, WWD invited students to get an early start at its studio with a variety of panel discussions designed to teach the new class about the fashion industry. The new class of FSF scholars includes 130 college students recognized for their talents and potential to disrupt and transform the fashion industry.
While sources can often be insistent one way or another when designers leave or major industry shakeups, Fallon explained that WWD doesn’t report on every single rumor that comes across its vast array of reporters’ desks as it would undermine the publication’s integrity. “The bedrock of what we do is objective reporting,” Fallon said. “Fashion loves gossip.”
Krakoff explained that he learned a lot from the experience that he took with him throughout his career, including how to understand a brand. Krakoff subsequently worked with Tommy Hilfiger, where he worked on the launch of 10 new categories. But Hilfiger eventually fired him because Krakoff was becoming a bit too big for his britches. He was unemployed for about a year and had accepted a job with Trussardi in Milan.
Christian Juul Nielsen, designer at Aknvas, then sat down with Bach Mai, designer at his eponymous brand, to give the students advice on starting their own brand. Mai said as an American, Paris always felt like a far-off dream. After returning to the U.S., he wanted to take couture with an American approach, his Texas background and explore the future of American couture. Mai said other big-name event designers in the industry are fellow Texans such as Daniel Roseberry at Schiaparelli, Brandon Maxwell and Jackson Wiederhoeft.
Mai cited Tom Ford’s famous quote about how he’s lucky to spend “10 percent of the time designing,” while most of the time spent running the business has to do with being an entrepreneur. Mai went on to explain that the business of fashion is incredibly hard and figuring out where to find the money to fund the business is key.