Dylan Uscher of Dylanium Knits is seriously revolutionizing the way people view knitted fashion. Reclaiming knitted goods from the seniors home, Dylan makes hand made pieces and custom made knitwear. Beautiful knitted sweaters, scarves and socks as well as less conventional knitted items such as rings (yes, knitted rings!), skirts, shirts and bracelets. The fall collection is an assortment of muted colours with bold designs, easy to incorporate seamlessly into any fall wardrobe. The talent Dylan possesses and unique view of knitted goods allowed him in 2009 to become ‘the knitwear guy’ which eventually led to him launching Dylanium Knits in 2010.
In such a short time, Dylanium Knits has been recognized in FAJO Magazine, FASHION Magazine, CBC News, The Globe and Mail Online, Front Row Mag and on the Fashion Arts Toronto Blog – just to name a few. Dylan is continuing to showcase his talent and designs in the 10th Annual White Cashmere Collection, where he will be the only designer to ever knit an entire dress in the event’s history.
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Article written by Bhreigh Gillis. Featured photo by Polk Liang.
https://www.luevo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/dylan.jpg479736Ana Carahttp://www.luevo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/luevo-logo-2x.pngAna Cara2013-08-17 15:46:412014-12-12 14:24:31Designer of the day - Dylan Uscher from Dylanium Knits
Skinny Sweats are lazy, sexy, cool and comfortable clothing that are a casual and chic hybrid for work or an evening out. A line designed by Adrienne Butikofer of Toronto, Canada, she aims to create a look of polished comfort with fashion forward styling.
FAJO is Canada’s leading digital fashion magazine. Started in Canada, the publication is international in Italy, the USA and the UK. Hannah Yakobi, the Editor-In-Chief of FAJO was the main speaker for the Fashion, Business & Beyond event. One of the topics discussed was harnessing the digital space for a brand by explaining the importance of quality photos, shortening links and creating specific hashtags.
Quality photos may sound like an obvious positive brand experience but is often overlooked with small labels. A little effort goes a long way – nobody expects professional imagery for start-ups, but effort is required. Taking quality photos is about promoting the brand, so jeopardizing it with poorly executed photos should be avoided. If a brand is not willing to put effort into displaying pieces, certainly nobody would be interested in investing time or money with the brand. Utilize a historical building, a beach or a park. Ask around for help, photography students or a friend who takes pictures as a past time.
Secondly, shortening links is an easy yet vital part of operating a successful in the digital realm. It’s no surprise that having a digital presence is a necessary part of operating in the twenty-first century. Use it effectively, for Twitter and Facebook, shorten your links. You only have 140 characters on Twitter to sell the brand so there is no room for long links. Give followers something clean and professional to look at. Websites like Bitly or Google URL Shortener are free options to use to shorten links.
Finally, create a memorable and unique hashtag to help followers be able to connect with how others are experiencing the brand. Whether it is campaign specific, or something the brand will use time and time again, a quick search on Twitter will allow you to know how many people – if any – have used the hashtag. It’s an opportunity to own a piece of digital space, if marketed effectively enough it will be instantly recognizable for your brand.
Fashion is a competitive world and these changes in the digital space for your brand are necessary to stay competitive. Take the time, make a plan and dedicate time to learn to make the above three habit. The only thing more exciting than creating the labels next collection is having an engaged audience to motivate and cheer you on along the way.
Guest Blogger: Bhreigh Gillis, Community Manager at Luevo and blogger.
Feature image and Hannah Yakobi photo credits to Fajo magazine.
On July 3rd, FAJO Magazine, hosted a “Fashion, Business and Beyond” event in Toronto. The intention of the seminar was to educate emerging fashion designers to understand the importance of the business side of being a designer.
Sunny Fong, a familiar name if you’ve watched Project Runway season two, successfully won the contest with his label VAWK. Although he doesn’t need to use his television fame assist in creating opportunities anymore, he does acknowledge how many doors it opened for him along the way. The underlying theme throughout his lecture was getting to know the woman (or man) you’re designing for. Not just how exactly who is wearing your designs, but her disposable income, fashion preferences and where to save or spend.
It’s common for designers imagine a confident twenty-something woman wearing their designs, it’s supposed to be the best time of your life and can only be strengthened if surrounded by beautiful clothing. As this ideal vision unfolds, there is an unfortunate and often forgotten about disconnect. The twenty-something age group doesn’t usually have a disposable income for clothing in the hundreds or even thousands per piece. This is one of the key reasons why fashion designers fail. Sunny knows his woman and understands she what she needs in a garment and doesn’t tailor to an age group that isn’t purchasing his designs.
