FASHION FOR THE PEOPLE

#THEBEAUTYEXPO 2012 Instagram Recap

• @artiffact The winning look #thebeautyexpo #sffama @sffama

• @tattyserganova  #sffama

• @LuxResale Our founder @au_lona is modeling! #thebeautyexpo
  @LuxResale The Russian experience work is amazing! #thebeautyexpo
• @TaniaArrayales lux rocks! ‪#sffama‬ 
• @TaniaArrayales Love! 
  RT @tattyserganova: @TaniaArrayales lux rocks! sffama

• ‏@beautyjunkieSF Pics from #thebeautyexpo last night with held by @sffama. So much fun!

• @artiffact @stepheavvy starting this styling contest! #thebeautyexpo #sffama@sffama 
• @stepHEAVVY RT @artiffact: @stepheavvy starting this styling contest!#thebeautyexpo #sffama @sffama 

• @artiffact Team 4 is braiding and twisting it up! #thebeautyexpo #sffama@sffama
• @DelphineWinter This was such an amazing event! Congrats to my team for winning!!:). Hope to see you all soon.

• @artiffact Team 3 has balls… Of hair! #thebeautyexpo #sffama @sffama

• @theElleTee #thebeautyexpo loving team 1
• “NEA is so thankful to everyone who came out to support, what a fun event it was!!”
• @artiffact Team 1 is puckering! #thebeautyexpo #sffama @sffama
• @robertmichaelt @thebeautyexpo #sffama @sffama Nikol and I are gonna rock it!

• @hburtAIA #sffashion beauty looks competition! #sffama!

• Lona doing her thing…  — with Lona Alia Duncan.

• @ArielSimoneMN at #beautyexpo @SFFAMA 

• @SeverineWinter The peacock! Go team 4!!! At the beauty expo San Francisco — with Delphine Winter

• @MiyahImage Met some great peeps and saw some great makeup & hair styling @SFFAMA Event!

• @LuxResale Thank you to everyone who supported us at #thebeautyexpo - it was an awesome night!!

• @geneive They gave me a tablet to use during this years`s ‪#thebeautyexpo‬. Genius :-)
• @stepHEAVVY Ready to compete! @SFFAMA

• @geneive I got that swag and its coming out my ovaries. thanks @SFFAMA!!

• @LuxResale Introductions - Nice to see so many amazing businesses and people! #thebeautyexpo

• @ArielSimoneMN Gorgeous model and gorgeous hair #SFFAMA #sffashion @pigmentcosmetics

• @AlinesCloset #thebeautyexpo! 
• @AlinesCloset An event I don’t want to miss! @SFFAMA: #THEBEAUTYEXPO 
• @brianmiller Thank you for a great event! 
• @sheridantatsuno Great event last night, Owen! 

• @metabolizer1986 #thebeautyexpo ramping up now at Pigment Cosmetics! Get down here!
• @theElleTee here at #thebeautyexpo watching hair and make up stylists doll some models up

• @NataMinasenko #thebeautyexpo

• @artiffact  Hi Owen, Thank you for the invite…great event, so many of my friends are asking all about it!

• @metabolizer1986 Great event Owen!
• @CharlestonSF Once again thank you so much I had a good time

• The Beauty Expo is an annual networking event for the local fashion, beauty and tech communities featuring a trunk show by local retailers, fashion app developer demos & beauty product vendors, a hair and make-up styling showcase and a fashion installation from a selected local designer. Four teams competed in the styling showcase for the most creative make-up and hairstyles. This year’s event also featured the first ever fashion bloggers mini runway showcase in San Francisco. THANK YOU to our judges Joyce Hu, Dario Smith & Gwen Wright, fashion designer: Jennifer Ly and our host Charleston Pierce. THANK YOU to all our sponsors: Wella, Fizz Marketing, Stylet.ag, Ask A Salon, Intern Sushi, Shopience, Digital Style Digest, SF Indie Fashion, EvolvH & Pigment Cosmetics and most of  all THANKS to all the blogger/models: Lona Duncan and Alison Messinger, models, styling teams, photographers and our awesome SFFAMA family. Congratulations to the winning team:  Avital Elgaziel and Jerushalem Weaver of Avital Beauty Lounge. 

