“Seattle was booming in the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. It was a leader in fashion and art—it was a hub. It was where buyers all over the US and Europe came. We had a trade center where all the different companies would come and present their lines to buyers, fabric companies would come to show their fabrics. Then what happened was that the gates opened to China. Now the ROI is higher while using lower labor costs. With that, the infrastructure in Seattle was gone. Seattle is hopeful however-if we bring the infrastructure back and if everyone is willing to collaborate and work together.”

Through understanding which factors contributed to the decline of our industry, we can create educated business strategies to reverse the gears of time. That is what Suley Era and partners are aiming to do: create a path for a thriving fashion industry in Seattle, or perhaps more accurately, bushwhack our way back to the path we were leading in years past.

To closely asses the factors most heavily influencing Seattle’s fashion industry, 100 interviews2 were conducted with local leaders. Three of the most repeatedly shared insights on the faults of Seattle’s fashion scene were the following; these past circumstances and hopeful insights can guide future decisions in our industry.

• Finance: Many industry professionals shift gears from what they ultimately love because of funding: “there just isn’t the budget for the kind of creative projects we want to accomplish.” –Nune Hov
  • Hopeful Insight: Seattle’s Economy has piqued in recent year due to unprecedented growth in business, resulting in a particularly hot bed of economic opportunity for new business endeavors.
    
    
• Frequency: Fashionistas crave consistent and reliable quality fashion events to attend “A client of ours recently bought two of our luxury gowns even after telling us she had no where to wear them in Seattle, she just had to have them.” -Local French Fashion designers Dawson & Deveraux.
  • Hopeful Insight: The local fashion industry is growing, particularly since the renaissance of Seattle Fashion Week and establishment of distinct organizations dedicated to fostering the future of local fashion.
    
    
• Quality: The bar has drastically dropped on the front of events and personal style “People here are afraid of fashion, they are afraid to express themselves.” –Leslie Anne
  • Hopeful Insight: Newly launched organizations such as Suley Era are dedicated to upholding a city standard for quality and encouraging self expression through lifestyle fashion.

Suley Era is committed to the merriment of increased funding and support, frequency and quality of fashion endeavors.

Footnotes:

1—Jamal, President and CEO of Vancouver International Fashion Week

2—Market research conducted by Ava J. Holmes, CEO of A-DOT L.L.C.

Content Provided by A-DOT L.L.C.