Fashion Design 2.0

This month designer Kathlin Argiro will be hosting us in her fabulous Fashion District Showroom, while we enjoy champagne and talk about the next big thing in fashion, online.
We will expand our discussion into the world of fashion designers and take a close look on how they use the online medium to market their products, promote their brand, and even their own personality. Subjects to include: online PR, blogging, and social networking techniques allowing an instant connection to the consumer; growth of the e-commerce and shift towards the online shopping experience; and more.

Speakers:
KAREN GIBERSON - President, The Accessories Council
Karen's creative wizardry –in a number of executive roles, ending with the Director of Event Marketing for QVC was responsible for bringing some of the shopping mecca’s most wildly successful programs and products. A genuine style insider, she has over 20 years of experience in marketing, and public/media relations. She is currently President of The Accessories Council, a non-profit national advocacy group that represents over 160 of the biggest names in the industry. She is a partner with Anomaly, one of the world’s most innovative agencies, in a new skin care line “Ha” with Tammy Ha and is the executive producer for a television show/product line featuring Eric Ripert. She is also a partner in Kelly&Moss, a new line of environmentally friendly handbags. She has consulted for companies as: Always In(Style), HairZing, HCI Direct, ElyseRyan Jewelry, Anomaly, Virgin American Airlines, Miramax, Tracy Reese to name a few.

JEN GROOVER - CEO, Jen Groover Productions
Tagged by Success Magazine as a “One Woman Brand” and having drawn comparisons to Walt Disney and Benjamin Franklin, her name has quickly become synonymous with innovation, entrepreneurialism, and evolution. Jen has already developed such products as the Bulter Bag (a compartmentalized handbag), one of the fastest growing handbag companies in history; product lines that include accessories, dolls, clothing, parental aids, and games; licensing deals with many of the industries' heavy-weights. She also has a television program slated for the fall and a book launch in 2009. Her enviable publicity record includes ABC’s “Money Matters,” CNBC’s “The Big Idea With Donny Deutsch,” O, The Oprah Magazine, Success, Entrepreneur, and Redbook.

KATHLIN ARGIRO - Fashion Designer
Kathlin discovered her “passion for fashion” when she was just fourteen years old and needed a dress for her first high school dance. After graduating with honors from Parsons School of Design, she honed her knowledge of couture dressmaking techniques while working for designers Arnold Scaasi and Carmen Marc Valvo. Kathlin has been designing under her own label for 10 years. Kathlin Argiro Bridesmaids dresses have been featured on TODAY SHOW THROWS A WEDDING two years in a row. They have also been featured regularly in top bridal magazines including ELEGANT BRIDE, IN STYLE WEDDINGS, NEW YORK MAGAZINE and MARTHA STEWART WEDDINGS. Designs from Kathlin’s ready to wear collection have been featured in VOGUE, IN STYLE, WOMENS WEAR DAILY, US WEEKLY and THE WASHINGTON POST.

TRISH GINTER - Co- Founder, SmashingDarling.com
There are few areas of the fashion world that Trish has not experienced firsthand, from design to production, corporate to indie, bridal to babywear, and everything in between. After graduating FIT she advanced quickly in the NYC fashion industry, beginning as an assistant designer for an American design house that owned the licenses for Christian Dior sleepwear and lingerie where she eventually became head designer for Dior Junior, the children's sleepwear line. SmashingDarling is the culmination of Trish's experiences in the fashion world and her life's work as an independent designer. Her greatest hope is that SmashingDarling will give indie designers like herself a place to connect with and draw inspiration from other designers, as well as provide an easy and powerful way to market their designs online and sell to a wider audience than ever before.