The next thing to know about your woman is her preference for fast versus sustainable luxurious fashion. For Sunny, it’s the woman who craves a deeper sense of luxury. The pieces he designs are expensive, made with quality fabrics and an intricate design, often by hand. This kind of detailing and design cannot be replicated by fast fashion.
Finally, knowing when to spend and save on your business is vital. While it’s lovely to spend money on silk linings for sample pieces as an example, it isn’t practical. Silk doesn’t look any nicer than polyester as far as a sample piece goes. Spend money on your customer, not your sample pieces. Also, if you can achieve the same look and feel with two similar products, one less expensive, choose the less expensive option.
Clearly, these principles are what Sunny built VAWK on and is the reason why he is a success. A little planning, dedication and projecting business sense into the future will help bring your label to the top.
To learn more about VAWK please click here. Guest Blogger: Bhreigh Gillis, Community Manager at Luevo and blogger.
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This is part 2 of a two part interview with Toronto based independent fashion designer Lois Laine. Lois designs eco-friendly clothing with fabrics and labour sourced in Canada. If you haven’t already, check out part one of this interview here.
What do you hope your consumers see when they are attracted to your brand? I want them to see that it’s unique, but not showy. It’s unique and subtle, just something that they want to grab on to every day.
What are some of your fashion goals? You know I really know that I should have it more defined, but my main goal is to be able to keep doing what I do. I have envisioned a couple of different scenarios: I think generally people have to get bigger to sustain their job in this industry, for me that’s not the most important thing; if I need to get bigger I’m happy to do that. But if I can keep going like this where I have been up till now designing for the upcoming season, and I really enjoy doing that and I can take advantage of doing those limited yardages and I can be more on the season because its coming right up. But if I go into the wholesome market, which is generally how you get bigger then I need to be able to order a 100 meters of something and so I won’t be able to do some of these other nice little treaty things. So my plan is to do two fall/winters this year, so that I can get into the wholesome market and see how that goes. I’ve been in contact with Ana Caracaleanu from Luevo and I am very excited about their idea, the platform would allow me to keep going with the fabrics that I can just grab onto and do small scale or big. That is just very exciting to me. I’m still doing some artisan sales like: the Wearable Arts Show in October from the 24th-26th at 918 Bathurst St. Also, I’ve been invited into the Fresh Collective in the fall (August/September).
For more information on Lois Laine collections please go to the designer’s website: loislaine.com Guest Blogger: Tiffany D’Souza,tiffanydsouza.com
https://www.luevo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Headerpt2.jpg6821024Ana Carahttp://www.luevo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/luevo-logo-2x.pngAna Cara2013-06-15 19:40:362014-12-11 15:02:57Sitting Down with Lois Laine – Part2
When it comes to local talent, Toronto does not fall shy of exciting and diverse artists, and Lois Laine, independent fashion designer is no exception. Possessing a precision for architectural elements coupled with feminine subtlety, she began her self-titled eco-friendly line in 2011. Her journey began after having earned a degree in interior designing and spending years studying pattern drafting. Thereafter, she concluded her education in Costume Studies and worked as a freelance designer. With a brief and inspirational trip to India in 2010, Lois’ calling was finally put to rest when she decided to set up shop. Today she is working passionately within her studio walls listening to spiritual music and drinking tea.
[two_third]Where do you draw your inspiration?
Nature and life for sure. You know there is that architectural element and there’s the subtlety. I really love the subtlety of nature and I aim to try to put the scale, like there’s the bigger scale of the sculpture and then there’s the small detail within it. I just love that and the hard with the soft and the shiny with the matte. The first collection is really very light and airy, that was like my first one, so it was like an upward spiral and it was spring and everything had to have this feeling of exalted. That’s how I wanted to feel when I finished it, that there was this sort of delicacy and wonder. There was a woman who had a drawing and I had remembered her stuff, and she did these whimsical drawings and I was like yeah, yeah this is it, this is the whimsy and the lightness and so I actually had her painting up on the wall for most of the collection. With other fashion, I love Annie Thompson, but I also really love minimalist designers as well. I guess I am in between. [/two_third] [one_third_last][/one_third_last]
[two_third]What does fashion mean to you?
