institute of American Indian Arts for a decade between 1983 and 1993, and she was instrumental in making Native fashion what it is today. Her educational background was in clothing and textile design, and she combined this knowledge with stimulating art curriculum and Native American culture studies. She explained that her courses at IAIA “transcend the normal art school curriculum in that, as Indians, we are furthering tradition. As we evolve culturally within a multi-cultured environment, we are doing and creating as we have for hundreds… even thousands… of years; utilizing that which surrounds us symbolically, economically, and fashionably.”

(Wendy Ponca's motorcycle blanket)

To create her wearable art, Ponca drew on her experiences as a contemporary Osage person, and this is evident in her juxtaposition of the time-honored with the entirely-new. Her garment collections have been described as both a reflection and a redefinition of a culture. Ponca’s clothing and fashion shows deconstruct stereotypes, present theories of female beauty and power, impart Osage oral tradition and cosmological beliefs, and champion fashion as art.

(Wendy Ponca coat made with Rainbow Selvedge Wool Broadcloth)

As a designer, Ponca used innovative new materials for her clothing designs to tell traditional Osage stories. For example, she incorporated Mylar, a synthetic material used on space shuttles, which she conceptualized as connected with the sky and stars. Ponca perceived these qualities as compatible with Osage cosmological beliefs. Traditional Osage stories communicate a deep connection that exists between the earth people and the sky world, since the Osage believe that their ancestors came from the sky. To Ponca, the use of Mylar accentuated the wearer’s relationship with the sky.

(Wendy Ponca's dress designs. Dress on right features the important Osage spider symbol)

Ponca also painted tattoos onto her female models’ bodies and adorned their hair with feathers for photographs and fashion shows. As Ponca explained, she used body paint and feathers because of the strength that it bestows the wearer. Ponca stated that the body art and feathers “changes you on the inside, your intellect, being. It’s a powerful thing, it changes you emotionally." This way of thinking directly related to her philosophy concerning garments and adornment: what you wear should convey identity, confidence and a tribally-informed sense of beauty. Other designers such as Pilar Agoyo and Virgil Ortiz have recently used similar body adornment in their shows and fashion shoots.

(Native Uprising designer collective, Santa Fe, 1988)

Importantly, in the mid-1980s Ponca co-founded the Native Influx (later, Native Uprising) collective of designers, models, and artists, which was the first group of its kind – effectively establishing Santa Fe as the center for Native American haute couture. Furthermore, because of the innovations of this group, the Santa Fe Indian Market added new categories for judging clothing and paved the pathway to create a new market venue for Native clothing designers.

As IAIA’s main fashion instructor, Ponca undoubtedly greatly influenced her students’ work and the contemporary Native American fashion world.

(Note: This is an excerpt from my dissertation and is copyrighted material)

(All images courtesy of Wendy Ponca)

Amazing fashion portfolio poses...!

Fashion School

Fashion School Majors - Choosing the Right Major For a Career in Fashion Design

You know when you're meant for a career in fashion design. Perhaps you made clothes for your dolls (or dogs) when you were little; at the movies, you pay more attention to the costume design than the plot; you devour fashion magazines; or maybe you watch a red carpet event and just know you can do a better job dressing the stars. So what does it take to be a fashion designer? Professional training from a fashion school is key, but you might be surprised at the wide range of majors that lead to industry careers.



Fashion School Design. This major teaches you to make the most of your creativity. It provides training in essential skills like fashion sketching, draping, computer-aided design, and pattern drafting. You would also study fashion design in the context of a bigger industry picture, with an examination of marketing, production, historical trends, and global business practices. But while this major may be the most obvious, it's not the only option for students looking to break into the field.

Merchandise Marketing. If you have both fashion sense and business sense, this program will prepare you for a career in fashion merchandising. You would receive valuable training in the planning, purchasing, and allocation of merchandise while keeping on top of fashion trends and consumer forecasts. In addition, you would gain the marketing and advertising expertise to effectively merchandise your fashion.

