There are so many jobs in the fashion world but most of us, when we think of fashion we think models and designers and naturally as they are the forefront of fashion – but without a great team in-house there’d be no business of fashion. I met with Gabriella Piccinni – International Business Director of Diane von Furstenberg and found her work fascinating.

Could you tell us more about your work?
I am responsible for all business development for Europe, Africa, Russia, Eastern Europe, Australia and South America for Ready To Wear, Swim, Beach and Accessories for Diane von Furstenberg. I manage a logistic sales admin credit control and sales out of my London office. I run the London office so my job doesn’t stop at Business development but as an MD there is all the admin for the office to look after.

How long have you worked for Diane von Furstenberg
4 and a half years.

How often do you travel for work?
During fashion weeks I am gone for 5 weeks, and off markets I am visiting regularly clients. The break from travelling is normally from mid July to end of August and December. So I travel all the time.

How many languages do you speak?
Italian and English but I do understand French and Spanish so I am able to have meetings in those languages too but will reply in either Italian or English whichever language clients understand better.

Describe a typical work day.
There is no typical work day. At the moment I am working on sales plan for 2010 but still watching closely my shipping for AW. And figuring out the future of E-commerce is a big issue in fashion right now, how to control it is the key topic. Also still forecasting our scarves business as we are about to launch our first in house collection which will be fab. I am trying also to have regular lunch with clients as nothing beats the face to face still.

Could you tell us your fashion background?
I started working in fashion in an agency in Italy. One of the line was Romeo Gigli. I used to open boxes and check the samples against the packing list, price the collection and support the team there. I still love opening the boxes of samples when we get them in the office – it is exciting, like going through your mother’s wardrobe when you are young. Then of course I moved to London and I worked for Calvin Klein, Selfridges, Donna Karan and Versace. I have covered retail, buying and wholesale.

What so you enjoy most about your job?
The energy of young people around. Fashion is unpredictable so you are constantly on your toes as after a night out wearing Louboutin : )

What is your favourite food?
I am Italian – I enjoying cooking and of course pasta dishes are super yummy. I did switch to spelt pasta to cut the wheat but will never cut out parmigiano cheese. Otherwise grilled or baked fish with fresh salads and olives (I am obsessed with olives).

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In my work I often meet some very fascinating people. At Cocosa.com I had the opportunity to work with Frances Card.

Frances Card is a fashion business expert who is MD of FCC – Frances Card Consultancy. Frances began her career training as a buyer for Dickens and Jones and later moved to the US to work with US based luxury labels. She then returned to the UK to work for Bentalls Group as their Fashion Controller and then Frances became International Brand Director for Liberty of London. In 2006 Frances opened Frances Card Consultancy.

What is a brand manager?
FC – At Cocosa, the Bauer media ecommerce, members only, luxury off price site, I was Brand Director which meant I managed all the brands, all the buying and the brands relationships within the business. Brand management also includes building the profile of the host brand too so much of my role there was about the taste level and the DNA of the Cocosa brand. In other roles I have used my expertise in brand management to re-invent or re-launch a brand and develop a new profile and often a new audience for it as well as developing any brands within the brand itself.

Tell us more about Frances Card Consultancy
FC – My consultancy covers all aspects of the brand/retail and wholesale world. I work with several different businesses doing many different things from brand building, buying, recruitment and management through to operational and business analysis and development and even PR and marketing! I have a wide skill set and an enormous network so if I am unable to help a business (a rare thing!) then I usually know someone who can!! I also put people in touch with each other where I feel it is helpful to them both.
My consultancy does get involved with other areas of the industry too and I am currently one of the on-line experts for Drapers Record answering questions on buying and merchandising posted during the month of July. I am also a active member of Fashion Business Club and will be doing my first interview for them next January (my calendar gets booked early!) with Tamara Salman the Creative Director at Liberty of London.

What do you enjoy most about your job?
FC – Everything!! It is so hard to pick just one aspect of it! I really do love working with fabulous brands and meeting gorgeous people and of course the biggest satisfaction is achieving fantastic results for my clients!

What advice do you have for someone who wants to become a consultant?
FC – Never be off-duty! I have met some of my best clients in extraordinary places or at unusual times!

How would you describe your personal style?
FC – Hard to copy I think! I was once described as having an eclectic dress sense, classically beautiful but with a quirky twist – I rather like that!

What is your favourite place for lunch?
FC – Venice!! I once flew there just for lunch…from the UK!
In London I love lots of places for many of different reasons but a great favourite of mine is The Portrait Restaurant at the top of the National Portrait Gallery. I adore knowing I am sitting on top of squillions of pounds worth of amazing art – oh and the food and wine is fabulous too!.

For further information please email Frances on frances@francescard.com.

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The next Fashion Business Club meeting on July 30 will feature DailyCandy London Editor, Malika Dalamal being interviewed by FBC Co-Founder & Co-Chairman, Alison Whelan at the Swarovski Crystallized Lounge.

Malika will talk about how Daily Candy chooses the brands and services that are featured on the site, and about the huge success of Daily Candy itself. They started with a list of just 700 e-mail addresses. Eight years on and they distribute 2.8 million subscriptions across 28 editions!

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So how do you chose your Facebook, Linkedin or any profile picture? Would you link to someone that you think you know but they don’t have a profile photo? What does that photo say about you? Does a picture really say a thousand words?

Profile pictures have become a normal part of one’s business. it’s expected that you have a picture and people are going to judge you on it. Your boss might think you don’t look professional enough or a client just might not like the look of you or maybe you don’t look friendly enough.

Alison Whelan is the Managing Director of AWL, a Creative Agency for Fashion and Beauty Brands and Co-Chairman & Co-Founder of Fashion Business Club. She works with brands every day, creating and developing their brand image. She says "if you care about how you are perceived in your industry and by your peers – have a professional photo done at least once in your life and upload it to your profile immediately. It’s like buying a red Valentino dress – it works on every occasion, says a lot about who you are and most importantly, brings out all your best features."

I have used these pictures as profile pictures. They weren’t really intended to be used as profile pictures but they were all taken by professional photographers – which is quite easy in my line of work and suitable for my needs.

I spoke with online digital marketing specialist Leon Bailey-Green and asked him his thoughts on the importance of profile pictures – here’s what he had to say: "Whether we like it or not we often get googled before meeting people. Profile photos go some way to that person building up a picture of what we’re like before meeting them, so make it good as it’s the 21st century’s first impression. Having a profile photo makes you appear open as a person. Make sure it’s a true reflection of you; there’s little to be gained from a corporate shot if you’re an informal character at heart and vice versa."

We put a lot of effort into our online social networking, and quite often our picture is an afterthought or just the best one we can think of from a set of party pictures. I think everyone should realize how critically important their profile pictures really are. Everyone knows the importance of making a good first impression – but not a lot of people realize it’s not you yourself that will get to make that impression – it’s your profile picture!

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       Daisy de Villeneuve                         Poppy de Villeneuve                   Jan de Villeneuve

       Courtney Blackman                       Alison Whelan                                     Natasha Law

Courtney and Natasha are both wearing Beatrix Ong shoes – they are also both wearing black dresses with bows and are quite petite. It was great though – instead of throwing dirty glances at one another they were delighted by their mutual good taste – like soulmates!

No Love Lost exhibition is at Elevan from April 1st to May 2nd 2009.

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