The scene: The crowd at Saks Fifth Avenue included designers such as Juan Carlos Obando, Rami Kashou, Sweet P Vaughn, Kit Pistol, Meghan Fabulous, Joel Knoernschild of K.Z.O. and Raan Parton of Apolis Activism and was brimming with talent and creative expression. How to bottle that creativity into a successful business was the topic of “The Business of Fashion” panel discussion, hosted by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, Gen Art and Saks Fifth Avenue. The discussion, titled “Selling: Perspectives From All Angles,” was the second part in a three-part series.

Booth Moore, chief fashion critic and editor of the Los Angeles Times “Image” section, moderated the panel, which answered the overarching question of “How do you get the attention of buyers and editors?”

Starting with the product, Michael Macko, vice president of fashion, public relations and special events for men’s and home at Saks Fifth Avenue, said “originality” and the question “Does this fill a space that nobody else is?” were integral. Another factor in the equation, Macko said, is “the purchase has to be emotional [for the customer]. You’re not just buying a shirt, a jacket, a sweater. You’re buying a piece of that lifestyle.”

John Whitledge—founder, chief executive officer and creative director of the line Trovata, which grew from a T-shirt line produced in his dorm room to a full men’s and women’s collection—communicates his brand’s lifestyle by focusing each collection around an imagined story and the clothes that these characters would wear. Trovata won the “CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award”and the “CFDA Swarovski’s Perry Ellis Award” for menswear in 2006.

Trovata’s storytelling was part of what first drew Macko’s eye to the brand. “That lifestyle is so clearly explained to you. It’s almost like what Ralph Lauren has done, you know, complete lifestyle but in a very different, grassroots way we have never seen before,” he said.

Multitasking stylist Arianne Phillips—who works with Madonna, was nominated for an Academy Award as the costume designer of “Walk the Line” and has styled fashion editorials for Italian Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar—agreed that a designer’s “authenticity” and ability to tell a clear story were essential to a pitch.

“I like a well-edited collection. I don’t want to see a million pieces,” she said. “I want to see a point of view so that I understand it, and I’m looking for something that’s going to have photogenic possibilities.”

Whitledge advised designers to plan a steady growth and “learn how to say no.” He added that in the early stages of his company, “we were getting an offer for a six-figure order, and we’re saying, ‘No, we can’t deliver.’”

Macko agreed that “slow is OK. Everyone wants to be an overnight success, but having a slow continuous business is good because then your production can increase, your financial backing, all of that.”  —Rhea Cortado

Photography by John Scuilli (c) Berliner Studio/BEImages