NJAL AT THE POLITECNICO A SEMINAR ON CREATIVE ENTREPRENEURSHIP

STEFAN SIEGEL 29 MARCH 2012

Discovering and supporting pioneers in contemporary fashion

"Fashion finds its freedom in the art of individuals; NOT JUST A LABEL is a place for those who find their way off the beaten track, allowing them to express themselves in a community where everything goes... break the mould, redefine the expected, re-colour the palette, inspire and be inspired.”

|  Young, aspiring fashion designers face enormous hurdles at the beginning of their careers…

|  NOT JUST A LABEL (NJAL) is the world’s leading designer platform for showcasing and nurturing today’s pioneers in contemporary fashion

|  Set up in 2008 to infuse new life into fashion, NJAL was quick to become an indispensable tool for the industry; combating hurdles emerging talents face, helping them gain exposure and finance their progression independently by providing an easily accessible network and retailing forum via its online shop

|  NJAL is a creative hub with a red carpet following, setting trends and perpetuating innovation. With 8,000 represented designers, NJAL is an infinitely expanding destination devoted to facilitating growth in the fashion industry

03 | ABOUT US

|  As the pinnacle source for connecting the fashion industry with its future leaders, NJAL is the gatekeeper of undiscovered talent

|  By providing an integral medium to discover new talent, gain exposure and be inspired, NJAL is an irreplaceable source for the progression of fashion across various sectors

|  NJAL has been a major building block in the construction of some of the world’s most progressive brands. Extensive collaborations with fashion publications, leading brands and various media have helped designers evolve into e s t a b l i s h e d b u s i n e s s e s represented at major fashion weeks internationally

“It’s not your usual online shop, but a real up-to-date guide to discovering talent” VOGUE ITALIA

04 | THE NJAL PLATFORM

|  NJAL’s digital showroom connects designers directly to the most renowned stylists, buyers, celebrities and media

|  By creating their own free, individualised look b o o k s w i t h p e r s o n a l w e b a d d r e s s e s (www.notjustalabel.com/designer), designers can showcase their work to a global audience, no matter where they are based

|  Buyers and press are able to search the Designer Directory by location, art school, type of design and use of organic/sustainable fabrics and directly contact and buy from the largest global talent pool of new designers by using the Email Designer feature, which can be found on each designer’s look book

|  NJAL is one of the first commercial, social communities using entirely free and open-source software, underlining the spirit of creativity, freedom of ideas and importance of expression

05 | THE NJAL DESIGNERS’ LOOK BOOK

|  At NJAL we give designers a hand in the global market

|  NOT JUST A LABEL’s online shop offers a unique, curated selection of designer pieces and limited edition items from a pool of 8,000 emerging designers worldwide

|  Besides offering the most sought-after creations, NJAL occasionally invites celebrities or key industry figures to join in the selection process, resulting in inspiring and unmatched collections

|  Taking care of all administration and security to ensure successful transaction, NJAL’s designers offer their pieces directly from their studios around the world

|  A direct link between shopper and designer results in higher profit margins for designers, increased local production, improved customer care and a way for talents to finance their progress independently

06 | ONLINE RETAIL ON NJAL

07 | CELEBRITY CURATORS

|  On a recurring basis NJAL also launches a celebrity curated selection. Personalised collections

put together by leading fashion figures or celebrities subsequently go on sale on NJAL. From fashion-revolutionist Lady Gaga, to supermodel Lara Stone; Rihanna, Paris Hilton, LaChapelle muse Amanda Lepore as well as Diane Pernet, they all made a (fashionable) difference...

08 | NJAL‘S CELEBRITY SUPPORTERS

|  Celebrities and opinion leaders are among the strongest supporters for NJAL’s conglomerate of designers. Not only in public life, but also in private, the world's most style conscious stars have chosen to wear items made by young and creative pioneers

CLAUDIA SCHIFFER IN CHLOE HAMBLEN

RIHANNA IN BRYCE AIME

NICOLE SCHERZINGER IN OYE

SIENNA MILLER IN MARIA FRANCESCA PEPE

KATY PERRY IN BLISS LAU

DAPHNE GUINNESS IN UNA BURKE

ELLE FANNING IN TIM VAN STEENBERGEN

TYRA BANKS IN DORA MOJZES

FERGIE IN YUIMA NAKAZATO

LADY GAGA IN FANNIE SCHIAVONI

|  One of the most influential fashion websites of the future – VOGUE ITALIA

|  NJAL has proven to be a trusted venue for discovering new design talent, its online shop completely revolutionises our way of viewing retail – DAZED & CONFUSED