Press Release: THE BEAUTY EXPO 2012

SAN FRANCISCO FASHION AND MERCHANTS ALLIANCE INC., FASHION+TECHSF and PIGMENT COSMETICS present THE 3^rd ANNUAL BEAUTY EXPO and FASHION BLOGGERS CONNECT Runway Showcase

THE BEAUTY EXPO is the annual networking event for industry professionals and the local fashion, beauty and tech communities featuring fashion app developers, beauty product vendors, a trunk show by local retailers, and a hair and make-up Styling Showcase. Five teams selected from prominent salons and beauty institutes will compete in the Styling Showcase for the most creative make-up and hairstyles. Styling Showcase Judges include Celebrity StylistAntonio Venegas, former model Joyce Hu of The Bookr, Stylist Dario Smith of Bellwether Project and Gwen Wright of The Wright Consultants. Charleston Pierce will host this year’s event. AT&T 4G LTE will be providing high speed connection for our guests. 

This year’s BEAUTY EXPO will also present, for the first time ever in San Francisco, the FASHION BLOGGERS CONNECT Runway Showcase featuring local SF fashion bloggers as models and up-and-coming local fashion designerJennifer Ly. Fashion Blogger Models include Jules Vasic of The Green Stylist, Alison Messinger of Eclectic à la Mode, and Lona Duncan of Lux Resale.

SPONSORS:  [TECH DEMOS AND PRODUCTS] Styletag; Fizz Marketing;Punchtab; Shopience; HipSwap; Intern Sushi [BEAUTY AND SERVICE PRODUCTS] Wella; AskASalon.com; The Brush Guard; Pigment Cosmetics;Rodan+Fields; Seacret SF [FASHION AND JEWELRY] WorkPlayDate; Bachman’s Sparrow; Chloe+Isabel; Luxresale [MEDIA] Bleed Magazine; Blowup Photobooth; Digital Style Digest; SF Indie Fashion.

SFFAMA [San Francisco Fashion and Merchants Alliance, Inc.] www.sffamainc.org is a California non-profit corporation supporting fashion, design and technology entrepreneurs and communities and is the largest fashion industry organization in Northern California. SFFAMA provides business, technology and fashion industry education and resources while serving as a business and social development network for our 5000 members and industry partners.

For media relations, publicity, product promotions, sponsorship opportunities, and booking info, please email Owen Geronimo at contact@sffamainc.org

• Join SFFAMA, Follow SFFAMA, Like SFFAMA.
• For media relations & PR/Publicity Contact Owen Geronimo

FASHION+TECHSF: Fashion Incubation Presentation with INSPIRARE 05.17.12

[Photos by: ARMAND SMITH. Written by: ROBERT BURNS NIXON]

SFFAMA, FASHION+TECHSF and fashion incubator partner INSPIRARE held a design presentation and networking event on May 17^th at Pigment Cosmetics. Inspirare Founder and CEO Sean Peng gave an e-commerce industry and business model overview. Anne McEnroe discussed Inspirare’s operations and production. Kate Blank, Inspirare’s Fashion Director, completed the Inspirare team on hand to meet with local fashion designers and view their presentations. SFFAMA Founder and CEO Owen Geronimo added, “We are thrilled to partner with Inspirare to foster local talent, hone their business skills and introduce other ways of getting their products to the market. I want to offer local designers funding opportunities beyond fashion shows and photo shoots by means of incubation and crowdfunding.”

