New York Fashion Week - ATF Fashion House NYC Hosts a Black Tie Gala at LAVO, Sept 12
This New York Fashion Company takes a disruptive approach to help Designers and Brands Connect with Fashion Buyers during NYFW 22.
While the Paris, London and Milan Fashion Weeks are amazing, the Real Money is in New York.”
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, August 23, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Earlier this week, Kelly James Gordon, from WFM - "Who Follows Me", a tech advertising company that reaches over 2 billion people via tech driven advertising in 50+ countries, sat down with our very own Melissa Harrys, Head of Brands Partnerships and Distribution at ATF Fashion House NYC1, to discuss the upcoming NEW YORK FASHION WEEK and the role that ATFH plans to play during the World's Largest Fashion Gathering.— Melissa Harrys, Head of Brands Partnerships and Distribution, ATFH
Kelly James Gordon:
Hello Melissa, Welcome to WFM, we're thrilled to have you! Let's start with what's on everyone's mind - What is ATF Fashion House and what's the story behind the concept?
Melissa Harrys:
Thanks Kelly for having me, wow you're a straight shooter, haha. Well, ATFH is a Fashion Buyer and Distribution Company devoted to partnering with talented Emerging Designers to capture sizable shares of the World's leading consumer markets.
The term "ATF" comes from "App The Future LLC", a technology venture company also owned by our Investor, they build and operate Digital Platforms for Celebrities and Brands and attract hundreds of millions of users from all over the world across several industries like Fashion, Sport, Music, Films & Television. They realized they had access to a massive global audience of consumers but were only using it to service third parties like Sponsors and Advertisers, or to sell them Branded Merchandise from Celebrities.
At some point, they thought that was quite limited and they could do more, because, let's face it, that's what everyone is looking for: Extensive Access and Large Reach to Consumers who can drive your Sales up. So they decided to launch their own Consumer Division, and ATFH was created. Myself and a few others were excited to join the team and see it through.
Kelly James Gordon:
Your operations are setup on 5th Avenue - Why staying in New York? And why Midtown? We see more and more Fashion units moving towards the SoHo and Chelsea areas.
Melissa Harrys:
Well, we were already based in New York - that's where most of our sister companies operate, so we pretty much have a solid base here, as we know where to knock, who to call and where to press to make things happen. Our investor has built quite a robust rolodex in this city, that if leveraged properly, can skyrocket our growth in no time and with very little resources. The other reason was purely financial - The US holds over 48% of the global market and New York is the leading Fashion market in America, this is where the money is.
As far as Midtown Manhattan, that was a no brainer. While Downtown is already flooded with Multi-Designer Hubs like FLYING SOLO and several others, 5th Avenue is still a SNOB Street, Madison and Park Avenues are mostly reserved to Established Brands and Fashion Powerhouses. We wanted to crack that uniformity and spotlight emerging brands on the World's Premier Fashion Street.
Kelly James Gordon:
NEW YORK FASHION WEEK - ATFH is planning quite a series of events. Why taking a center stage at NYFW this year?
Melissa Harrys:
Well, NYFW is the biggest Fashion Rendezvous in the World. While the Paris, London and Milan Fashion Weeks are amazing, the real money is in New York. A Designer who blows up in New York eventually explodes in Europe, which is not necessarily the case on the reverse side. A Brand that explodes in Europe still needs to do major work to penetrate the US. With COVID-19, Fashion Weeks kind of tanked over the past 2 years, now that things are moving again, people are getting back out there, hungrier than ever, and we are ready to capture all that effervescence. Over 300,000 visitors are flying into town and north of $1 billion is expected to be transacted. We are in the RIGHT City, at the RIGHT time, with the RIGHT Opportunity.
Kelly James Gordon:
ATFH BLACK TIE GALA2, September 12 hein... Tell us more, and why a Gala when everyone is used to the traditional runway?
Melissa Harrys:
Haha, as you have probably noticed, we tend not to do things like everyone else. We thrive in disrupting, innovating and switching up the status quo.
But in all seriousness, listen, we don't host events focused on publicity and awareness. Our events are specifically targeted towards deals and sales. The whole Media and PR Bling is nice, but doesn't convert easily, it requires another investment to see its real impact on your bottom line.
The Sept 12 ATFH GALA is a High End Networking Event bringing together 100 Curated Fashion Buyers, Distributors and Dealers to connect with 60 Brands carefully selected across Haute Couture, Modest Fashion, Streetwear, Footwear, Swimwear, Eyewear and Accessories from Saudi Arabia, UK, India, Nigeria, France, Australia, Germany, Italy, Canada, Colombia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, South Africa, Morocco, Senegal, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Tanzania, Kenya, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Brazil and the United States.
Kelly James Gordon:
I'm trying to picture the setup, and i gotta ask - How is it going to be? What can attendees expect?
Melissa Harrys:
Well, the first hour kicks off with an OPEN NETWORKING COCKTAIL - Buyers and Brands are identified by pins of different colors, they get to interact and initiate conversations around potential opportunities and collaborations, and exchange information.
Then we move to the BUYERS DINNER which is animated by Keynote addresses from Buyers sharing industry insights, market analysis and best practice tips for Brands; and followed by a RUNWAY Dinner Style, similar to the RALPH LAUREN and CHANNEL Shows.
We will design a section of the venue in the form of a Store and invite guests throughout the event, to explore and place orders on items they like. While networking, Designers can be more convincing by taking buyers to the shopping booth to show their products, instead of the usual "I have some photos or videos of the product in my phone".
READ FULL INTERVIEW HERE3
Mariah Fisher
ATF Fashion House NYC
nyfw@atfh.nyc
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1 https://atfh.nyc/
2 https://atfh.nyc/nyfw-atfh-gala
3 https://atfh.nyc/press-release-nyfw