Steven Kolb谈美国时尚设计师协会CFDA

夜礼服假面

随着刚刚过去的2012年，美国时尚设计师协会也迎来了全新的办公场所，新办公室位于Bleecker Street，坐落于建筑师Louis Sullivan的纽约办公大楼中。谈到这个新办公室，Steven Kolb说：“我们其实没有什么资金，并且是一个非盈利的组织，我们一向习惯向大家索取帮助，也很高兴许多律师，建筑师，科技公司，经纪人等等为我们提供了不少的资金帮助，这也是我们这个新办公室的由来。”

       我们是拥有450位成员的一个协会，这些设计师是我们的重心，而这个时尚设计师协会的性质有点像到处给人打电话寻求时尚帮助，无论这些设计师在业内遇到什么困难，都可以向我们寻求帮助，而我们也会竭尽全力帮助他们。除此之外，我们还会提供各项时尚方面的发展项目，比如教大家如何在亚洲市场做生意，怎样打开国际市场等等。

       接下来，我们会举办更多的活动，也尽可能的为成员提供更大的便利。比如Jeffrey Banks，他是我们的协会成员，近来正在写一本关于Perry Ellis的书，我们为他提供了办公室，让他可以在这里进行采访。我们的成员也会不定期地在这里开各种会议，还会举办研讨会，学术研究会议等。

        对我来说，设计师应该共同拥有的特质是关注商品，以品牌为重心，许多设计师在成名前后还是保持一致，非常实在，这是很难得的特质，也让我十分看重。在现在的市场情势下，设计师们的形象对于品牌尤为重要，无论是设计，广告，设计师们都要做到面面俱到。

       虽然我们的成员不包括时尚杂志，但是时尚杂志和我们的合作的确非常密切，尤其是Vogue, Anna Wintour是我们的好朋友，Vogue对我们的工作也提供了很大的支持和帮助，其他像是Cosmopolitan等时尚杂志也和我们保持不错的合作关系，在某种方面来说这是一种互助的形式。

As 2012 was coming to an end, Steven Kolb, the CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), showed the Cut around the organization's new Bleecker Street office, inside famed architect Louis Sullivan's only New York building. "It's like a community center for fashion," he said, noting that the council’s members have already been using the office to do interviews and show their collections, pinning portfolio pictures up on the red fabric walls. We sat in little leather meeting "pods" — like very chic padded cells in their sleek, strangely soothing isolation — and gazed out the floor-to-ceiling windows of a conference room overlooking lower Manhattan. The CFDA's signature red, black, and white are prominent, upon President Diane Von Furstenberg's insistence, ("She's big on the branding thing," Kolb explained) as is their life-size CFDA award — a sculpture by Ernest Trova — that has finally stepped out of its Secaucus, New Jersey storage facility.

Technically, the CFDA is a nonprofit servicing the fashion industry, and although the new office looks much more "fashion" than "nonprofit," Kolb said their budget was basically nothing. "We're very used to asking people to do stuff for us stuff for free, or give us stuff cheap. That's kind of our business model: Pay us money to do stuff with us and if we ask you to do something, do it for free," he said, name checking the generous lawyers, brokers, architects, framers, furniture manufacturers, and technology companies that donated to the new office, as he admired his giant new monitor. "I don't even know how to use half this stuff," he said, laughing. Kolb walked us through the workspace, and talked about why he and the CFDA really need a nice office, anyway.

A lot of people have heard of the CFDA, but may not be aware of what it is you actually do.
Our charge is the 450 designers who are members of the CFDA. They're our masters. The CFDA is like calling 1-800-FASHION-HELP. We're customer service to the industry. Whatever the question, or the need is, we try to answer and help — within the context of the programs. I always like the CFDA Fashion Fund Awards, and we’re about to get into the production on that right after the new year. But the focus has been the professional development: things like PR 101 or HR basics, to more complex things like doing business in Asia, international expansion, “how to know you’re investment-ready” — programs that bring knowledge to the members.

