Nikki Yassemi of Narces

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Designer Spotlight episodes are the origin stories of fashion designers.  What kind of kid were they growing up? What did they submit to design school? When did clothing and fashion start to be an important force in their life? Donna Bishop asks about them, not their collections. Nikki Yassemi is a Canadian, Austrian born, raised in Iran designer with a long family history of couture, dress making and visual arts. Her label Narces, which she runs with her husband Stefan.

Continue reading →

The Arc of Luxury

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

There are a number of iconic luxury brands that have stood the test of time: Hermes, Louis Vuitton and Gucci to name a few. What do they have in common? What inventions influenced the growth and erosion of luxury fashion? Who has been bitten in the arse of expanding too fast? Nathalie Atkinson and Nicholas Mellamphy dissect the current arc of luxury fashion brands.

Continue reading →

Counterfeit, Piracy and Knock-offs

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The fashion industry is fraught with copy cats and big business legal battles. While the notion of IP (intellectual property) protection within fashion is a relatively modern notion, fashion and branding lawyer Ashlee Froese discusses why it is a critical issue to designers and consumers alike.

Continue reading →

The Evolution of Online Luxury Shopping

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In a relatively short time period, consumers have gone from having to visit a store to touch and feel an item in order to purchase it, to purchasing off a website, to purchasing pre-production through sites like Kickstarter. Christine Carlton, founder and CEO of The September, discusses the evolution of the luxury consumer.

Continue reading →

Evan Biddell

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Designer Spotlight episodes are the origin stories of fashion designers. What kind of kid were they growing up? What did they submit to design school? When did clothing and fashion start to be an important force in their life? We talk about them, not their collections.

Continue reading →

Fashion and Status

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

With a Masters from Polimoda, one of the top 10 fashion institutes in the world, Trend Forecaster Emily Miller Palmquist discusses the evolution of fashion as status and how what we wear holds more meaning than taste.

Continue reading →

Carly Stojsic: Who Makes the Trends?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Carly Stojsic, former Market Editor at Worth Global Style Network and internationally sought after Trend Forecaster, shares insights into how items become the “it thing” for a season and what exactly is a “trend” anyway. Carly is is known as being one of Canada’s...

Continue reading →