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Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Exclusive Interview With Raven, Founder of Chicago Fashion Connect

Hey Chicago Fashion Lovers, Movers & Shakers! 
Have you heard of Chicago Fashion Connect?

It's the monthly mixer held usually at a comfy & stylish bar by Raven the founder, whom I got to give you all the scoop on Why You Should Attend Chicago Fashion Connect.
 The Purpose Of CFC & So Much More! Read On...

C.Chic: What is The overall purpose of Chicago Fashion Connect?

CFC: The mission of Chicago Fashion Connect is to place the fashion industry in the cultural spotlight by promoting emerging talent and create opportunities for fashion entrepreneurs to network, collaborate and grow. In light of that mission statement CFC has two main ventures that we’re working on – the Fashion Industry Mixers and the CFC blog.

The Mixers are a series of events where fashion professionals and aspiring talent get a change to network and promote them selves. We had started featuring designers at the Mixers in an effort to create a buzz around them, put them in a spotlight and hopefully that will help them get noticed and get that “big break”.

The CFC blog is being expanded to become a hub of information about the industry. We are working on a series of articles that hopefully will help aspiring designers, photographers, models etc find the answers to so many “How do I…?” questions.

C.Chic: What do you love most about Chicago Fashion & What do you feel can be improved?

CFC: Definitely loving the fact that there is so much talent in Chicago. It’s a big city with a lot of artists and designers who work hard and create great work, beautiful clothes and jewelry. And it’s unfortunate that not all of them are known or get the recognition they deserve. What should definitely be improved is having more opportunities that will get Chicago based talent stay in Chicago instead of going to New York.

C.Chic: How do the mixer's work? For those looking to attend that want to know how can they aim to benefit from the Chicago Fashion Connect Mixers?

CFC: The Fashion Industry Mixers are meant to create an encouraging and friendly setting for industry people to meet other fashion-minded professionals, network, find opportunities for future work or collaboration. To help guests to find the right contacts, we have color coded all the name tags. Designers are light blue, models are yellow, photographers are green etc. This way if you’re looking for someone in particular, for example a photographer for the upcoming photoshoot, all you need to do is scan the room for green color tags.

To get the most benefit out of the mixers make sure to come prepared. Bring business cards, flyers or comp cards. Could also bring your portfolio, it could be loaded onto the iPhone, iPad or printed. Once at the mixer don’t be afraid to approach people you don’t know and talk to them. The beauty of the Mixers is that everyone came with the same goal, to network. And make sure to come more then once, you’ll get to meet new people at each mixer and strengthen the relationship with those you already met.

C.Chic: What are your future plans for Chicago Fashion Connect? Do you plan on expanding to other cities etc? 

CFC: Expanding to future cities would be great. For now will be sticking to Chicago, there is so much that could be done here. In the few months of operation CFC has grown quite a bit, however there is much more room for growth left.

Future plans right now is to grow bigger and better, create more opportunities in the industry, showcase designers, organize and host more events and expand the blog. CFC is also open for partnerships and collaborations, anyone wanting to work with us reach out, let us know who you are.

C.Chic: Finally what are some of your favorite Chicago Fashion Industry people thus far from designers to photographers?

CFC: There are just too many to name. It’s hard to have favorites in a city that is full of great talent. Definitely we love everyone we’ve worked with so far and whom we have covered on our blog or featured at the mixer.

You can view The Designs by Crystal B Simms at Chicago Fashion Connect's Next Mixer! 
Held on October 4, 2011 ---
Get Your Tickets Here! Make the  Most Of It! You Never Know Who You'll Meet Next
View The Video Footage Of The September CFC Mixer

By
CChic





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