Merchandise Product Development. Suppose you want to develop your own product line, or merchandise an established brand. This major would help you do just that. The curriculum focuses on strategic planning, preproduction, trend analysis, and line production, and also would provide you training in the basics like sketching and fitting.

Apparel Manufacturing Management. This program prepares you to own or manage a fashion manufacturing company. You would learn every phase of the manufacturing process, from global sourcing and production planning to sales management and financial accountability, so you could take a product from initial concept to store distribution and beyond.

Textile Design. Some of the most innovative designers today focus on textiles. This major concentrates on the creation and production of printed and woven textiles that will be used for fashion, and interior, design. You would delve into the technical aspects of production and develop design skills using both traditional and computer-aided programs.

Fashion Knitwear Design. Knitwear is such an integral part of fashion design that many fashion schools now offer a major devoted to it. The curriculum is similar to that of the general fashion design major, with courses in illustration and pattern drafting, but specializing in the unique construction requirements of knitwear.

Costume Design. Students interested in the entertainment industry will benefit from this major, which is often divided into two programs - one for theatre costume design, and one for movies and television. You would study costume construction, wardrobing, rendering, script analysis and breakdown, while learning to work within the production constraints of budget and timing.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

Check out the other guide on Fashion Jobs.

Designer Profile | Lloyd Kiva New

(Image from Native Peoples Magazine article)

Cherokee designer Lloyd Kiva New (1916-2002) played an important role in revolutionizing Native customary clothing design in the mid-1900s. He worked in textile arts, leatherwork, and fashion design with his own boutique (opened in Dec 1945) and center (opened in 1955), and he was active in the development of Scottsdale as an arts center. New's handbags and garments were collaborations with other notable Native artists. For example, for one shirt (pictured below), the horse design was painted by Andrew Van Tsinajinnie, then it was silkscreened onto fabric by Manfred Susunkewa. New designed the shirt, and Charles Loloma made the unique silver buttons.

New became the first Native American to show at an international fashion show in 1951 with his participation in the Atlantic City International Fashion Show. In 1952 he showed there again, and was featured in the Los Angeles Times (below). In 1957, Miss Arizona Lynn Freyse wore a Kiva creation at the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City.

New’s business prospered when opportunities for Native people were limited and bounded. Upper-class Anglo women wore his garments made with Native American designs in a time when Native cultures were being smothered out and dissolved into American cities through relocation and termination government policies. He expressed his ideas as to the importance of Native cultures (especially the importance of Native contributions to American society and identity) while emceeing fashion shows by resort pools, being interviewed for national articles, hosting art or cultural events, or consulting on Indian art educational programs.

Throughout his career as a fashion and accessories designer, New incorporated Native design concepts, including symbols, materials, silhouettes, cuts, and color palettes, from various tribes, sometimes combining them, to create items that would work within Anglo American paradigms of gender, class, and ethnicity. New acknowledged social limitations and cultural expectations and worked within these frameworks to create new possibilities for Native people.

New went on to co-found the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe in 1962.

(Note: This is an excerpt from my dissertation and is copyrighted material)

(Lloyd Kiva New, silkscreening. Image from IAIA Archives.)

(Lloyd Kiva New boutique in Scottsdale, ca. 1950s. Image from Heard Museum exhibit Mid-century Modern: Native American Art in Scottsdale.)

(Lloyd Kiva New featured in the Los Angeles Times, 1952.)

(Lloyd Kiva New blue sleeveless shirt, ca. 1950s. Private collection. Image my own.)

(Lloyd Kiva New sleeveless mini-dress with blue water design, ca. 1950s. Private collection. Image my own.)

("It's a Kiva bag". Private collection. Image my own.)

(Lloyd Kiva New shirt with desert-inspired colors, ca. 1950s. Private collection. Image my own.)

(Lloyd Kiva New purse with Charles Loloma silver detailing, ca. 1950s. Image from online auction site.)

Read more about New at Native Peoples, or at The New York Times.

