IFB

I spent last Wednesday in NY at the Independent Fashion Bloggers Conference with my friend & travel companion Angie. I felt like an imposter much of the time as I'm not a fashion blogger and somehow don't see becoming one as part of my career trajectory, nevertheless I found the panel discussions engaging and informative and enjoyed looking at the pretty girls (+ boys) all dolled up.

The discussions each consisted of a moderator and a selection of bloggers or fashion professionals from a variety of different backgrounds and perspectives. Panel themes included "the business of blogging", "who owns your blog content" and "working with brands gracefully" among others. Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler served as the keynote speakers and touched on both the business of design as well as the necessity of social media and blogger/designer relationships to get one's message 'out there'. This was probably the most interesting and close-hitting discussion for me, though I did enjoy hearing thoughts on designers from a blogger's perspective too. Honestly though, I would've been happy just to sit and listen to Jack and Lazaro discuss process for hours. They just seemed so damn nice & normal.

'Who Owns Your Blog Content', l - r: Leandra Medine (Man Repeller), Richard Tong (Tumblr), Evelyn Tollinche (MTV)

The crowd

'The Business of Blogging' (ie. make sure you're on facebook/tumblr/twitter) l - r: Vahni Georgoulakos (Grit & Glamour), Caitlin Ni Chathain (Gucci), Tony Wang (Post Fashionism), Gregory Shove (Halogen), Piera Gelardi (Refinery29), Craig Arend (Altamira), Keiko Groves (Keiko Lynn)

Angie earning her keep interviewing bloggers for ALDO livestream.

'Working with Brands Gracefully', l - r: Kristen Knox (The Clothes Whisperer), Rebecca Stice (The Clothes Horse), Lindsey Calla (Saucy Glossie)

'The Rise of the Professional Blogger', l - r: Chiara Ferragni (Blonde Salad), Josh Rubin (CoolHunting), Wendy Lam (nitro:licious), Karen Robinovitz (DBA), Faran Krentcil (Nylon), Yvan Rodic (Face Hunter), Karla Deras (Karla's Closet). Other than the (occasionally heated) discourse between Karen Robinovitz and Faran Krentcil, I found this to be the most ho-hum of the panel discussions.

Stars of the show: Imran Amed (Business of Fashion) moderating the discussion with Proenza Schouler. Angie and I were lucky enough after the conference to have a quick drink and a chat with Imran who's originally from Calgary. We high-fived, yay Alberta.

So, yeah, an interesting day in a world not my own. It was really nice to hear a perspective and a voice in real life as opposed to through the filter of a blog. I liked that. Thanks for the ticket Angie!