check out a power point presentation about Clusters

Slide Share Clusters presentation

London’s Apparel Cluster Support Structure

London’s cluster is strengthened by its support structure. This structure is composed of educational institutions, events and organizations that aid in its development and provides the necessary resources, such as passionate and creative minds, for it to flourish.

Major educational institutions that provide specified programs are the University of the Arts and the London College of Fashion. The London College of Fashion is the only college in the UK to specialize in fashion education, research and consultancy.

Degree Programs

Fashion Retail Management

Fashion Buying & Merchandising

Design & Marketing

Marketing & Promotion

Fashion Retail Branding & Promotion

BA programs

Fashion Management

Fashion Business

Post Grad Programs

Fashion Entrepreneurship

Strategic Fashion Marketing

Learn more about the school….

Although there are many places for fashion centered people to learn and grow, the collaboration between these two major schools have brought the emergence of the Center for Fashion and Science. It is at this center that fashion students and professionals work with other specialists, scientists for instance, to come up with new ways to create  the textiles and  processes that are utilized in the apparel industry.

London’s Scientific Fashion

Seeing as the Center for Fashion and Science in London collaborates with scientists in many fields, it is no wonder that they are experimenting with innovative ways to design  clothes and textiles.  Project Wonderland is a perfect example of what collaboration and open innovation can accomplish.

This project was launched in January 2008 and, “Explored the power of shared ideas, where fashion and science collide.  It was born out of a collaboration between artist and designer Helen Storey MBE and scientist Professor Tony Ryan OBE and attempted to shine a light on the wider and much greater issues of sustainability and ethical living.”

Students continuesly tested a material and its ability to be woven into a fabric that eventually would take the form of a dress. After trial and error this project evolved into a masterpiece that won the students recognition and awards.

Ten ‘Disappearing Dresses’ were displayed up and down the country slowly being lowered into a cauldron of water causing them to dissolve and disappear, a powerful metaphor for our fragile world. Learn more about this fascinating project…

Displaying beauty of the design

London’s Technological Fashion Innovations

London, England houses one of the most innovative fashion clusters in the world. With collaborative projects between it’s renowned University of the Arts and London College of  Fashion, they jointly created the Center for Fashion and Science.

The Center acts as a hub and resources center for students, emerging businesses and industry professional to collaborate and share ideas and expertise. A professor at the London College of Fashion, Sandy Black, has been heading projects and research that focus on merging fashion with technology and science. She teaches the Fashion Textile Design and Technology course at the college.  ” My personal research continues in knitwear utilizing the potential of advanced technology for three-dimensional structures, and in particular the application of mathematical concepts to knitted artifacts and knitwear.”

To read more about her research …..

One of the projects that the Center for Fashion and Science was involved in was called Light Cloth by Jenny Shellard .

Light Cloth is  “practice-based research project which explores the inherent mechanisms of visual perception through a combination of hand woven textiles, colour, light and time. The shard of light is selectively and strategically positioned to accurately register onto the hand-dyed textile colour. Using specialist animation software…….”

Read more…….

Marketing for Fashion Apparel Cluster In the GTA & Canada

The fashion industry, or any industry for that matter, requires marketing effort to be successful and grow. Considering the apparel sector in the fashion industry is among the largest due to its sheer necessity, there are many forms of marketing that have help catapult sales of particular trends each season.

There are some that are specific to Canada and others that go further by reporting on news in each major city, from what stores are opening or new designers to watch for.

Reality TV has even become more fashionable with show like Canada’s Next Top Model or Project Runway Canada were aspiring designers compete for start-up capital to create and show their designs at one of the major fashion weeks in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver or all.

Before all these Canadian fashion magazine came to be there was one TV personality that, I believe, had a major role in developing the fashion industry in Toronto and all of Canada. That individual would be none other than the fashion icon Jeanne Becker from FT Fashion Television.  Over the years she has attended EVERY major fashion house’s runway show and interviews all the famous, and soon to be famous,designers around the world. By doing so, Jeanne created awareness for Canada and what the fashion world could expect out of it. Her presence helped to build the GTA’s and many other fashion and apparel clusters in Canada.

Click on Jeanne Becker for current news on the fashion industry.

The New York Fashion Scene Collaborates for a Good Cause

For the past 17 years the New York fashion industry comes together to support the cause of AIDS through its production of an event deemed Fashion Cares. On March 22 of this year Jeffery’s Fashion Cares brought together, “fashion’s most fabulous for a dazzling evening of cocktails, a silent auction, and haute couture on the runway. Join the leading International Fashion and Luxury companies as they come together with New York City’s charitable and social communities to benefit four of the most worthy non-profit organizations that improve the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS and members of the LGBTQ community.”