Fashion Designing

How to Become a Successful Fashion Designer

If you are like me you live and breathe fashion. You are constantly inspired with so many new designs racing through your mind, so many you can't seem to get them all down quick enough at the pace they arrive. You constantly dream of the day your fashions will be on the fashion runway with the lights beaming brightly overhead, the cameras flashing everywhere and the audience being completely mesmerized by your incredible designs. You can't stop thinking of the day you will open a magazine or watch the Oscars and see a famous celebrity in one of your breathtaking designs. Your book shelf is stocked with fashion books and magazines, and you absolutely can't resist visiting textile stores to view all the latest fabrics, decorative beads, rhinestones and trims.



It's this ever present dream of being a successful fashion designing that has you work day and night on your designs in most cases for many years without pay and working a job to pay the pills which is brutal torture, when all you can think about is living and working in fashion.

Famous fashion designers come from all walks of life there is no one system to follow that will have you become the next famous fashion designer. Some have graduated from elite fashion schools and some have never attended fashion school. Some have undertaken a fashion internship with a fashion house and others have made their own designs in their basement. The only elements all these fashion designers have in common is they had an intense passion for fashion, were able to design fashions highly sought after and connected with someone who gave them the opportunity to break into the fashion industry. It is essential in becoming a successful fashion designer you get you and your designs out there as much as possible, as how will anyone know about your fashions if they can't see them?

In getting your fashions out there here are a few things you can do:

1. We are not usually good at everything some of us are great at designing clothes but lack the sewing and pattern making skills. It is here you can partner with someone who shares your passion for fashion and has the skills you lack. It is in the bringing together of different skills you can create a real product that can be showcased.
2. In having a fashion line of 14 outfits you can apply to your local fashion week. In the USA: New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco all have fashion weeks. These fashion weeks attract many editors, journalists and local socialites who will see your fashions and potentially give you the exposure you need to get known.
3. Many city night clubs hold fashion shows, find out what night clubs hold fashion shows and contact them as to how you can be apart of an up and coming show.
4. Locate fashion boutiques that cater to the fashions you design, first make a trip to the stores to look around, if you can see your clothes fitting in well with the store, find out who the owner is and ask if they would be willing to have some of your fashions offered for sale in their store. You will be amazed at how many store owners are willing to work with you. I walked around San Francisco in the Nob Hill district and had my fashions placed after visiting and discussing my product with four boutiques. In having your fashions displayed you will receive valuable insights as to whether or not your designs are in demand and if you need to change your designs to increase sales. It will also give you free exposure to the public. When your fashions do sell you can present this to investors who are more than willing to invest in your line, when you prove the existence of a strong demand for your fashions.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

Check out my other guide on Fashion Jobs.