Fashion for me is being aligned with the energy of the time, it’s not my strongest strength. My strength is more in the abstract part of design. I try to blend the two; I research the trends, go to trend forecasting and be watchful. Then I’ll marry them with the more timeless sense of proportion and sculptural shapes. My collections are outside of the trends but they have current elements, which makes them wearable for longer. [/two_third]
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For more information on Lois Laine collections please go to the designer’s website: loislaine.com
https://www.luevo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Image-1-Lois-Lane.jpg6821024Ana Carahttp://www.luevo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/luevo-logo-2x.pngAna Cara2013-06-07 22:06:082014-12-11 15:03:15Sitting Down with Lois Laine - Part 1
A giant warehouse, an oversized lumberjack style plaid shirt, top-notch street style and great music could only be all at FAT Fashion Week. Well, that is what I have been led to believe since moving to Toronto. You see I’ve never had an opportunity to attend FAT being from the east coast, but so many people love this ‘alternative fashion week’. I was wholeheartedly not disappointed. I had the opportunity to attend the Thursday night events on April 25th and watch six runway shows out of nine.
What FAT really specialized in was bringing the art scene back into fashion. Of course that seems obvious by the name, but if you’ve ever attended other fashion events you would quickly learn that it is not the case. I had to notice that fashion and art here was really at its core. There wasn’t a ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ feeling of pretention and ‘that’s so last season’ that you may expect. Instead, it was a venue for people who love fashion as an art form and use it as an expression as ones self, not as a status symbol. It was everything fashion should be and it was beautiful.
The patrons at FAT for the most part did not wear high-end big brands, but really rocked the more rare pieces from smaller designers. I’m used to opening conversation with somebody during Fashion Week by commenting on a person’s newest big designer item, but at FAT, you would have instead asked where they purchased the item as so many people were wearing indie. Because of so many unique brands and styles being put together, FAT has amazing street style. Even between fashion shows, you were treated to unique pieces, wearable art and many beautiful combinations. When attending a previous fashion event earlier this year, I noticed that while yes, everybody had beautiful style and a chic way to wear items the event was lacking on the street style front. Where was the fashion and beauty that inspired street style blogs and popular photographers like The Sartorialist? Where are those people who love to mix high-end fashion from decades past with local favourites? If you don’t know Scott Schuman of The Sartorialist, you should check it out here. You won’t regret it. It was of course the shows themselves that displayed the most creativity, but the patrons attending were a close second. FAT bar-none had the best street style.
The runway shows were also a great mix of art and fashion. The first three shows of the evening had an edgy rocker and sometimes-gothic theme. Many of the pieces were wearable, but of the first three shows they each sported something that was un-wearable and simply for art. The next set of three shows featured more wearable pieces that focused more on beautiful tailoring. These shows made you anticipate what you would like add to your wardrobe more than shock value. Below is one of the better shots I had taken, evidently with my favourite piece of the night from the emerging independent fashion designer B.E. Shields.
For better quality images, have a look at the FAT blog on their official website and you’ll get an idea of the creativity that takes over the runway.
Guest Blogger: Bhreigh Gillis, Intern Community Manager at Luevo, Fashionista and sailor enthusiast. Twitter @Bhreigh Personal blog
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Yet another week of fashion extravaganza stormed through our city, and many emerging fashion designers have had the opportunity to mingle, network or even launch their collections.
I am a big follower of everything that moves in the fashion industry: bloggers, stylists, designers, fashionistas and pretty much anyone that cares and is involved in the local fashion scene. I lived every moment of the fashion week by digesting Twitter feeds , Instagram pictures and Facebook posts.
And here is tip #1: If you are an aspiring or emerging fashion designer – you must stay connected to your local fashion influencers! Twitter is a good place to “stalk” them and stay up-to-date with latest news and events in the fashion industry. Find bloggers, stylists, fashion publications and organizations that will surely overload you with the latest fashion news.
Indeed, during fashion week it can be a little overwhelming with all the media hype around the big established designers and the runway shows. But learn to listen and filter to what is of real value to you
Tip #2: Attend smaller events where you can get valuable networking done.
Best part of fashion week is the high concentration of fashion influencers, but you will have to find the appropriate event to network with them. One of these opportunities was the speed-networking event organized by Fashion Group international and Fashion Takes Action. This event is typically sold-out, and you can meet with potential clients, HR recruiting firms specializing in fashion, bloggers, boutique owners and mentors. I recommend these types of events to anyone starting up in any kind of industry, and make sure you bring tons of business cards!
Tip #3: Enroll in industry specific organizations before the fashion week.