|  One of the ten most essential websites of today: inspired and inspires, to be ahead of the trends – VOGUE PARIS

|  An innovative platform where you will be able to discover the newcomers of

upcoming seasons. Keep an eye on them! – ELLE

|  Introduces new designers and their work to the world – VOGUE.COM

|  One of the year’s most exciting virtual fashion moments: NJAL is a veritable fashion spring-board, saturated with the ideas of tomorrow’s designers – WALLPAPER

|  A gamut of leading designers have found success after appearing on NJAL – FINANCIAL TIMES

|  NJAL is a genius website. A beyond-cool online store specialising in selling young designers’ pieces – GRAZIA

|  One of the most respected internet fashion platforms – METAL MAGAZINE

|  Threatening the age-old way of fashion – WONDERLAND MAGAZINE |  A unique concept in the online market – DRAPERS

09 | WHAT THEY SAY

|  NJAL intends to rejuvenate the industry, breathe new life into the fashion community and push hard against existing boundaries

|  We are the world’s #1 fashion design directory |  Represented designers: 8,018 |  Designer origins: 92 countries |  Avg. number of new designers/month: 203 |  Displayed collections: 8,723 |  Number of looks/designs showcased: 71,584 |  Items on sale: ~1,000 |  Half of our designers are based in traditional fashion

capitals, while over 3,600 talents come from emerging fashion markets:

10 | OUR DESIGNER NETWORK

RAD HOURANI ‘SECONDARY ACT’ BY TOMMY TON (JAK & JIL) NOTJUSTALABEL.COM/RAD_HOURANI

Figures: February 2012

|  55% of all European internet users searched for fashion online in 2011, over 30% buy clothing on the net

|  “The European online retail market has grown by 150% since 2005, 25% per annum. Online luxury shopping over-performing overall web sales (+20% Vs. +8%)” (Euromonitor, 2010).

|  2010-2011: two phenomenal years for personal luxury

goods despite global events, “the market is growing consistently at a double-digit rate” (Morgan Stanley, 2011).

|  Goldman Sachs is predicting that online retail will grow at

five times the rate of traditional retail by 2020 causing it to move from 8% to 17% of total retail sales

|  “Increasing influence of social media and digital

marketing activities improve customer experience and positively affect online sales of luxury goods. Not only mono-brand websites, but especially very powerful multi-brand sites: convenience, strong editorial content and excellent service level are enhancing loyalty” (Bain Luxury Study, 2011)

11 | THE IMPORTANCE OF DIGITAL FASHION

NJAL IS THE WINNER OF THE DRAPERS E-TAIL AWARDS FOR BEST E-COMMERCE INNOVATION

12 | THE WORLDWIDE LUXURY MARKET

|  The economic downturn strongly affected consumers’ income and personal wealth. However there were first signs of economic healing in 2010, with a strong rebound in consumer confidence of luxury consumers in 2011

|  USA and Europe find themselves on a strong organic rebound, while China grows further. Japan is in a structural crisis: the young generation is more keen on setting trends than following them

|  Value-for-money has become a fundamental driver of luxury goods consumption in 2010-2011

|  350 projected new shop openings in 2011, compared to 750 in 2007; online is becoming a truly relevant channel

|  “Retail over-performing wholesale, a mega-trend for the future” (Bain & Company, October 2010)

|  Leather goods and accessories are the big winners of this

recession, stronger than ever

|  Emerging markets: Brazil, Russia, India, Middle East

13 | DIGITAL OPPORTUNITIES

|  The web is by nature democratic – anyone can build an audience and start a dialogue with prospective customers

|  Brands can reach more people, more powerfully by creating digital, inspiring content

|  Popular content is shared for free by brand ambassadors in the online community and can help minimise marketing spending

|  The convenience and reach of E-commerce can reduce major costs of retailing yet increase profit. Mobile/tablet internet sales more than doubled since last year

|  The web is available to a global community – seasons lose their importance

|  The success of an online direct channel proves that engaging consumers in a bi-directional and entertaining relationship is the key to opening the door for organic growth

“The digital channel presents amazing opportunities for highly creative emerging talent and in some ways levels the playing field with more established fashion brands. The Web is by its nature democratic, anyone can now build an audience and start a dialogue with prospective consumers, even with limited resources.” JAMES GARDNER, CTG GROUP

14 | E-COMMERCE BUSINESS TOOLS

|  Increasing complexity demands excellence in all levers of the value chain and for an upgrade of marketing capabilities

|  The fashion industry still has a lot to learn from champions in other industries on how to use technology for marketing

|  However many free platforms are available, social media is not only about technology, is is about You!

