Thanks to my friend Karma for letting me know about the AFINGO Fashion Forum which I attended Friday at FIT.
What is AFINGO? (from the printed program)
AFINGO empowers the fashion community by supporting fashion entrepreneurs and the businesses that serve them. AFINGO marries the power of an online platform with meaningfull industry events to connect designers with the knowledge and resources required to Get It Made™.
Designers: AFINGO is the first platform designed to assist fashion designers in turning their ideas into sustainable businesses. We provide: 1) Expert advice, 2) Real world experience, 3) Vetted connections along the product development lifecycle.
Contractors: AFINGO gathers qualified leads for the trade using a suite of tools that: 1) Streamline business, 2) Facilitate communication, 3) Standardize methodologies — the goal is to improve sales, workflow and profit.
The AFINGO Fashion Forum in New York featured fashion leaders and entrepreneurs who shared their expertise and experience. The day consisted of five segments: 1) Fashion Innovation, 2) Sustainability & Philanthropy, 3) Iconic Wisdom, 4) Ready to Launch Your Line? and 5) Social Media & Publicity.
My favorite segment was Fashion Innovation which featured panelists: Neil Blumenthal — Co-founder of WarbyParker, Jennifer Hyman — Co-founder of Rent the Runway, 3) Darren Schwartz — SVP of Groupon, 4) Aslaug Magnusdottir — CEO & CO-founder of Moda Operandi and 5) Yancey Stickler — Co-founder of Kickstarter — and moderated by Ben Fischman of Rue La La.
The iconic wisdom segment featured fashion design star Cynthia Rowley interviewed by Nick Axelrod of Elle Magazine.
Kudos to Liza Deyrmenjian, Co-founder & CEO of AFINGO — for creating the event — who introduced each panel and shared her insights and experience as well.
The award for comic relief goes to panelist Steven Cox of Duckie Brown — who was as amusing as he is talented.
For more information — check out the AFINGO website.
