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The recent appearance of a number of shows and websites dedicated to promoting the creative industry has been welcomed with open arms. Although there has always been shows selling art and fashion, there are now mediums for the image-makers and designers to promote themselves directly to potential clients, and to network without depending on large industry players.
Le Book's "Connections" tradeshow was an event dedicated to selling creative services, which was hugely successful, myspace is now being used for promoting designers as well as music, and IQONS is the new fashion industry networking site.
Iqons is a new online fashion community where professionals and students can network, display their work, and promote themselves. The site, www.iqons.com, is in its soft launch phase, and will be fully functional in January.
Iqons works in a similar way to myspace, the user "Iqonian" creates a profile with a photo, portrait name, and a showcase of their work. There is also a section where the user can fill in their profession, company, website, and favourite music, art, literature, sports, travels, and other interests. For an added fashion element, Iqonians can also fill in what they are "often seen in" and what they would "never be caught dead in.
Iqonians network by inviting other users to join their "entourage". Like myspace, the user must agree to join another's entourage. The first Iqon was Belgian designer Walter Van Beirendonck, who will be selecting a group of Iqons based on their work to feature in his member portfolio. These selected users will also be profiled in the 15 minutes of fame section, where they will replace Van Beirendonck as the home page Iqon for fifteen minutes.
Iqons users should be able to show their work and connect with others in the fashion industry, promoting global interaction between users, who are mostly designers, retailers, models, PRs, show producers, magazine publishers, journalists, photographers, and stylists. The site will also create projects with influential partners in the industry, the first one being a competition with on-line retailer YOOX.
Iqons was founded by Rafael Jiminez, Suran Goonatilake, and Diane Pernet. Jiminez spent 8 years working for Comme des Garcons on their marketing team, and helped to devise the concept of the guerrilla store.
He now works with Goonatilake at Bodymetrics and the Centre for Fashion Enterprise, a London-based initiative that funds and nurtures new fashion businesses. Goonatilake is the co-founder of Bodymetrics, the body-scanning system that helps users get the perfect fit in clothing. He was also a founder in the Centre for Fashion Enterprise, as well as having an Order of the British Empire for his services to entrepreneurship.
Pernet is the writer of the influential fashion blog, www.ashadedviewonfashion.com, which is considered mandatory reading for all fashion industry professionals.
For more information please visit IQONS at www.iqons.com |
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