|  Panta rei = everything flows: your creation taken into action leads to a flow of events, a life stream to communicate, engage, market and sell (Herakleitos & Web2.0, Ignition Communications)

|  Utilise social media to your advantage, listen to the conversation and feedback into your marketing and product development strategy

|  Luxury goods used to be purchased only to display status and prestige − now the market has seen the emergence of new, more complex and sophisticated motivations

|  “We are going to enter an era in which logo and ostentation is going to be less successful. It will be about real quality.” Antoine Arnault, heir to the Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy empire has predicted

|  Shoppers have renewed calls for exclusivity and deeper

brand experiences, there is now a heightened awareness of social and environmental responsibility

|  Consumers now seek style with substance and are looking for a story behind products; they desire a direct link to their favourite brands and want to stand out from the masses

“Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.” CECIL BEATON TOMIHIRO KONO

VOGUE ITALIA ‘IN GRANDE STILE’ BY STEVEN MEISEL NOTJUSTALABEL.COM/TOMIHIRO_KONO

15 | OUR REAL MARKET ENVIRONMENT

16 | THE SLOW FASHION MOVEMENT

|  £23 billion is spent each year on two million tonnes of clothing in the UK and 50% of this goes to UK landfill. Clothes bought on the high street are worn an average of 4 times before thrown away (Defra, 2009)

|  The mainstream fashion industry’s reliance on global, mass-production and faster-than-ever-stock-turnaround is a threat to natural resources and the future of the planet

|  Sustainability is now an issue that can no longer be ignored. It represents an approach to the design, sourcing and manufacture of clothing which maximises benefits to people and communities while minimising impact on the environment

|  It is the end of the €2 T-shirt - fast-fashion retailers have benefited for too long on consumers’ demand for cheap designer rip-offs and their distorted views on value

“Nothing useless, everything has a function, no button without a buttonhole” COCO CHANEL

17 | E-TAIL MEETS EDITORIAL

|  The most common question during fashion week, “Are you press or buyer?”, is losing its meaning

|  While paper publications will become more prized and collected, online editorial content links up with retailing channels: e-torials

|  Faster bandwidth has allowed more compelling retail sites, emphasizing high definition pictures and video

|  Editorial content helps to engage and retain consumers, adds depth to the online shopping experience, positions the brand as an expert and increases conversion rates

|  Conversely, the offline-shopping experience now needs to be more exciting than ever before. Renaissance of the salon culture, fringe & neighbourhood events. The live experience is regaining value thanks to the streamlining process of the digital culture

18 | FASHION FILM: A GLOBAL REACH

|  Both emerging and established artists are reconsidering the way that fashion is presented and are challenging the conventional parameters of film

|  Fashion film shakes up the old rules of fashion by putting the focus on the moving image, in an industry long dominated by the “still” photographic medium

|  Fashion film, presentations and installations have the potential to take the place of most fashion shows

|  Designers as diverse as Jun Takahashi, Riccardo Tisci and Gareth Pugh chose installations over catwalk shows and were extremely successful in doing so

|  An inescapable and ongoing phenomenon – like Mad Men for example – fashion film influences the public, the big screen can create trends, emotions and reactions on a much wider scale than shows

|  Live-streams of shows and fashion film have a global audience, an infinite reach and are viral…

“A film has no sell out date and it reaches around the planet.” DIANE PERNET/ASVOFF

|  The retail market is expected to shift from conspicuous to discerning consumption

|  Increased scrutiny of product quality, authenticity, value for money, and a greater appreciation of artisanship and fine craftsmanship are vital in today’s retail landscape; a return to products with classic values of a lasting, higher calibre

|  This newfound interest will also be reflected in the way consumers shop – products need to have a meaning and a story to tell

|  Online as well as offline shopping experiences now need to be more exciting than ever before. Curation of product ranges is increasingly important

|  NJAL’s young designers recognise their responsibilities for creating sustainable fashion. By applying artisan craftsmanship, they are known to create products that have classic values with longer lasting qualities

AOI KOTSUHIROI & GISELE GANNE VOGUE GERMANY ‘WELTENREISE’ BY SEBASTIAN KIM NOTJUSTALABEL.COM/AOI_KOTSUHIROI NOTJUSTALABEL.COM/GISELEGANNE

“One desire that is getting stronger than all the others remains the desire to be unique.” JOHN GALLIANO, 2010

19 | INDIVIDUALITY IS THE KEY DRIVER

NOT JUST A LABEL Ltd. 2B BLACKALL STREET LONDON, EC2A 4AD +44 20 7193 5749 stefan@notjustalabel.com www.notjustalabel.com Follow NJAL on Twitter: @NOTJUSTALABEL

20 | CONTACT US