How This Company Is Raising The Bar And Transforming Chicago Into A Fashion Capital
Interview with Tony Long of Fashion Bar Chicago
Tony Long, CEO of FashionBar LLC, is transforming Chicago into a fashion capital. By launching FashionBar LLC, he has created a business platform that offers fashion business consulting, design and development, and go-to-market strategies. The company celebrates and aligns its ethics on inclusion, wellness, diversity and culture through its platforms, which seek to transform lives.
The business is divided into 3 functional areas, Fashion Business Consulting, Design & Development, & Go-To-Market. The latter is focused on The Shows & The Marketplace during Chicago Fashion Week powered by FashionBar LLC. This article focuses on The Shows and The Marketplace, which define the platform FashionBar LLC has to offer. Our platform aims to serve as a gateway for emerging and established fashion designers, allowing them to create and/or maintain their lifestyle brand/s.
Fashion Bar Chicago Shows
The Shows are a part of FashionBar’s go-to-market strategy, which is done twice a year in April and October aligned with the global fashion week calendar, to give designers a platform to go to market and present their lifestyle brands to consumers, buyers, and press and media — advancing their mission and vision for their branded designer label.
The Shows began roughly around October 2017–2018 as a three-day activity. It was first done in the West Loop and, due to its success, it was expanded to a full week of events in April and October.
The mission for The Shows is to allow designers to enter the national and global markets by way of establishing Chicago as a fashion designation. It also gives consumers, the industry, specialized business, buyers, press and media to advance Chicago as one of the fashion capitals of North America.
Interview with Tony Long of Fashion Bar Chicago, LLC.
FashionBar offers a unique set of shows that are inclusive and non-discriminatory. Its strategic partnerships with businesses that come to The Shows, support the same idea of including diversity and culture, fashion, beauty and wellness, health, music, fitness, food, and everything else that celebrates the identity of a lifestyle brand.
Allowing people to access these services, through FashionBar, its business partners, and strategic alliances, help us elevate the great City of Chicago. The next Chicago Fashion Week powered by FashionBar LLC is scheduled for April 2022.
To learn more about Fashion Bar Chicago, founder Tony Long shares his vision for the future of the fashion industry in Chicago.
How did you establish the FashionBar brand?
I came up with the concept of FashionBar by providing a central location for fashion designers and investors to meet and conduct business.
What is your mission?
My mission is to establish a Chicago fashion industry through marketing management, manufacturing, and distribution of fashion brands that provide garments and brands in small quantities. Our goal is specializing in a lifestyle brand that can help establish the identity of the city of Chicago and build a fashion industry that can be recognized nationally and globally.
What are The Shows?
The Shows are a part of FashionBar’s go to market strategy, which are done twice a year in April and October. It aligns with the global fashion week calendar to give designers a platform to go to market and present their lifestyle brands to consumers, buyers, and press and media — advancing their mission and vision for their branded label.
When did The Shows begin?
The Shows — and our subset, The Marketplace — began roughly around October 2017–2018 as a three-day activity. We actually did it in the West Loop and it went really well, so we decided to expand our schedule to a full week of events in April and October.
What is the mission of The Shows?
The mission for The Shows is to give designers, nationally and globally, a platform to enter the Chicago market. We also give our consumers and the industry specialized business buyers press and media to advance Chicago as one of the fashion capitals of North America.
When is the next Chicago Fashion Week powered by FashionBar. The Shows, and The Marketplace happening?
The next shows will be happening April 17th — April 24th 2022. The Marketplace is scheduled for the 23rd, 24th, and 25th. If you’d like to participate as a designer and showcase your brand at the shows, or if you’re an entrepreneur, fashion brand, or wellness brand that would like to engage at our marketplace during fashion week please contact us at fashionweek@fashionweek.com or visit our website to find more information.
Why is this significant to the city of Chicago?
My background is in marketing, management manufacturing, and distribution‚and the core is marketing. If you know how Chicago has been branded globally, it’s been branded as a place of homicide, crime, and corruption. There’s a significant opportunity to rebrand this city, and the fashion, beauty, and wellness destination celebrating the identity that Chicago has to offer because of its diversity inclusion, and culture. This is what is going to drive Chicago’s identity when it comes to fashion.
What are you doing to expand this side of your business?
Well, our business provides marketing, management manufacturing, and distribution to advance FashionBar into the industry. We are providing services that serve the entire lifecycle a designer experiences, from starting their business to scaling their business and reaping the financial and capital gains this industry can offer in the city of Chicago, and the state of Illinois. The services that we provide focus on design and development, cut and sew, fashion business consulting, and go-to-market. We have other subsets to our business that help define the brand and establish the identity. To an individual or private brand.
What is next for Chicago Fashion Week powered by FashionBar LLC?
Our strategic partnerships with businesses, which support the same idea of including diversity and culture, fashion, beauty, wellness, health, music, fitness, food, and everything else that celebrates identity. Allowing people to access these services, through FashionBar, our business partners, and our strategic alliances help us elevate the great city of Chicago.
Are your designer brands from the USA?
The majority of our brands are from the USA, but we also have brands coming in from Europe, South and Central America, as well as, Asia, Africa, and other parts of the world.
Is Made in the USA important to you?
Yes, because it creates jobs, an industry, and it provides more talent in the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois. Not to say we can’t make business with other countries, but our main focus is our national and city brands.
Where can we find out more about FashionBar LLC?
You can find out more about FashionBar on our website or find us on our Facebook, Instagram, Google, or look up Tony D Long. Join us on our mission! Love the fashion, raise the bar!
Have you checked out Fashion Bar Chicago yet? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments.
This article originally published on GREY Journal.
This article originally published on GREY Journal: https://greyjournal.net/play/style/fashion-bar-chicago-tony-long/