Design presentations included a leather jacket and accessories line fashioned from custom car seats by Dustin Page, luxury knitwear designs for men from Scott Mcfarland, unique denim pieces by Julian Prince Dash and re-invented hi-end patchwork denim by Gerry Kelly of Sonas Denim. Women’s wear designs included the clean sophisticated silhouettes of Audrey Szeto, the London-meets-Los Gatos effortless glamour looks from Claire Farwell of Claire Farwell London, strong yet whimsical creations by Mariya Milovidova, a full range of pretty looks, price points and beautiful color palettes by Skylier Blanchard of Skylier Wear, and a collection of visually arresting color, contrast and dramatic detailing by Celina Martin Perez. Inspirare identified four designers for immediate inclusion in the program.

Additional presentations included a discussion on alternative funding sources by SFFAMA advisory board member Gwendolyn Wright, a product presentation by Brian Carey of HipSwap and a new product and category announcement by Gal Rozov, Founder and CEO of Fold4me. ~ Written by: ROBERT BURNS NIXON

FASHION+TECHSF is the longest running monthly workshop and event series in the San Francisco Bay Area focused synergistically on building, promoting and educating the vibrant community of fashion and technology entrepreneurs, designers, developers, bloggers, business professionals, students, investors and numerous enthusiastic companies, schools, groups and individuals who share our vision of a world-class fashion and technology industry that is innovative, disruptive and uniquely San Francisco.  

Our mission is to create educational, social and business opportunities for the fashion and technology industries. In the past two years, FASHION+TECHSF has become the leading network for all things fashion and technology in the SF Bay Area. 

• Join SFFAMA, Follow SFFAMA, Like SFFAMA.
• For media relations & PR/Publicity Contact Owen Geronimo

The Power of Bricks

[ Photo by: Decoded Fashion. Written by: Lili Balfour of Atelier Advisors ] 

I heard an interesting statistic at the Decoded Fashion event in NYC last month — 95% of high fashion purchases are done in brick and mortar stores. This bit of knowledge may lead brands to believe that they should shutter online stores and focus on a brick and mortar only strategy. Think again.

Betsey Johnson built her first brick and mortar store in 1978 and expanded her empire by approximately two stores per year.  Currently, she is closing 95% of her stores.  Oddly, despite a 20% decrease in store sales and a 50% increase in wholesale sales, the company was planning to grow stores from 63 to 100 in the near future.  Not surprisingly, the question most brands are asking is: what percentage of distribution should be devoted to traditional brick and mortar stores?

Bricks or Clicks?

Well known e-tailers are realizing the power of the physical store.  Bonobos recently announced their launch into Nordstroms. Warby Parker credited their move into physical space for not only an increase in sales, but an increase in consumer insight and employee knowledge. After Gap acquired e-tailer Athleta and built physical stores, Tony Lenk, President of Gap’s E-commerce business, stated; “For every dollar that customers in the region spent over the Web, they shelled out an additional $4 in the store.” It is no surprise, consumers purchase more when they can touch and feel the merchandise. Clicks need bricks.

Balancing Act

As with any business decision, your bricks vs clicks ratio is derived from a blend of analytics and customer feedback.  The question you want to answer is: where are consumers finding you? Strong brands, such as Bonobos, Warby Parker and Athleta, have the advantage of experimenting with brick and mortar by utilizing partnerships, pop up shops and acquisitions.  Lesser known brands will have to be careful when they enter physical space on their own.  A store build out can range from $100k to $500k, and comes with annual expenses that are difficult to unravel.  A conservative ‘brick approach’ is one store per year, measured regularly against the metrics of other distribution channels.

Some brands do well in the digital world, while other brands require a high touch experience. I highly doubt Lululemon could have built a multibillion dollar wellness brand online. The lure of the store is the community you interact with while shopping, wine tasting, exercising and socializing. Camaraderie is a powerful selling tool.

Can Luxury Go Virtual?