The Kinks & Sarah Tonin

Right, last night, detailed version (as much as I can, some things I'll have to miss out or can't say). We got to the Assembley Hall practically on the dot at 8:00pm, Phil from Sarah Tonin ran out through the backstage door to sneak us our free tickets, they had 5 minutes until they were on stage, so me & emma went for a joint. We smoked it so fast so we weren't late for the band we were supposed to be seeing, stood right at the front in the middle, and watched their every move. It's so good when you are so close that you are leaning yourself on the front of the stage and you're in touching distance, it's as if the music hits you first before everyone else and you get a sort of sneak preview. Sarah Tonin have such a good stage persona and the way they act with eachother is so good to watch, it's all good vibes. They played a new song, one which I later found out they hadn't named, and it was one of the best live songs I've ever heard, everyone's faces were astonished as to how good it was and Phil's guitar solo made everyone speechless, me & Emma were standing there with our mouths open, it was so good, but I missed that whole song on video, waiting for them to put it up on their Myspace. When they finished, me & Emma went for another joint and came back very stoned, we were laughing at absolutely everything and all the people that were in the seating seats were staring at us, we looked like a couple of idiots smack bang in the front of the middle of the audience prancing about & singing, then Chris & Phil from Sarahtonin came to meet us, everyone stared even more. Phil gave us a million (well actually Emma counted them and there was 37) flyers to hand out to people but somehow I have accumulated more. So... we stood there... with Sarahtonin... very stoned... waiting for The Kinks. And on they came, the only original band member who was with The Kinks from the start was Mick Avory, the drummer. He was standing at the front with the sound man, and corrrrrr the eye fucking that took place, I am aware that he is now an old man yes, but the fact that he is an original member of The Kinks is my reason for all of this, and if you closed your eyes for a second you could just imagine him standing there with his little bowl haircut and his little handmade mod suits from Carnaby Street. He was looking at us up & down so much it was unreal. Then they started playing, it was fantastic, Dave Clarke (lead vocals & guitar) was singing whilst staring at us for ages, he was another eye fucker. Holding that look with Mick Avory whilst he was playing was a fun game and it lasted ages. Then it was break time again, managed to spot Dave Clarke with a leather jacket on talking to some people so I casually walked past him and brushed my hand across his arse, it's oh so fun. They finished their set after about an hour of playing the favourites - Waterloo Sunset, Till The End Of The Day, Sunny Afternoon, Days, David Watts, You Really Got Me, All Day & All Of The Night and Lola. They went off straight away, didn't talk to anyone or anything, just went straight backstage. We hung around for a little bit as Chris & Phil invited us to a party at their friends house which was going to involve The Doors and Marijuana, but we didn't go in the end. However, Emma drove Chris & Phil to their destination so we waited around for them. Chris - ''Do you wanna come backstage for a bit then while we collect our gear?''... There was nobody else around apart from them and us so off we went. Walked past a silly security woman shouting for everyone to move out of the area and then she says to us ''Are you a... band or something?'' Then looked me up & down and smirked to herself, and Chris was like ''Yeah we're the band'' and I was like ''Yeah, I'm with the band''. And then we walked right past her and went backstage. There was a long white corridoor with several rooms filled with guitars & drums, now if it was the 60's, they would be full of hippies and every room you walked past there would be a little sing-song going on in there, like at The Riot House in Almost Famous, but unforatunatley it's 2010. We walked past one room with the door wide open very quickly, and The Kinks were in there, they all stared. They must've thought we were upto something from the eye contact we were exchanging while they were playing and then they saw us backstage with the other band. Me, Emma, Chris & Phil hovered around a bit while everyone sorted themselves out and we were 2 foot away from The Kinks dressing room, about to introduce ourselves to The Kinks, there was nobody else around, but we chickened out. We fucking chickened out. I've never been so pissed off at myself before! We could have stood there and introduced ourselves to the fucking Kinks but we were too nervous when it came down to it and because we built it all up too much we looked like idiots anyway hovering around their dressing room like little girls so I thought it was best we didn't embarrass ourselves even more and leave with SarahTonin, but now I seriously regret it, next time, I'll get right in there! We left, and piled ourselves into Emma's car and had a very fast car journey listening to Fleetwood Mac and I quote Chris - ''This song just makes you want to smoke a cigarette so can I have a toke of your cigarette please''. My leg was trapped underneath a guitar. We dropped them off, feeling very guilty for not being able to stay, promised we'd see them soon, thanked them for everything they'd done for us, and left, at 12am, for an hour's journey. We got to Eastbourne, met Jamie & Charlie and sat in the car until 5am getting fucking stoned, when we could've been at this house party with a band we loved so very much. These are the times I learn from. But then again, overall, it was a fucking magical experience and I won't forget it and I have the whole thing stored like a movie clip in my head that I play over and over again and I wish I could share it with everyone else and spill details that I've missed out JUST INCASE someone sees it who shouldn't. The life of a groupie in 2010 seems to have rules & regulations which wasn't the case in 1969, but if you close your eyes for a few seconds and if you have a big enough imagination, listen to the music, and you feel like you're there in 1969 with everyone else. I'll post some videos on here when I figure out how to do it. www.myspace.com/sarahtoninuk. Also, just wanna say thanks to http://gypsygardens.blogspot.com/ who gave me a blog award, I have no idea show to redo it but thanks lovely!