Fashion Liason Industry Commitee

• Toronto ‘s fashion industry voice at City Hall; comprised of volunteers from all industry sectors
• FILC includes representatives from manufacturing, design, education, wholesale, retail and labour
• It focuses on key issues and needs and advocates for the industry and provides valuable information and advice to City Council

Canadian Apparel Federation

• Represents the industry in consultations with the federal government on trade, legislative, and regulatory matters
• CAF:
• Provides key business and technical information
• Undertakes targeted government relations
• Delivers insightful interpretation of national and international issues
• Develops innovative, industry-wide tools and programs
• Promotes the industry in key markets
• Provides valuable discounts on industry goods and services

Fashion Design Council of Canada

• Non-profit organization with a mandate to promote fashion in Canada
• The FDCC is a national Canadian organization dedicated to branding fashion in Canada. Through realizing that mission, the FDCC%u2014

> Promotes the diverse fabric of Canadian fashion design talent.

> Links buyers with designers, media with buzz, and business executives with product.

> And produces an event in the elite category of Fashion Week that includes fashion a ficionados from around the world

New York has one of the most renowned fashion weeks in the world.  They are recognized on a global scale as having one of the biggest impact globally on fashion, from there trading power down to the actual clothes designers, this cluster is a force to be reckoned with.

Overview:

• Ten percent of national employment in Fashion, Apparel and Textiles is in New York State
• Statewide, the Fashion cluster employed 122,000 people in 2001 at 9,618 establishments.
• New York City’s Fashion, Apparel and Textiles employment is almost three times as much as would be expected from national level employment patterns.
• Regionally, New York City was the most important center of Fashion, Apparel and Textiles employment in New York State, with 79% of employment in the state. New York City employment in the cluster was 97,999 in 2001.
• New York City has a concentration of employment in three fashion sub-clusters that is greater than would be expected from its population.
• o New York City had 47,322 employees in apparel manufacturing in 2001, four times the number that would we would expect to find based on its population.
• o New York City had 31,681 workers in apparel wholesaling, 7.5 times the number that would be expected
• o New York City had 9,168 workers in the jewelry and miscellaneous goods sub-cluster, more than nine times what would be expected.

Please see the link below that provide visual charts as to the break down of employment for various markets.

Education 

Any cluster that is associated with the creative class needs to have an emphasis on secondary education therefore any State that has this much emphasis on Fashion alone,  should be part of a cluster organization.

http://www.fashionschools.com/ 

 http://www.nysedc.org/profiles/fashion%200105.PDF

TFI is obviously the acronym for this incubator.  Nurturing and supporting fashion since 1987 is the opening line on their web site.  This corporation is responsible for bringing fashion minded people, no matter which end of the spectrum, together to share their creativity and vision.  There is no one who should be not interested in becoming a member if you are serious about getting your fashion career started then joining an organization such as TFI is the best place to start, plus you get a discount in their stores. lolIn Toronto I’m sure that the majority of members are young fresh mined individuals having just graduated from schools such as IAD or Ryerson or even Seneca College looking to make their mark.

•  Established in 1987; with the purpose of providing industry information to new designers, startup companies and provide resources for managing your own fashion business
• This incubator is and innovative and not for profit organization that relies heavely on sponsors for survival
• Some of the country%u2019s best designers have benefited from TFI support. Alumni include Joeffer Caoc, Jennifer Halchuck of Mercy, Arthur Mendonca and Crystal Siemens
• Designers not only guidance and encouragement but also promotion thorough fashion shows and related events
• TFI as the hub of a passionate design community that wants to keep jobs, production and industry in Canada
• Develops the nation%u2019s future style makers by encouraging both their creative talent and business savvy

http://www.fashionincubator.com/

There is a lot to be said for this fashion forward country.  Not only is the Asian community responsible for advanced technology many cutting edge designs and trend steam from the culture.

This Market is rapidly growing provides competition for companies all around the world.  The Hong Kong dominance is clothing and textile product will be hard to exceed by another as they practice great efficiency, professionalism and effectiveness in all of their business ventures

Cluster overview:

• China is the leading textile export provider to the EU and compete mostly with US companies
• Under the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), the mainland has given all products of Hong Kong origin, including clothing items, tariff-free treatment starting from 1 January 2006.
• Increasingly, Hong Kong clothing companies, the established ones in particular, have shown enthusiasm for brand promotion.
• Hong Kong’s total exports of clothing rose year-on-year by 2% in the first 11 months of 2007.
• During January-November 2007, Hong Kong’s clothing exports to the US and EU slightly rose by 2% and 6% respectively.
• The clothing industry is a major manufacturing sector of Hong Kong. It is the second largest manufacturing employer in Hong Kong, with 1,607 establishments hiring 23,976 workers as of September 2007.
• Hong Kong is not only a leading production centre but also a hub for clothing sourcing globally. Companies doing garment trade in Hong Kong are experienced in fabrics procurement, sales and marketing, quality control, logistic arrangements, clothing designs and international and national rules and regulations.

Product Trends

Teenager market: One of the major driving forces of clothing market appears to be the teenagers in the coming years, particularly in the US. The number of teenagers in the US is expected to increase from 31.6 million in 2001 to 34.1 million in 2010. A recent survey by Teenage Research Unlimited found that teens are saving money by value shopping. But styles and labels are important to teenagers, as they follow closely how the celebrities are dressed. Most teenagers shop at independent stores and department stores such as H&M, Old Navy’s, J.C. Penny and Sears. Despite limited budget, they still look for clothing that is different and unique.

