Below is program information from ESP's most recent Whitespace conference.
| About the Program + Speakers (in order of appearance): MORNING SESSION / 8:30 am to 12:00 pm | |
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FROM LONDON Christine Foden / Founder + Creative Director / D-cipher FM "Signs of Hope for Spring 2009" In a world full of conflicts and contradictions, there is a flip side to everything. We strive for happiness yet people are more anxious than ever. We want to be connected but fear theft of our identity. We demand services but mourn the lack of time. Perhaps it's inevitable that we are now seeking more authenticity and want to concentrate on the positive signs of hope on the horizon. Spring 2009 has a mood of happy optimism that is grounded by real change. Foden will connect these lifestyle currents to men's and women's color and trend. Christine specializes in fashion and lifestyle trend forecasting for men, women and youth culture. Formerly the creative mind behind Design Intelligence and Index, Christine is known for her witty, inventive approach and her ability to decode the cutting edge of color, design and style. In addition to world-renowned color and trend publications, D-cipher FM offers specialized consulting in product development, consumer profiles, textiles and graphics. D-cipher FM's Christine Foden and David Macleary are recognized worldwide for their creative expertise and their ability to transla! te trends to product. In addition to their color and lifestyle forecasts, D-cipher FM is a full-service consulting firm offering specialized assistance in design, product development, consumer profiles, textile, print, pattern and graphics. www.dcipherfm.com |
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FROM MILAN Andrea Dall'Olio / Founder + Creative Director / A+A Design Studio "Need for Surprise: The A+A View on Spring/Summer 2009" It's a pleasure-seeking Spring/Summer full of surprise: simple, sophisticated, serene, exotic and modern. Beautiful colors and materials, a hint of extravagance in shapes and prints, rediscovering the beauty of tradition, the jungle garden, performance and technology with the added value of emotion and novelty. Dall'Olio will define Spring 2009's new feeling and aesthetic. In less than 10 years, the founder of A+A, Andrea Dall'Olio, has built a renowned trend and textile design studio based in Milan, Italy that has become synonymous with the best in color and design. Andrea and his team consult with and provide direction to some of the most influential and innovative manufacturers, retailers, textile mills and print studios in the world. A+A Design Studio advises clients in 20 countries on color, trends, design research and more, in! all areas of fashion, home and interior decoration. In addition to a large collection of textile designs sold to the most influential brands in home interiors and fashion, the studio is also engaged in one-to-one consulting for fashion and interior textile design. Andrea is an architect by training and is the creative director of the Trend Forum at Moda Unica as well as the artistic director of several weaving mills in Europe, Russia and Asia. info@aadesign-studio.it |
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FROM AMSTERDAM Els van Niekerk / Co-Founder + Co-Principal / 20/20 Vision "20/20 Vision for 2009" In a world overloaded with impressions and products, van Niekerk provides new guidelines for design creativity based upon human values. What is currently happening in the world? How will it affect people's thoughts and values and the kinds of products needed in the future? Empathetic design with people and their surroundings in mind will lead to the creation of quality products that people really need and desire. van Niekerk will support four major lifestyle trends with consumer research, inspiration, color and design concepts. Launched in 2006 and new to ESP Trendlab, 20/20 Vision is the result of a collaboration between Liesbeth Oltmans and Els Van Niekerk, founders of Oltmans van Niekerk. Oltmans and Niekerk look beyond seasonal and ephemeral trends. In their annual forecast book, 20/20 Vision, Oltmans and Niekerk present a clear and well-organized overview of the worl! dwide cultural, technological, economic and social trends. 20/20 Vision is an essential source of information and inspiration for anyone who's involved in long term product development, marketing and advertising. As a result of their analysis, the authors predict future trends in lifestyle, fashion and interior design. Oltmans van Niekerk's predictions are based on thorough investigation, scenarios, common sense, powerful intuition and many years of experience in fashion and interior design. Oltmans van Niekerk is visionary but concrete. Both Oltmans and Niekerk studied Textile Design at the Royal Academy of the Arts in The Hague and have worked for internationally known companies. http://www.oltmansvanniekerk.nl |
AFTERNOON SESSION / 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm | |
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FROM LONDON Jo-an Jenkins / Founder + Editor-in-Chief / Jenkins "It's all In The Mix — New Directions at Retail" The shops, the looks, the ideas, the items influencing the retail scene today. Jenkins captures how people are buying today - a little vintage, a little recycled/eco/organic, a little online, a little designer, a little cheap and cheerful, etc. — for both home and fashion. Jenkins is an established color and trend forecasting company with an international client base including major retailers and key brands in fashion, home, gifts, beauty and leisure products. American by birth, Londoner by adoption, Jo-an Jenkins has spent her entire professional life tracking trends in the fashion and interior design worlds. Over the past twelve years she has assembled a team of professional designers and forecasters who provide trend information to an international client base ranging from major retailers and key cosmetic brands to prominent names! in leisure, ready to wear and interior design. In addition to publishing its trend forecasting books for color and interiors, Jenkins has recently launched an online reporting service where it now publishes its Click Retail Reports for fashion and lifestyle — clear, concise, carefully edited, retail reporting and analysis by an international team of experienced fashion and design journalists and forecasters. http://www.jenkinsreports.com/ |
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FROM NEW YORK Beatrice Dupire + Marc Balet / Co-Founders / The Influencer "Mutations" Who and what is influencing beauty, fashion, lifestyle and the luxury market. Dupire and Balet address how perceptions are changing and why. They explore how our relationship to the consumer is changing, new ways to think and how communication plays a key role in a new layered world full of mutations. Created by Beatrice Dupire and Marc Balet, The Influencer is new to ESP Trendlab. Every season The Influencer Team gathers thousands of editorial and advertising images, culled from photographer's private portfolios, emerging artists, special art projects in the making as well as national and international magazines. Within its pages, the report's text and visuals follow the ebb and flow of an ever shifting cultural landscape. It is the ultimate visual weather vane. The Influencer is a one-of-kind visual, trend service that offers unique insight and expertise on the influencers! of visual media who ultimately shape our perceptions of what we call "new". It is a strategic trend tool to be shared between creative departments, marketing, advertising and C-suite management professionals. It is especially interesting to all those involved in crafting images, brand identity and visual identity and a vital tool for all companies who want to keep current and deliver their message to their customers and the world in a relevant modern context. Balet says "We saw an opportunity to create a unique tool that will help guide brand leaders through an ever-changing global landscape. It is this type of high-level insight which helps companies connect more precisely with consumers, communicate their point-of-difference and reinforce the bottom-line. http://www.the-influencer.com |
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FROM SYDNEY Tony Bannister / Founder + Creative Director / SCOUT "Australia Style, Street + Culture" In his first appearance at WHITESPACE, Tony tells us what's new, what's happening, what's different about Australian style...an insider's look at the coolest brands and labels, a report from the street and a quick tour of the hot spots and hot shops in Sydney. Tony tops off his presentation with a sneak preview of his newsletter "SCOUTLOOK / The Next Generation" and an overview of his menswear trends for S09. New to ESP, SCOUT was founded in 1999 by renowned UK fashion and design guru, Tony Bannister. SCOUT began as a boutique consultancy that specialized in advising major fashion retailers during product development and re-branding exercises. Powered by Tony's passion for fashion, and engineered by a 20+ year career which saw him work as a Designer, Design Manager, Product Manager and Creative Director for some of Australia's and the UK's leading labels and! fashion agencies, word about SCOUT traveled swiftly. It quickly established a name for itself as a leader in the field of trend research. In 2003, Tony and SCOUT shifted another gear by branching out and developing a dynamic new arm of the business: a Color and Trend forecasting service - the first of its kind in Australia. Today, SCOUT is a thriving, cutting-edge trend interpretation agency that works both online and through publications across 7 key forecasting areas: Fashion, Casualwear, Retail, Color, Merchandising, Accessories, and Consumer Trends. SCOUT also consults with clients one-on-one, thanks to a non-stop stream of intelligence via a network of international SCOUTS. It reports on emergent trends as they are happening in New York, Tokyo, Milan, London, Paris and other hot spots around the world, from which it produces a unique range of seasonal trend reports and an electronic, themed monthly newsletter. https:/! /www.scout.com.au |