A full house at FC Fashion MeetUp #2

Doors were opened from 5pm, glasses of Prosecco were offered to guests and they were able to engage with one another before the conversation with Shailina and Jenny began. Promptly, the meetup began with Jenny welcoming guests to FashionCapital and introducing Shailina.

The ‘Big Black Sofa Conversation’ between Jenny and Shailina was an informal discussion and throughout the conversation, guests were able to ask questions regarding matters of setting up a brand, sourcing fabrics, online sales and much more. Shailina discussed the journey of her career in fashion; starting from her humble beginnings as a graduate trainee at Jaeger in 1989, to launching Jaeger’s first catwalk collection in 2008 and then being appointed as Buying and Merchandising director at Jigsaw in 2014.

On Jaeger Shailina commented: “We wanted to create a catwalk brand, however we wanted to keep the principle of creating and designing within the British industry. Just before we launched Jaeger London we created the samples for the collection at one of Fashion Enter’s workshop in 2008. That same year we launched Jaeger London and took the collection to London Fashion Week, the collection was fabulous! That year we doubled our profits and globally Jaeger became a big brand.”

Shailina and Jenny talked though multiple approaches designers should take to overcome the restraints of creating a brand and the approaches to run a brand successfully. Shailina states: “There are four focal points to creating a brand; firstly you must have a passion, secondly what is your brand focus? – You have to decide what your brand point of view is, both Monsoon and Jaeger had their own particular point of view. Thirdly, business knowledge – understanding the money part of the business and the creation of the perfect fit. If the garments you have designed don’t fit or work on the body – the proportions won’t be right”

As well as the ‘Big Black Sofa Conversation’ with Shailina, the ‘Derry Design Collective’ from the Designer Business Start-Up programme showcased their launch collections at the event. Throughout guests were able to view the designer’s collections and discuss with them further about their designs. At the end of the occasion, guest’s continued to network with each other. Overall, the second instalment of FC MeetUp was a huge success!

Here are few comments taken from guests at the end of the event:

“Excellent event as part of London Fashion Week, showcasing designers from ‘The Derry Design Collective’. Great opportunities to showcase local talent and hear from Shailina Parti at Jigsaw!” Elisha Mc Callion, MP for Foyle, former MLA and mayor of Derry City and Strabane district council.

“Amazing showcasing event at The Fashion Capital MeetUp. The Derry Design Collective did themselves proud and mingled with industry professionals and media. Who knows what opportunities will come out of this networking event – it was a great night and the ‘Sofa Talk’ with Jigsaw’s Buying and Merchandising director Shailina Parti was fascinating.”  The Fashion and Textile Design Centre, Ireland

“I had fabulous time!! Very useful and informative.” Imran, designer

“Thank you for a great evening. We found it very insightful!” Shonagh, designer

“It was wonderful. Thank you very much to Jenny and Shailina.” Jacqueline

“Well done on a very informative evening.” Joe Pidgeon, Best of Britannia