And do you think you'll be hosting more events, now that you have the new space?
Totally. That's really our priority. Now that we have [this] community center, it's motivating us to do that. We said to the membership: This is our office, but it's also their office. Jeffrey Banks, who's a member, he's been working on a book on Perry Ellis, and he needed a big space to do some interviews. So he's been scheduling the conference room. We have our board meetings here now. We have programs, seminars, and panels. [Before] we'd have to go to Soho House, or the Andaz, or the W.

And what about being away from the Garment District?
As you know, where we were [on Broadway and 39th Street] was really a fashion neighborhood — the garment district. We prioritized our search in that neighborhood. But we didn’t find anything that had the openness. Everything is very cut up and clustered there. When our broker found this for us, there was nothing you could argue against it being a good deal. The garment district is a great neighborhood. We still have our Fashion Incubator there, so we still have a home there and a presence there. But this [new neighborhood] is like, guys with long hair on skateboards, and dogs. It's very New York, picturesque.

How is it being the only guy at the CFDA?
It’s good because I get a lot of attention, and it’s bad because I have to give a lot of attention. You know, it’s like I’m in a relationship with eleven women. So I like that, but sometimes I need to get away from it.

You came from nonprofit work at MTV to the CFDA in 2006. Did you go out and get a lot of new clothes?
Because I really loved my job at MTV, I didn't obsess about my [first] interview for this job. That second interview, I thought about it a little bit more. My first interview with Women's Wear [Daily], I thought about it a little bit more. And I didn't know where to go! I remember going to Macy's and buying, like, a shirt. I think I always had great personal style in my own way. I mean, I know designers now who are friends. I'm lucky that I have connections to them, and I can ge ‘industry discounts’ or preorder. So, yeah, I would say that my closet has expanded.

Is there one quality you think successful designers like them share, or something you really look for in newer designers?
I think it's focus on the product. That's important, having a DNA around the brand, and it being recognizable as that designer's work. Me personally, I like a bit of humility in people. I like people that, as they get more and more success, they stay grounded. They're still that same person that they were when they were just starting.

On the flip side, is there one challenge that you see often?
I'm going to say this as a plus and as a challenge. I think the idea that a designer has to be their own personality, or their own celebrity, the face of a brand, is more important now than ever. I think that started with Bill Blass and designers when they started to do campaigns and ads. No one can speak better about a designer's projects than a designer him or herself. There's a line to that, when you cross over to celebrity. You have to be really careful. Or choose! And that's okay, if [a celebrity] is what you want to be, be that person. But then it's different than being a designer.

So what about painfully shy designers?
I've seen painfully shy designers! I'm shy! You just have to turn it on. And that doesn't mean to have to be fake or phony, you just have to pump it up a little bit. I went to something last night, and it's the kind of thing I don't typically go to. It was a sit-down dinner. I got seated next to someone I didn’t know, and after a while there's only so much I can talk about. And then I started to get anxious because it was getting late and I had to get up in the morning and all that kind of stuff. But it's all work, and at the end of the day you're going to go home to your husband, or boyfriend, or dog or whatever and it's over!

It's funny, because the fashion industry has such output of outrageous personality, but it's really just a lot of —
Normal people. But you know what it is? I think that all that personality, there's always got to be a flipside to that. There's the vulnerability, right? So if you're a designer, you're creating something, just like an artist or someone who releases an album, makes a movie, and you're going like, "Here, public. What do you think of it?" And then you wait. And you get judged! You have all of this creative energy but you're also then shrinking to this vulnerability.

Will a big house like Balenciaga ever call the CFDA and say, "Hey we're launching a search for a designer. Who should we be thinking of?"
Balenciaga hasn't called. [Laughs.] But there have been many others that have called us and who have asked us about people we know. We do that all time, and that's part of our mandate: work and job opportunities for our members, so we work with a lot of partners. Li & Fung is one of our corporate partners. We work with them. We put together Narciso and Kohl's. Derek Lam will be in Kohl's in the spring.

