SuperZiper by Cláudia Assad

Threading the Needle: the What, How and Who of Your Fashion Career, is the first virtual world-based fashion design conference in history. The December 3rd conference includes eight fashion industry thought leaders who each present their views on a range of topics designed to help a global audience of new designers and fashion designers ‘thread their needle’ and launch their careers.

PR Couture founder and editor Crosby Noricks will discuss fashion PR and the impact of social media and digital marketing with Harper Beresford, a well known fashion player in Second Life. Additional conference speakers includ:

• Lynn Furge (Creative Director, Nolcha)
• Fiona Jenvey (CEO, Mudpie)
• Beth Harris (Director of Digital Learning, MOMA-NYC)
• Suzie Norris (Professor, Southampton Solent University)
• Elaine Polvinen (Professor, Buffalo State University)
• Michiel Thissen (Mythos Consultancy)
• Shenlei Winkler (CEO, Fashion Research Institute)

In addition to the presentation track, students can review a 3-D trend report, with trend data by Mudpie, a virtual fashion installation with fashions created by the Fashion Research Institute’s student interns, booths and displays about programs from other fashion industry organizations; exhibits about fashion history, and a game developed just for fashion designers.

Attendance is free. All you need is a computer powerful enough to run the software (see technical requirements), Internet access, and two accounts, one on ScienceSim.com and a Skype account. Register here.

Crosby will be speaking from 2:00 – 2:45 pm EST.

Fashion as political defiance? Pakistan Fashion Week (via The Luxe Chronicles)

• In western countries, views on fashion are as diverse as the fashions themselves. To some of us, fashion is an industry and a form of self-expression. To others, it is merely a form of entertainment or a frivolous pursuit. It is rarely if ever a political statement let alone one with potentially life-threatening consequences.

Like.com acquires Weardrobe (via TechChunch)

• Like.com will user its “Likesense” visual search technology to identify the pieces of clothing in a photo on Weardrobe. Like.com will list the items with a link to where visitors can actually purchase the items (with Like.com taking in an affiliate fee from any purchases).

Dressing in augmented reality (via CRM)

• With the launch of Fashionista, all shoppers need is a Webcam and computer to begin virtually trying on every piece of clothing in an online retail store.

New denim brand to launch exclusively on Twitter (via Denim Debutante)

• Primarily a denim brand, Airess & Church is not scheduled to release any merchandise to the general public until 2010. However, the brand will open its website (www.airessandchurch.com) and allow its Twitter followers to purchase their limited edition “Native Soil Collection” on a date and time only to be revealed in updates via their Twitter page.

Elle UK hires Talk PR to manage 25th anniversary (via PR Week)

• Talk PR will handle media for February’s Elle Style Awards, which generate more than £4.3m in PR value, and the launch of an expanded beauty section in spring. It will also promote a series of exclusive projects with designers and new initiatives, which will be revealed next year.

Calling all emerging designers and the fashion PR’s who represent them! Plastics Make it Possible^SM and Gen Art are challenging new and established designers to put their creativity to the test and design two dynamic womenswear looks made from fabrics that include plastic-based fibers. After all, without plastic, skinny jeans wouldn’t have their stretch, and that is one innovation I’m not ready to give up on!

In case you haven’t yet heard, Plastics Make it Possible, a program sponsored by America’s plastic makers through the American Chemistry Council has partnered with GenArt, the leading arts and entertainment organization dedicated to showcasing emerging fashion designers, filmmakers, musicians and visual artists, to do some pretty great stuff in fashion land. Most recently, they were part of the Fresh Faces in Fashion LA show during fashion week.

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