- coco chanel
Indie- Fever
A few postings ago I proclaimed, “Boutique is Back” – noting the increase in small businesses blooming on Weddington Street here in NoHo. These include a designer, hair salon/gallery, art gallery/event space, dance studio, martial arts and a spa – all small independents.
This past spring I attended Entrepreneur magazine’s annual Growth conference in which magazine editor-in-chief Amy Cosper re-enforced that now is a prime time for small business to start and prosper. Citing many successful companies who started during economic downturns, including UPS and Playboy. Differentiation, timing and market need.
According to Andrew Nachison, CEO of the media think tank iFOCOS, “ Small businesses are definitely going through a time of “high popularity”. It is part of a larger fundamental shift and dissatisfaction with government, big business and the media. My belief is that consumers, with much less disposable income and credit, are giving very careful consideration to where they do spend and will want to patronize the indies’ vs. conglomerates.
Indie-Style:
NoHo-based designer and style maven Harold Fedison has been interested in fashion for as long as he can remember. As a youth he became a formal student of design then fell into retail when he hit the ‘real-world’, managing a number of large national big box retail stores.
Years later he was catapulted into following his passion for design and starting his own business after experiencing the successive loss of some very close friends.
Which had him re-evaluating what was really important in his own life.
Today, I speak with Mr. Fedison while sitting in his design studio on Weddington St. where he creates, produces and sells his garments all under one roof. Sewing machines of all varieties and functions fill the back room of the studio, which overflows with bolts of beautiful fabrics, trims and embellishments. The aesthetic of the boutique is very tasteful and ingeniously neat.
Looks inside Fedison’s storefront boutique
The Art Behind The Style –
Each one of Harold Fedison Designs begin with many sketches, some in pencil, pen, combined with acrylic paint pens. The sketches themselves are pieces of art and show the thought process behind the design of a line.
We discuss how fashion has notoriously been a pretentious field and how the craft of design has largely been lost. His look is one of timeless elegance. Not frivolous skimpy fashion garments but real style additions to a wardrobe that leave much to the imagination. Some of his styles even venture off into a bit of what I call ‘boho-chic’- the perfect attire for the creative woman - a bit of NoHo’s eclectic soul.
As a style designer, Fedison feels his clients want to wear something that reflects their individuality. Emphasizing that authenticity opposed to attitude rules the matter of the day. While the fabrics and styles exude taste and class - the designs are very approachable- practical and affordable.
Upcoming Fashion Show:
Harold Fedison will present a number of ‘looks’ from his resort-collection 2010 on Sept 12th in NoHo. You may end inquiries to: haroldfedison@aol.com
Storefront of Harold Fedison’s Boutique
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