The Future of Conventions, Fashion Weeks and Trade Shows.
Karina Rosendo, the founder of Stitch Lab Miami
What is Next for the Event Industry in the Evolution Post Pandemic?
Karina, the founder of Stitchlab, a talent incubator showcasing the best curation of Latin American designers in the US, invited PARAISO’s Creative Director, Natalija Dedic Stojanovic, to an insightful interview via @stitchlabmia IG Live. Together with Catalina Hernandez Bernal, Fashion Export Manager of ProColombia, we discussed "The future of conventions, Fashion Weeks and Trade Shows: What is next for the event industry in the post pandemic evolution?"
K: Catalina, can you please tell us about your role in ProColombia?
C: I am the export manager for a chain called Sistema Moda, that focuses on clothing and raw materials for garments. My goal is for Colombian brands and entrepreneurs to export their products internationally.
“THE DIGITAL ERA IS HERE, IT JUST CAUGHT US VERY QUICKLY!”
K: For my understanding, you had a huge event happening called MacroRueda, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic you had to develop a solution since the event couldn’t take place in person.
C: It’s been three crazy weeks! We had the MacroRueda planned to take place in Medellin and 3000 confirmed invitees, 1000 international buyers and 2000 Colombian exporters. Three days before the event took place, the Coronavirus regulations where established by the government and we couldn’t do the event in person. In 48hrs we decided not to postpone nor cancel but move the 13,000 appointments that where scheduled to be in person to happen digitally.
Over 150 members of the ProColombia team helped buyers and exporters and through different channels such as Microsoft Teams organized the all appointments. There was a lot of interest from international buyers and we had over 4.5 million in sales made in 3 days. The digital era is here, it just caught us very quickly!
K: From all the sales reported from MacroRueda, what percentage is for fashion industry?
C: Agriculture and mechanic metals always take the biggest percentage; however, fashion comes in third place with a 20% of the sales.
K: What would you say was the biggest challenge for fashion entrepreneurs to present their products digitally?
C: Fashion is all about touch and feel, even though technical charts are always helpful, most buyers request to see samples. To confirm those sales, we partnered with UPS to deliver the samples at 80% off their regular cost to almost 158 different markets. We had to make decisions very fast and it was a risk not knowing the outcome but the reaction and compromise from everyone involved gave us positive results.
K: What projects are you working on now?
C: Our upcoming project is a virtual showroom that was supposed to launch in the next 10 months. How things turned around in the past few weeks, we are now working day and night to get the virtual fair ready as soon as possible. In this way, exhibitors will be able to present their products to buyers from all over the world. The project is called, ProColombia 4.0 and our goal is to connect the supply and the demand digitally in one platform.
K: What is the basic process for a brand to be part of the virtual showroom?
C: Once buyers log into the platform, they will find different booths, each one created and designed by the brands. Buyers can click on the ones they are interested and check the full look books, line sheets and start a direct conversation.
K: What advice can you give to brands facing this crisis?
C: Colombia is very fortunate to have an entity like ProColombia that facilitates and supports local brands; however, the entrepreneur is the one that does all the effort and hard work. In times like this, is when brands have to put all the creativity and passion into works. Fashion is an endless industry with many different outlets and always open with new opportunities.
K: Hi and welcome. Please tell us a little bit more about your platform and the amazing work you do with designers at Paraiso.
NDS: We are the largest and most prominent media platform in the world for the swimwear and resort wear industry. I used to like to say that our festival are the new breed of the experiential events, since we were nothing like the traditional fashion weeks. Our event days are filled with networking opportunities, experiences, workshops, wellness activations, and yes fashion presentations and runway shows are important part of it as well. But considering the current shift, I definitely cannot say that anymore. There are new digital experiences on the horizon, and we will see the full transformation of the fashion weeks and trade shows.
“EXPERIENCE IS ABOUT THE EMOTION AND NOT ABOUT THE CHANNEL. DOES IT MATTER IF IT’S DELIVERED DIGITALLY OR IN PERSON? “
K: As a producer, can you give us the scope of how this pandemic is affecting the fashion event industry?
NDS: Funkshion is the name of the production agency that owns Paraiso Miami Beach as a platform. And as the producer I have to say it was not easy. The first week we lost so much business, but then moving forward, having the mind free from all the busy work you start thinking and flexing your creative muscles. Experience is about the emotion and not about the channel. Does it matter if it’s delivered digitally or in person?
K: I was reading BOF the other day and came across an article that read: "A year without Fashion Shows" and my heart stopped. Do you think the whole industry will be put on hold?
NDS: The industry cannot be put on hold. Brands still need to follow their own rhythm, until we see how the Fashion Industry 2.0 looks like. As social distancing is in place, we will definitely not see traditional fashion shows for some time, at least until September/October. That does not mean that we won’t see new collections and hear from designers. It is important that media and trade platforms are re-established as soon as they can as they will gradually bring the industry on its path.
K: How can the event fashion industry adapt to the social distancing measures?
NDS: It already is. Many brands are activating within the digital space and being very creative. It is hard without in person interaction I have to say. We are humans and someone’s smile or look can make all the difference, can make your day or ruin your day. That is why experiential marketing for brands became so important. It is about making that personal connection with consumers. It will not disappear, it still has a very important place in the marketing space, we will all just have to be more careful when it comes to personal space, hygiene, and the way we layout our events.
K: This will definitely have significant implications for brands, which will need to figure out how to approach marketing new collections and, most importantly, selling them to retailers. Any thoughts on this approach?
NDS: It will be easier for the established brands in one hand, as they have an existing accounts and buyers are familiar with their product. They will just have to be patient as it will take some time for numbers all around to come back to where they were. The designers that just launched or are at the beginning of their journey should be focused on their brand content, and community around it. Accounts will come with time as long as they have a strong message, distinctive identity, and quality product. The positive side of having a young brand at the moment is that you are playing by new rules from the beginning. You can grow your brand in this new market the way it fits. There are no established structures, protocols and strategies you have to follow, or change. It is an exciting time for them.
K: What is Paraiso doing to evolve with these changing times?
NDS: We are working on bridging the gap between then and now. We have one goal, to keep the industry together and business of fashion going. If we cancel our platforms it would be a contribution to the windfall, so we are now figuring out how to keep everything afloat.
K: How do you think fashion weeks will look after the crisis ends?
NDS: Oh, I am so excited about the future. The universe showed us it is a time for the change, and I love challenges. Fashion industry will be different, the way brands are approaching their business will be different. We will need a whole new skillset to create a future forward platform that will support that. We have something in works that we will be announcing next week. Stay in touch with Paraiso Miami Beach, you can subscribe to our newsletter through our website paraisomiamibeach.com or follow @paraisomiamibeach on Instagram. We would love to hear your thoughts. It is a new ground for all of us, and it will be a lot of testing and trying, only together we can make it right for the future.