You are very lucky to be able to start a fashion business in a city like Toronto. Bigger metropolitan cities typically have fashion hubs that come with non-for-profit organizations, incubators, and an abundance of mentors. Being part of these will give you access to latest news, reduced ticket prices to fashion events and more networking opportunities. Here is a short list of organizations that as an aspiring or emerging fashion designer in Toronto you should seriously consider:
Toronto Fashion Incubator – an innovative and highly respected non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and nurturing small business entrepreneurs in the fashion industry.
Fashion Group International – global non-profit organization of executives, designers and entrepreneurs in more than 30 chapters around the world. Toronto is their only Canadian chapter.
Fashion Takes Action– Canada’s premier non-profit organization that focuses on sustainability in the fashion industry.
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In one of our previous posts we highlighted some of the challenges that aspiring fashion designers encounter when starting up their businesses (you can find the full article here). To sum up, here are the top three problems: INITIAL FUNDING – FORECASTING DEMAND – GETTING PRE-ORDERS
Let’s be honest, the fashion industry does not take full advantage of the advancements in IT, and the designers have to be very creative to overcome their challenges. Many resort to major online marketplaces to sell their creations. These work for designers offering custom made products – and they can sell one item at a time based on customer’s requirements. On the downside, the designers can’t source materials in large quantities because of the unpredictability in demand and they end up sourcing expensive supplies and pass that cost to the buyer. Furthermore, it is very difficult for the buyer to find a particular designer as these marketplaces become more like a universe of everything for everyone (For example, Etsy reportedly has over 800,000 active shops).
What we’ve recently noticed is that independent fashion designers are now appealing to the public to support their businesses and they do it on crowdfunding websites. Still, the fashion category on Kickstarter has the lowest success rate. We believe this is because the existing crowdfunding platforms don’t make for an elegant e-commerce solution. Consumers can’t really shop the designers’ products, but rather “donate” in return for different types of rewards. Crowdfunding works for fashion retailers that sell single products (such as the super-famous pebble watch); however, they don’t work as well for fashion designers that sell multiple products.
Finally, a lot of new designers try crowdsourcing their designs, which takes care of the second obstacle they encounter – forecasting demand. By using a voting, liking and sharing system you can learn from your potential buyers more than if you were to investigate yourself. You can choose to produce only the most popular products or modify your collection based on consumer’s feedback. Still – desirability doesn’t necessarily translate into orders, as the potential buyers are not required to commit to a purchase.
At Luevo, we are working hard to develop a new kind of crowdfunding solution specifically targeted at aspiring and emerging independent fashion designers. We will use a combination of best practices from existing crowdfunding and crowdsourcing business models to create one solution to a designer’s top three challenges. We understand that as independent fashion designers you have certain production requirements. On our platform you will be able to obtain the pre-orders you need by crowdsourcing your demand.
You can find out more on how our fashion crowdfunding platform works here.
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I recently attended the GREEN JOBS FORUM in Toronto to find among the speakers many young entrepreneurs in the fields of fashion and beauty. I became curious about eco-trends in fashion when we were recently approached by local designers Alexandra Wilson and Jessica van Enckevort from LittleWhiteDress (we will review their line in a separate post).
We are picky eaters, picky travelers, picky partners, but how about fashion? How concerned are we of where our clothes are being made, or if young children were the “tailors” of our clothes? I would leave that up to you my reader, but my guess is most of us aren’t. Most brand name labels do produce their lines in a third world country, but I am not even going to go there.
This post is about those designers that are trying to make a difference, and not only that they source their materials and produce their designs locally, but they also try to incorporate sustainable practices in the manufacturing process of their clothing lines.
At the GREEN JOBS FORUM I listened to Shawna Robinson co-owner of LABEL.
The designers at LABEL use recycled and organic materials as much as they can and they use eco-friendly printing processes for their T-shirts. Shawna also made an interesting point on being sustainable versus eco, as a company. They choose “sustainable” design patterns, to make full use of the materials available and reduce waste. This is one of the reason why their most recent collection has a lot of asymmetrical designs – which is not only sustainable but also very trendy, and we love it!
Obviously, prices are always going to be an issue for the buyer, as most of the sustainable and eco-friendly clothing will bear a higher price tag than, you know their non-so-sustainable competition. But I believe if we can pay 50% more on organic foods than we should consider local designers that not only are they doing something good about our environment, but they are also a source for innovative fashion and high-quality craftsmanship.
For more information on sustainable and eco-friendly fashion you can have a look at FASHION TAKES ACTION, an industry non-profit organization.
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