What's Working Now and WhyPrint

	Linda Fargo, Senior Vice President Fashion Office and Store Presentation, Bergdorf Goodman.

Connecting the wool industry with the retail industry, against the backdrop of Times Square’s bright lights, Woolmark International and Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) presented the 2012 fashion and retail market report entitled What’s Working Now and Why.

The presentation was a highlight of the 81st International Wool Textile Organization (IWTO) Congress: Wool in the City, held from May 7-9. The global congress allows for various forms of networking and education for key stakeholders within the wool industry – from woolgrowers to spinners, weavers to manufacturers and beyond.

Providing an insight into future market opportunities, the invite-only fashion and retail market report aims to allow the industry to understand the current market situation in the USA and also be inspired by well-known icons throughout the retail industry, with a focus on apparel.

The Woolmark Company CEO Stuart McCullough said the seminar was a fantastic way to link all those involved in the production pipeline of the wool industry. He said The Woolmark Company’s partnership with WWD on the 2012 fashion and retail market report would provide inspiration and education for those involved in the wool industry to incorporate natural fibres into their products and explain their benefits.

“We feel it is an important and necessary component of this supply chain that everyone involved in the creation of today’s top apparel is working together towards a common goal of exciting consumers and providing them with the highest quality products and buying experience,” Mr McCullough said.

With a stellar line-up of guest speakers presenting topics in their fields of expertise, the audience was treated to the latest trends, influences, social media techniques and natural fibres in a synthetic world.

WWD chief editor Ed Nardoza – the publication which co-hosted the seminar along with The Woolmark Company – was delighted WWD could be involved in such a prestigious event.

“WWD is proud to host the 2012 fashion and retail market report along with The Woolmark Company,” Mr Nardoza said. “We look forward to sharing United States market insights into the retail, apparel and media industries with this powerful global audience.”

Guest speakers included:

Will Schenck: Chief Revenue Officer, Fairchild Fashion Media, covering Communications and what works today. Download presentation here (3Kb) or watch his webinar below.

Will Schenck was appointed Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer of Fairchild Fashion Media (FFM) in April 2010. In this post, he is responsible for oversight and revenue growth for all FFG properties including WWD (Women's Wear Daily), WWD.com, FN (Footwear News) all WWD magazine supplements, Fairchild Summits and Fairchild Books. He also oversees integrated sales between Style.com and WWD / WWD.com.

Prior to joining Fairchild, Schenck served as Publisher of Rolling Stone (2008-2010) and Publisher of Men's Journal (2005-2008), both published by Wenner Media. During six years at W enner Media, Schenck posted positive revenue growth every year and, in 2008, took Men's Journal from sixth place to second place in market share.

Schenck served as Advertising Director at Vanity Fair from 2001 to 2003. He was also Director of Sales at Atom Films, where he developed the Bikini Bandits and JibJab franchises, which utilize the Internet as a digital distribution channel. Previously, Schenck was National Advertising Manager for Talk magazine, from 1999 to 2001, and worked at Gourmet, where he was named Conde Nast Salesperson of the Year in 1997.

Schenck is a graduate of Bowdoin College with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Fairchild Fashion Media (FFM), a unit of Conde Nast, is the definitive fashion news and information source for industry leaders and the global fashion community. FFM brands include WWD (Women's Wear Daily), Style.com, FN (Footwear News), Beauty Inc, Menswear, Fairchild Summits and Fairchild Books. Conde Nast is a division of Advance Publications, which operates in 25 countries.

Christian Siriano: Designer, covering Virtual experience. Download presentation here(30Kb) or watch his webinar below.

Christian Siriano began designing at thirteen years old, attended the Baltimore School for the Arts, and studied fashion in London where he interned with industry legends Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen. When he moved to New York City, he quickly became a rising star in the fashion industry and his clothing sold in Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and specialty stores around the world.

Christian shows a full collection every season at New York Fashion Week, and his designs have appeared in the most respected fashion magazines around the world. His celebrity clients include stars of film (Rosario Dawson, Whoopi Goldberg, Alexis Bledel, Mena Suvari, Vanessa Williams, Maggie Grace); television (Christina Hendricks, Becki Newton, Heidi Klum, Miranda Cosgrove, Emmy Rossum); music (Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Pink, Estelle, Sia, Kelly Rowland, Nicole Scherzinger, Fantasia, Thalia); and fashion (Victoria Beckham, Leigh Lezark, Brooklyn Decker, Veronica Webb, Tavi Gevinson, Melania Trump, Amber Rose, Alessandra Ambrosio); among many others.

Christian was the youngest winner of Project Runway and currently designs several ongoing collections of shoes and bags for Payless ShoeSource, including elaborate show pieces seen on his runways each season and affordable variations for thousands of Payless stores around the country.

Linda Fargo:

Senior vice-president Fashion Office and Store Presentation, Bergdorf Goodman, covering Retail trends and influences. Download presentation here (3Kb).