Can you talk a little bit about your relationship with Vogue and other fashion magazines?
Only designers can be members, but Vogue is a really important partner. Anna [Wintour] has been a really true friend to CFDA. We also have relationships with the other magazines. I just met with Joanna Coles at Cosmo. We work with all magazines. It just so happens Vogue is a very powerful magazine.

棉花朵

辛苦了，支持下。

三十二夜

随着2012年即将结束，美国时装设计师（CFDA）理事会的首席执行官史蒂文·科尔布，周围组织的新布利克街的办公室，显示了剪切，著名建筑师路易斯·沙利文的纽约建筑内。“这就像一个时尚社区中心，”他说，并指出该委员会的成员已经被使用在办公室做采访，并展示自己的藏品，寄托组合图片上的红布墙。我们坐在会议“豆荚” -的像圆滑的，奇怪的是舒缓的隔离非常别致的软垫细胞-小皮，凝视着从地板到天花板的窗户，可俯瞰曼哈顿下城的一间会议室。在CFDA的签名红色，黑色，和白色是突出的，在总裁黛安·冯芙丝汀宝的坚持，“她是大的品牌的东西，”科尔布解释为是他们的真人大小的CFDA奖-一个雕塑由欧内斯特Trova - ，有最后走出其Secaucus，新泽西存储设备。 从技术上讲，CFDA时尚界是一个非盈利性的服务，虽然新的办公室，看起来更“时尚”而不是“非营利性”，科尔布说，他们的预算基本上没有什么。“我们很习惯要求人们做的东西，我们免费的东西，给我们的东西便宜，这是我们的商业模式种：付我们钱，我们做的东西，如果我们要求你做一些事情，这样做是免费的，“他说，名检查慷慨的律师，经纪人，建筑师，成帧器，家具制造商，技术公司捐赠的新办公室，他很佩服他的巨大的新的**器。“我什至不知道如何使用这个东西的一半，”他说，笑了起来。科尔布走了我们的工作区，并谈到了为什么他和CFDA真的需要一个漂亮的办公室，反正 很多人都听过的CFDA，但可能不知道它是什么，你实际上做的。 我们的收费是450名设计师的CFDA成员。他们是我们的主人。CFDA就像是致电1-800-FASHION-HELP。我们的客户服务的行业。不管是什么问题，或者需要的是，我们试图回答和帮助-范围内的程序。我总是喜欢CFDA时尚基金大奖，我们即将进入新的一年的生产上，右后。但重点的专业发展：如PR 101或HR基本的东西，更复杂的事情，如在亚洲开展业务的国际扩张，“怎么知道你是投资准备” -计划，带来了知识的成员。 你认为你会举办更多的活动，现在您有新的空间？ 全。这的确是我们的首要任务。现在，我们有[这]社区活动中心，它激励我们做到这一点。我们的成员说：这是我们的办公室，但也是他们的办公室。杰弗里·班克斯，谁是成员，他的工作在一本书上的Perry Ellis，他需要一个大的空间，做一些采访。于是，他被安排在会议室。我们有自己的董事会会议。我们的课程，研讨会，和面板。[]我们不得不去 的服装区（Garment District）距离Soho之家，或Andaz酒店，或W. 什么？ 正如你所知道的，在那里我们在百老汇和39街]真的是一个时尚邻里-服装区。我们优先考虑我们在这附近搜索。但我们没有发现任何的开放性。