E-tailer Amazon recently announced that they will be entering the luxury market. Their 2006 acquisition of Shopbop gave them a glimpse into the luxury market, while keeping both sites separate. Of course, the consumer is comfortable buying a $30 pair of shoes on Zappos as the price point is low. But Shopbop has proven that the consumer would also be comfortable buying a $10,000 Zac Posen dress online.  As with the brands mentioned above Zac Posen already has a strong following. This is not the case for most brands, luxury or otherwise, that sell online.

Statistically speaking, the conversion rate for in store sales is 67%, while the conversion rate for online sales is a mere 10%. More importantly, online returns range from 15%-50% of sales and 60% of those returns are due to fit.  That is a lot of money wasted on shipping and reduced value as apparel goes out of season.

Yes, Amazon’s experiment is ambitious, but 2012 is armed with selling tools that didn’t exist in 2006.

My Digital Doppelgänger

Decoded Fashion included a stellar panel on digital customization.  The panel included Acustom,Clothes Horse, Me-ality, and Styku — all focused on helping consumers get the perfect fit. One company missing was Fitiquette, a 3-D avatar-as-model approach created by Cisco alums Andy Pandharikar and Anant Kumar.  I believe the digital doppelgänger could be the solution to the pain found in billions lost due to low conversion rates and high returns.

What do you think? Have you used technology to perfect your shopping experience?

LILI BALFOUR is the founder of Atelier Advisors. 

Digital Style Digest Launch Party Recap

[ Photos by: Jacyn Siebert of Sugar Lips Lifestyle Tips ] 

Digital Style Digest is an online destination for anyone excited about the intersection of fashion and technology. Join us on daily adventures into the switched-on style realm for coverage of news, happenings, products, startups, people and trends drawn from the growing space where fashion, style and technology overlap.

An everyday girl in an everyday world, Jacyn created Sugar Lips Lifestyle Tips in Nov. of 2009 as a way to help women across the world increase their confidence one tip at a time. Committed to helping women look and feel better about themselves through education, dedication and action, she provides women with simple everyday lifestyle tips that can help increase their confidence, achieve their image goals, and have fun while doing it. 

Sugar Lips Lifestyle Tips discusses a variety of interests that include, food and wine, health and wellness, travel, fashion, sustainability, make-up tips, imaging tips and numerous other girlie topics. You can also visit her website at www.jacynsiebert.com for additional information. 

• Join SFFAMA, Follow SFFAMA, Like SFFAMA.
• For media relations & PR/Publicity Contact Owen Geronimo

Startup Social SF Party (Recap/ Part 1) Supper Club 05.03.12

[ Photos by: ARMAND SMITH ]

From as far away as Singapore to Silicon Valley, 400 startup entrepreneurs, investors, digerati and friends descended on the Supper Club in San Francisco for the Startup Socials Party on May 3rd, proving that networking and networthing doesn’t have to be boring.  The crowd of many languages included the posh and the glamorous as well as the ready-for-anything denim and plaid set. The agenda for the evening was mingling, dancing, laughing and partying the night away to the hip musical curations of DJ White Cloud, DJ Taj and DJ Tati. The Startup Socials Party is hosted by Startup Monthly, Monthly Ventures, Silicon Valley Socials, Eventbrite and FASHION+TECHSF. The next Startup Socials Party takes place on June 28 at Supper Club in San Francisco. ~ by: ROBERT BURNS NIXON

FASHION+TECHSF  is the longest running monthly workshop and event series in the San Francisco Bay Area focused synergistically on building, promoting and educating the vibrant community of fashion and technology entrepreneurs, designers, developers, bloggers, business professionals, students, investors and numerous enthusiastic companies, schools, groups and individuals who share our vision of a world-class fashion and technology industry that is innovative, disruptive and uniquely San Francisco.  Our mission is to create educational, social and business opportunities for the fashion and technology industries. In the past two years, FASHION+TECHSF has become the leading network for all things fashion and technology in the SF Bay Area.

• For media relations & PR/Publicity Contact Owen Geronimo
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