Silver market: Ageing population becomes a common phenomenon in many developed countries in Europe, Japan as well as the US. Elderly people constitute a major market segment called ‘silver market’. Supported by savings, social security benefits and pensions, many elderly people have rather strong spending power. A survey conducted by the Japanese government also shows that people who are 60 years old an above possess almost three times the financial assets of those in the 40-50 age group. In the US, those aged at or above 65 amounted to 181 million in 2001, and the number is expected to swell to 26 million in 2015.

Plus-size market: The plus-size market, with retail sales rocketing to US$76 billion in 2006, has been an area of growth for many years, and the trend is expected to continue, particularly in the US. Some renowned brands have already responded to the trend by offering merchandise of larger size; these companies include Liz Claiborne, Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger.

Easy-care clothes: Clothes made of stain-resistant and wrinkle-free fabrics are well received in the market. It is estimated that over a quarter of apparel is now made of easy-care fabrics, and its popularity is expected to continue. While major apparel brands like Dockers and Liz Claiborne have already marketed extensively easy-care clothes, major hypermarkets, like Wal-Mart, also offer more merchandise of such quality.

Eco-friendly clothes: Consumers are more concerned about global issues on the environment, such as the use of oils and chemicals to make synthetic fibers, and clothing treated with dyes and chemicals. According to Cotton Incorporated, 16% of consumers believe that environmentally-friendly is important when purchasing an apparel product. Meanwhile, major retailers like Wal-Mart and Belk department stores have launched different eco-friendly initiatives, from products to packaging, to answer consumers’ call for eco-friendly apparel.

This Market is rapidly growing provides competition for companies all around the world.  The Hong Kong dominance is clothing and textile product will be hard to exceed by another as they practice great efficiency, professionalism and effectiveness in all of their business ventures

http://www.hktdc.com/main/industries/ipclot.htm

The Red Dress Campaign has been in the US for 6 years this Feb.  It is a collaboration between designers and the National Effort to bring awareness to heart health and disease in America. 

This ia a big event as it was sponsored by some heavy hitters in the business world.  “The Red Dress Collection 2008 Fashion Show was presented by Diet Coke with national sponsors Johnson & Johnson and Swarovski; and make-up partner Bobbi Brown Cosmetics.”

The picture above is from Toronto Fashion week ’08 and it depicts Canadian stars in their own red dresses and extension of the US campaign and it just shows the heightened awareness that has come out of this and the fact that fashion does make an impact on everyday lives.

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/hearttruth/events/mbfw2008.htm

http://www.goredforwomen.org/

This next entry is taken from torontostreetfashion.com a blog that has anything and everything to do with Canadian Fashion. Please see below for the up and coming Canadian Talent that is sure to expand the fashion cluster that we currently have now.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

NOW picks 10 HOT designers to Watch

A common trend emerging in Canada is supporting home grown talent.  A few years ago it was so difficult for a Canadian designer, singer, and dancer etc. to get any transborder notoriety.  Things are slowing changing in the sense that Canadians aren’t waiting for th okay from US trend setters and authorities to be attracted to a brand (thing or person) this is a positive step for Canadian culture as we have a hard time defining who we are.  By supporting our own it shows a unified front and there is power in numbers so to take a designer or brand to high popularity among Canadians is success in its self. Now reality TV shows are becoming the medium to introduce new Canadian Talent, Canadian Idol, So you think you can dance and Project Runway.  

The show was originally US based and moved across the border because of the promise of new and creative talent.  There has been 1 season and the winner has emerged with a new found popularity he might have  not got otherwise, at least at such a young age.  Evan Biddell is the winner of season one and with that comes a responsibility to live up to the expectations he recently got a luke warm review as he showed at L’Oreal Fashion week and will go from their hopefully with the continued support of Canadians.

 This article from http://www.nationalpost.com/life/story.html?id=407111 is just further proof that Canadians won’t buy to be patriotic.

Being Canadian is an asset, not an excuse. Consumers around the

world don’t buy all those Feist, Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene albums out of patriotic pride. The same goes for clothes: People won’t buy Canadian to be virtuous, so Canadian designers have to appeal to vanity. Canadian clothes have to be as good as, if not better than, the thousands of labels they compete with. Based on this criterion, Montreal maestros Denis Gagnon, Helmer and Marie Saint-Pierre and Toronto designers Comrags, David Dixon and Joeffer Caoc will have a very good year

http://www.lorealfashionweek.ca/f08-pics/evan/

http://www.slice.ca/Shows/ProjectRunwayCanada/Default.aspx

Every Cluster needs an activist of sorts to be able to promote them and this is what the FDCC is to Canadian designers.  By promoting through a series of events and Networking opportunities the FDCC is a little bit like the resume of the average person.  They get you in the door but then it is up to the designers to clothes the sale with buyers or whomever it may be.

 The FDCC is a national Canadian organization dedicated to branding fashion in Canada. Through realizing that mission, the FDCC—

> Promotes the diverse fabric of Canadian fashion design talent.

> Links buyers with designers, media with buzz, and business executives with product.

> And produces an event in the elite category of Fashion Week that includes fashion aficionados from around the world. 

Since 1999, this non-profit organization has focused its energy on high-quality events, publicity and membership. Outside of L’Oreal Fashion Week, it takes part in global events to enhance the knowledge and awareness of the Canadian fashion design industry. The FDCC contains a Board of Directors which seats successful and nationally recognized Canadian fashion and business executives.

http://www.lorealfashionweek.ca/fdcc/fdcc.html