一切都非常节省，和聚集在那里。当我们的经纪人发现，这对我们来说，什么都没有，你可以反驳它是一个很好的协议。服装区是一个伟大的附近。我们仍然有我们的时装孵化器有，所以我们仍然有一个家有存在。但这种新的社区是一样，滑板，长头发的狗的家伙。这是非常纽约，如诗如画。 如何它是唯一一个在CFDA 这是很好的，因为我得到了很多的关注，并且它是坏的，因为我给予了很大的关注。你知道，它就像我的关系，与11名妇女。所以我很喜欢，但有时我需要摆脱它。 您在MTV来自非营利性的工作，在2006年CFDA。你出去，并得到了很多新衣服， 因为我真的很喜欢我的工作，在MTV，我没有迷恋我的[第一次]采访这项工作。这第二次面试，我想多一点点。我的第一次采访女装[每日]，我想多一点点。而且我不知道哪里去了！我记得为梅西和购买，喜欢，衬衫。我想我总是以自己的方式有很大的个人风格。我的意思是，我现在知道设计师，谁都是朋友。我很幸运，我有连接到他们，我可以通用电气行业折扣“或序。所以，是的，我会说，我的衣柜里有扩大。 是否有质量，你认为成功的设计师和他们一样的份额，或者是你真的在寻找新的设计师， 我认为它的重点在产品上。这一点很重要，有一个围绕品牌的DNA，它是可识别的，设计师的工作。我个人而言，我喜欢有点谦卑的人。我喜欢的人，因为他们得到了越来越多的成功，他们留接地。他们仍然是相同的人，他 ​​们时，他们才刚刚开始。 在另一面，是一个挑战，你经常看到 我会说这是一个加号和一个挑战。我觉得一个设计师的想法，有自己的个性，自己的名人，面对一个品牌，更重要的是，现在比以往任何时候。我认为与Bill Blass和设计师开始时，他们开始做的广告活动和广告。设计师的项目不是一个设计师，他或她自己，没有人能说得更好。有一条线，当你跨越名人。你必须非常小心。或者选择！[名人]这没关系，如果你想成为什么，是那个人。但后来它的不同是一名设计师。 那么害羞的设计师吗？ 我见过害羞的设计师！我害羞！你只需要打开它。这并不意味着是假的或者虚假的，你只需要一点点PUMP IT UP。我去了昨晚的事，这是什么样的事情，我通常不会去。这是一个坐式晚宴。我被坐在旁边的人我不知道，一段时间后，有这么多，我可以谈。然后，我开始变得焦躁，因为当时天色已晚，我不得不在早晨起床和所有这样的东西。但它的所有工作，并在一天结束你正在去到走回家你的丈夫或男友，或狗或任何与它的过去！ 这是有趣的，因为在时尚界有这样输出的离谱的个性，但它的真的只是很多- 正常的人。但是，你知道它是什么呢？我认为所有的人的性格，总是必须是一个不利的一面。存在的漏洞，对不对？所以，如果你是一个设计师，你创造的东西，就像一个艺术家或某人谁发布的专辑，拍戏，你会喜欢，“在这里，市民，你认为它是什么？” 然后你就等待。你判断！你有这种创造性的能量，但你也萎缩到这个漏洞。 一所大房子像巴黎世家，曾经调用的CFDA并说，“嘿，我们的设计师推出了搜索。我们应该思考的吗？ “ 巴黎世家也不会被调用。[笑]但是，已经有许多人给我们打电话，要求我们有关的人，我们知道。我们这样做，所有的时间，这就是我们的任务：为我们的成员的工作及就业机会，使我们的工作有很多的合作伙伴。利丰是我们公司的合作伙伴之一。我们与他们合作。我们放在一起的Narciso和科尔的。德里克·林（Derek Lam）将在科尔的春天。 你能说一下对你们的关系与时尚等时尚杂志吗？ 只有设计师可以，但时尚是一个非常重要的合作伙伴。安娜·温图尔] CFDA一个真正的真正的朋友。我们与其他杂志也有关系。我刚认识与Joanna Coles的丽悦。我们与所有的杂志。碰巧的是时尚是一个非常强大的杂志。
感谢Google。