Individuals from every corner of the industry, along with other creative industries, volunteer their time to organize, produce, and market this special event.

This event is not possible without corporate sponsors, volunteered venues, PR and marketing support, media involvement and especially elite designers. These designers, from Yves Saint Laurent to Channel, create one-of-a-kind collections to be auctioned off all in efforts to raise awareness in the community, but raise funds to help with research and support as well.

Find out more & view pictures

Toronto Fashion Week March 28th – April 3rd 2010

L’Oreal  and LG are big supporters of the event  every two seasons that brings designers, fashion buyers  and media from all over Ontario and afar to report on the new trends and looks for the upcoming seasons. The event takes an army of fashion inspired people from all aspects of the industry to pull off. From students at nearby schools trying to get experience in the forms of internships and volunteering to designers, PR firms for the designers and media representatives to broadcast the fabulous  new creations near and far.

The designers that are featured at the shows are both up and coming and established. The Toronto Fashion Incubator (TFI) and the Fashion Design Council of Canada (FDCC), to name a few, play major roles in helping talented designers get the exposure they need to take off. If they get selected to show their lines, then there is a greater chance of fashion buyers seeing the lines and potentially purchasing them for chains located all around Ontario, even nationally.  This year students from ‘The School of Fashion” at Ryerson show cased their designs.

This past week Toronto was buzzing with beautiful models, actors and actresses, infamous designers and TV personalities either at their favourite designer’s show or at one of the numerous parties held in honour of the week long event.

For more details…..

Medal Fabrics

As designers seek new ways to manipulate fabrics to get the desired look or draping, industry members are blogging about a new fabric that is %95 cotton and %5 medal……yes, medal.

Viable medal fibers after burn test

Reasoning for this, is reduces the amount of wrinkling in the clothing, although not completely. Another added bonus is that it adds texture to the fabric. This added bonus has the advantage of looking like other, more expensive fabrics like taffeta for instance. Another reason for adding medal is that any creases placed in clothing will keep longer. An example of this would be for dress pants that look sharper with a distinctive crease. This blogger has recently seen ready-to wear apparel in the forms of jackets, cargo pants, short skirt and a raincoat all fashioned from a blend of cotton and metal producing a very chic wrinkled look.

Read more…..

NYC’s Fashion Cluster in Danger

One of the largest and oldest fashion centers in North America is in New York City and today if faces extinction. An article written for the New York Times expressed the concern and outcry from industry workers who have seen the light starting to dim in one of the city’s cultural expressions. This particular center has been deemed “The Garment District” and was the place fashion designers, suppliers, manufacturers, events and more unite to produce the beautiful and world renowned creations of famous designers like Anna Sue and Nicole Miller. The Garment District  is now in trouble as more designers and fashion houses are outsourcing production overseas to cut rising costs on labour and materials. Another reason causing this disbursement of expertise is the rising level of rent on the space that houses the sewing and cutting rooms and the button and zipper shops.

Industry professionals worry,  “If you don’t have production in the garment center, there would be no reason for designers and suppliers to cluster in the district,” said Barbara Blair Randall, executive director of the Fashion Center Business Improvement District. “We’re down to 9,000 jobs.” This will take away from the economic heap the industry provides for the city not only in retail sales, but in tourism.

For 22 years, the city has protected the garment district through special zoning that restricts building owners — from 34th to 40th Street, between Broadway and Ninth Avenue — from converting factory space to offices, which command higher rents.

The zoning issue is one that is up for political review. Worries about their survival, a group of industry shop owners formed an organization called ‘Save the Garment Center’ and resisted, as did the unions, arguing that moving sewing shops to Queens or Brooklyn would mean the end of the industry.

Read more…..

Reetone- Reebok’s Innovative Footwear

Woman rejoice!

Reebok recently came out with an innovative pair of sneakers that actually help tone your butt and legs as you walk or simply stand in one place. The shoes are specially designed to force your body to use the muscles in your lower body to stabilize yourself as you move, making your body work as you go about your daily routine.

One of the challenges of producing footwear, especially for woman, is that it not only has to live up to its claim, but has to look good too. To add to the fun, ladies you can actually customize a pair of Reetone’s that truly express your individuality!

Another example of functional fashion in the fitness gear category is the explosion in popularity of Lululemon yoga apparel and their line of ‘street wear’.

Reebok’s new product is just a taste of some of the newest products that are being produced that fuse fashion and function. This trend in gaining momentum as other companies, primarily fitness or sport oriented, are realizing a demand for clothing and outerwear that allow people to fashionable indulge in fitness.

Reebok has woman from all around trying out the product. These women wanted to know if it really works.