FashionCampLA: The Impact of Technology on the Fashion, Apparel and Retail Industries

Fashion Camp LA, an interactive one-day conference, hits Los Angeles June 13, 2010 and brings together apparel and retail industry professionals, bloggers and designers and teaches them how to use technology as a marketing, business and brand development tool.

The face of fashion is changing. The divide between designer and consumer is shrinking more and more, and fashion is becoming an exciting community in which everyone can participate. Technology is giving everyone a chance to play a role in the industry.

-Industry professionals, members of the independent fashion community and of the vintage community, Los Angeles brands, technology start-ups, style bloggers, writers, and journalists, stylists, designers and brand professionals are all invited attend the casual, but informative, seminars.  It’s going to be an amazing chance for the fashion forward to meet some of the technology industry’s leading experts.

Conference Speakers include:

Philip Warbasse, CEO, Warbasse Design – Developing QR Code Campaigns

Warbasse will demonstrate how 2-dimensional barcodes, commonly referred to as QR Codes, are being used to tie the “real” world (whether that be printed pieces from newspaper ads to napkins) to the “virtual” world (the Internet, a text message, a song, a video, etc.). Warbasse Design has created a mobile QR campaign Lucky Brand Jeans and consulted for Ralph Lauren’s campaign. Warbasse will discuss the development and implementation of successful QR campaigns for retailers and brands.

Matt Szymczyk, CEO, Zugara – Augmented Reality: From Marketing Buzzword To A Better Consumer Experience

Time Magazine recently named Augmented Reality the #4 Tech Trend to watch in 2010.   That’s all good and well, but how do fashion retailers utilize this tech in a relevant and meaningful way?  Zugara will bring your attendees up to speed on this emerging technology and discuss how it can be utilized to provide a more meaningful and engaging experience for their consumers.  Zugara will be demonstrating the AR e-commerce applications that they’ve built for retailers.

Macala Wright Lee, Publisher, FashionablyMarketing.Me — Retailer ROI – Establishing Metrics for Online Marketing

Macala Wright Lee is the founder of FashionablyMarketing.Me and has been a marketing consultant for fashion, beauty and lifestyle-related brands and individuals for 10 years.  In her discussion, she will discuss how brands Sorel, American Express and 1928 Jewelry developed metrics in order to establish the effectiveness of social media and blogger supported campaigns.

Syuzi Pakhchyan, Author, FashioningTech.com – Fashioning Technology – Code, Cloth & Culture: Imagining Tomorrow’s Wardrobe

In “Code, Cloth & Culture: Imagining Tomorrow’s Wardrobe”, Syuzi Pakhchyan will discuss how science, technology, and smart materials will shape our fashions in the future. Pakhchyan will demonstrate “soft circuiting” and will teach participants how to sew a simple circuit using conductive thread and LEDs.

Lisa Borodkin, Fashion Attorney – Fashionably Legal & Knowledgeable

Lisa Borodkin  is a Los Angeles-based attorney focusing on the intersection of technology, law and media. A practicing attorney for over eleven years, she specializes in copyright, Internet and entertainment law. Her fashion work includes licensing, trademark registration. copyright and trade dress litigation and anti-counterfeiting. Lisa graduated from Harvard College and Columbia University School of law.

Christina Gagnier

Christina Gagnier is an intellectual property attorney and partner at Gagnier Margossian LLP. A proud Californian, she began her interest in technology and politics while working on initiative campaigns and coordinating voter turnout in California for causes relating to education. Gagnier also operates as CEO of REALPOLITECH, a political technology startup.

Crosby Noricks, Founder, PRCouture.com – The New Rules of Fashion PR

PRCouture.com is the web’s leading Fashion PR Blog and website. Social media and online marketing have changed the way fashion brands and retailers approach PR. Crosby Noricks, a Senior Digital Strategist at Red Door and who manages social media and digital PR for retailer Charlotte Russe, will discuss the new rules of fashion PR and publicity.

Darryl Jung, CEO, Clashe—Digital Lookbooks: Bootstrapping your Brand
Clashe lookbooks are free websites for lifting emerging designers & bloggers higher and faster. Clashe takes the muck out of maintaining your online brand so that you can focus more of your time on your creative energy and budget. Darryl will share tips on using Clashe in order to build your brand, promote your products & services and get discovered.

The event,  generously sponsored by Los Angeles-based XCVI Clothing, Mindshare LA, CoLoft and FashionablyMarketing.Me, aims to teach attendees that fashion and technology aren’t two separate industries. Attendees will learn from industry experts how technology works hand in hand with fashion and how this relationship opens up the doors to the apparel, retail and fashion industries to everyone who has the drive and talent — creating amazing possibilities to build innovative ideas that generate positive cash flow. FashionCampLA is the first step. Learn, network, share, teach, and get involved in this thrilling new era of fashion.

FashionCampLA will take place June 13^th, 2010 at CoLoft, 920 Santa Monica Blvd. in Santa Monica, California. The event runs from 10AM – 7PM, the cost of the event is $10.00-20.00 per person. To register, visit FashionCampLA’s website www.la.fashioncamp.org or EventBrite at http://lafashioncamp.eventbrite.com/.