Linda Fargo has held the position of senior vice-president, Fashion Office and Store Presentation of Bergdorf Goodman since 2006. In her role, Ms Fargo oversees the Women's Fashion Office in addition to Store Presentation, which includes Interior Design, Windows, and in-store. She has deftly devised a creative vision and management style that have resulted in worldwide acclaim for the store within the luxury retail market. Ms Fargo shapes the fashion direction of the store and brings fashion to life visually. She is the chief trend spotter, ambiance master, gatekeeper of style and a key member of the store design team.

Ms Fargo began her exuberant relationship with Bergdorf Goodman in 1996 as the visual director of the Women's store, and was rapidly promoted to the position of vicepresident of Visual Merchandising in 1997.

Ms Fargo is the author of Dreams Through the Glass which chronicles her career in visual magic. In 2010, a second book, Windows at Bergdorf Goodman debuted. The seventeen-pound tome encompasses the past decade of the store's fanciful creations.

Prior to joining Bergdorf Goodman, Linda was senior director, Visual Merchandising for the Gap; vice-president, Visual Merchandising at I. Magnin; and visual director for Macy's New York.

Ms Fargo is a graduate of University of Wisconsin-Madison. She majored in Fine Art and continues to draw upon her foundation in the arts.

Chris Pyne: Chief Strategy Officer, MediaCom, covering Measuring success.

Chris joined MediaCom in 2010 as Chief Strategy Officer to provide strategic leadership across account teams.

Prior to joining MediaCom, Chris was senior vice-president, Head of Planning at Optimedia, where he oversaw all client planning teams and led the agency’s business development efforts nationwide. He also played a key role in developing the company’s open planning process, a consumer-led approach to integrated communication planning and buying.

Before joining Optimedia’s USA operation in 2006, Chris was group planning director for Procter & Gamble at ZenithOptimedia in London.

Rachel Roy: Owner and creative director of Rachel Roy, covering Designing for the modern woman.

Rachel Roy, designer, entrepreneur, philanthropist and mother, has always kept one goal in mind in her approach to design; to help women feel smart, confident and individual.

Raised in Northern California by an Indian father and Dutch mother, Rachel grew up immersed in the issues of Vogue magazines she collected and dreams of being a designer. After attending college in Washington, DC, Rachel moved to New York City and began styling magazine shoots. Her feminine aesthetic with a twist quickly earned her a reputation for knowing how to enhance a woman's body without revealing too much. After almost a decade at a global urban brand, where she rose to Creative Director overseeing seven licensees and running all of design departments, Rachel launched her own brand.

Inspired by the strong, confident working women she knew, the Rachel Roy New York collection debuted in Spring 2005. The collection embodies effortless glamour and grace with Rachel's design hallmarks of print/pattern mixing, the pairing of opposites and defining details that take women from day to evening. From the very first collection, Rachel has created modern iconic pieces - the trench, the blouse and the dress - that are, and continue to be, the cornerstones of women's wardrobes.

In August 2009, Rachel launched RACHEL Rachel Roy, a downtown, youthful companion to her designer collection featuring affordable contemporary sportswear, footwear, handbags and jewelry that has quickly become a destination brand.

Giving back is one of Rachel's greatest passions and one of the founding principles of the Rachel Roy brand. From her work with OrphanAid Africa to the Kindness Is Always Fashionable charitable bag program, Rachel always looks to create opportunities to give women and children in need a voice. Inspired by her recent trip to Haiti, Rachel partnered with the Heart of Haiti artisans collective to bring Haitian designed jewelry to the US marketplace. The sustainable business model helps create jobs and continues to employ Haitian artisans while giving their beautiful work and culture more widespread exposure.

Rachel is a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and continues to be actively engaged in the evolution and integrity of the fashion industry. In 2009, Rachel was recognized by the Accessories Council with an ACE AWARD for best brand launch for RACHEL Rachel Roy. She won Mattel's 10 Women to Watch in 2010 and most recently she has been featured on Vanity Fair's Best Dressed List. Rachel has been recognized for her innovative brand and film work by AdWeekMedia and the LaJolla Fashion Film Festival.

A frequent lifestyle, fashion and culture contributor to various publications, Rachel is a featured monthly columnist for InStyle Magazine and a regular contributor to the Huffington Post. Rachel has appeared on numerous national TV programs; The Oprah Winfrey Show, Project Runway, The Nate Berkus show, Lifetime's Catwalk 24/7, Sundance's All on the Line, and Extra TV as the red carpet style correspondent for the 2011 Oscars. Rachel and her work has been featured on leading blogs like The Cut, Refinery 29, WhoWhatWear, and The Glamouri to over 200 million web viewers annually. Fascinated with technology and how it enhances women's lives, Rachel has created a robust social network that engages women and acts as a research and laboratory to test new designs and ideas that includes Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Youtube, Tumblr, Instagram and Google+.

Rachel has garnered editorial acclaim in publications such as Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, W, Vanity Fair, Glamour and InStyle. Rachel has had the honor of dressing First Lady Michelle Obama, Eva Mendes, Kate Hudson, Jennifer Garner, Iman, Halle Berry, Sofia Vergara, Christina Hendricks, Jessica Alba and Gwyneth Paltrow among other esteemed actresses, musicians and businesswomen.