By Taylor Justin
Warm weather as well as warm wishes greeted the fashion and design industry leaders and media personalities who graced SCAD Style and imparted their wisdom to students and faculty. The two-city series of events, from April 26 to May 6, spanned all manner of venues—gallery exhibits, films, trunk shows and myriad lectures and panel discussions, providing opportunities for networking, socializing and learning.
“[The events] were informative,” said Leigha Evans, an architecture major and interior design minor from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., “They helped motivate me into wanting to pursue my education and further my career.”
The lectures ranged from thought-provoking to uplifting.
Roger Van Kraligen, an internationally renowned marketing brand management guru and co-founder the European consulting firm INNOA, spoke of how understanding human emotions and innovations ultimately transform brands into superbrands, using Gatorade and the clothing line Zara as examples.
Kraligen told the audience, “For a brand to be successful, it needs to engage the heart as well as the mind.”
Julia Reed, a contributing food editor at Newsweek, relayed humorous anecdotes from her 20 years as a senior correspondent for Vogue magazine. Reed told tales ranging from photo shoots with Hilary Clinton to a humbling experience with Estée Lauder.
She shared the fun and excitement that she experienced from those heady early days in the 1980s, when she got to know André Leon Talley and other luminaries of a Golden Era in fashion.
“Those are the most wild, interesting rides that I will miss,” she said.
Reed now is a founding contributor for the women’s interest website, wowowow.com, and is creative director for the retail site, taigan.com.
The emergence of websites in the making and breaking of new designers and establishing brands framed the panel discussion by Kelly Framel, Jennifer Hyman and Lauren Sherman. These women discussed how they are benefiting from online sources.
“If you are really passionate about something , go for it,” said Kelly Framel who is founder and owner of renttheRunway.com, a site that allows customers to rent more than 100,000 designer clothes at a fraction of retail costs but with all the panache of couture .
Lauren Sherman, editor of fashionista.com, encouraged the audience, “It all comes down to selling yourself; selling your idea. Saying, ‘Hey I exist, and you should be listening to me.’”
The finale was capped by a lecture that inspired envy.
Hamish Bowles, European editor-at-large for Vogue shined the spotlight on the highlights of his career, which has included everything from interior design to curating highly acclaimed exhibitions at New York’s Metropolitan Museum to collecting prized vintage dressed. Bowles has captured his fabulous life in his book, “The World in Vogue: People, Places and Parties.”
“My collector life has been full of serendipities,” said Bowles, giving a nod to Vogue as the pathway to his addiction for vintage couture that spans decades.
