W Hotels News
W Hotels Worldwide Announces Partnership with Council Of Fashion Designers Of America’s {Fashion Incubator}
NEW YORK – September 5, 2012 – W Hotels Worldwide today announced a
fashion forward partnership with CFDA {FASHION INCUBATOR}, the newest program
from the Council of Fashion Designers of America that provides a creative
professional environment to foster promising fashion talent and helps the
selected designers grow and sustain their businesses. In addition to
financial support, W Hotels will also bring a new element of global exposure to
CFDA {FASHION INCUBATOR} designers through its portfolio of 42 hotels and
retreats around the world as well as deep-reaching digital and brand marketing
channels. Serving as an important step in growing the designers’
businesses, this new partnership will mark the first opportunity the CFDA has
had to showcase the {FASHION INCUBATOR} beyond the borders of New York
City.
“W Hotels has been a longtime supporter of fashion, and we are thrilled to
partner with the CFDA {FASHION INCUBATOR} to continue our support of emerging
talent,” said Carlos Becil, Vice President of Brand Management, Starwood’s
Luxury and Design Brands, North America. “We recognized that by
partnering with the CFDA, an organization that has a credible, time-tested
pulse on the fashion industry, we could together have an even bigger impact on
the businesses of rising designers.”
In recognition of the contribution, W Hotels Worldwide will be named ‘Partner’
of CFDA {FASHION INCUBATOR}, which includes Ari Dein, Burkman
Bros, Daniel Vosovic, Emanuela Duca, Isaora,
NUMBER: Lab, Reece Hudson, Timo Weiland and
Whit.
“W Hotels and CFDA share a mission to support and nurture emerging talent,”
said Steven Kolb, Chief Executive Officer of the CFDA. “Our new relationship
will provide a truly unique opportunity to create exposure and new business
opportunities for our CFDA Incubator designers on a global level.”
W and CFDA {FASHION INCUBATOR}: Designed to Inspire
As part of the partnership, W Hotels and the CFDA will bring {FASHION
INCUBATOR} designers out of New York City and into markets that are important
to growing their businesses, a first such opportunity for the {FASHION
INCUBATOR} program. The partnership will travel {FASHION INCUBATOR}
designers to W Hotels around the country for fashion showcases and special
events, providing exposure to new retailers, media and consumers to drive
sales. W Atlanta – Buckhead will host the first in the {FASHION INCUBATOR}
showcase series later this year.
Beyond exposure for the brands, W will help inspire by offering all designers a
trip to one of the W brand’s 42 urban or resort destinations around the world.
Whether it’s shopping the spice markets in Istanbul or discovering the live
music scene in Austin, {FASHION INCUBATOR} designers will be able to visit some
of the most glamorous W properties for inspiration that will come to life in
one of their upcoming collections.
Lastly, W will bring a new level of global exposure to the {FASHION INCUBATOR}
designers through its digital and brand marketing channels. With more
than 1 million monthly visitors to WHotels.com and nearly half a million fans
and followers across its social platforms, W will provide a great opportunity
for these designers to reach new consumers.
"We're thrilled at this opportunity and grateful to W Hotels for their
commitment to supporting emerging designers,” said Ricky Hendry, designer of
{FASHION INCUBATOR} menswear brand Isaora. “We're excited to take our
brand to a wider audience through this partnership and feel there is a
great alignment between W Hotels passion for design led luxury, their clientele
of global tastemakers, and our own aspirations to build a world class brand
based on design excellence. We are very much looking forward to working
together to make the most of this exciting initiative.”
W and Fashion: The Evolution
Since its inception in New York City in 1998, W Hotels has identified fashion,
a direct extension of design, as one of its key passions to appeal to its jet
set guests, who are always looking for what’s new and next. As the reach of W
Hotels has expanded globally, it has become a more active participant in its
passions of design, fashion and music, which has enabled the brand to champion
emerging talent around the world.
For many years during New York Fashion Week, W Hotels hosted a backstage VIP
lounge that quickly became a popular place for celebrities, designers and
fashion’s media elite in-between shows. In 2010, W was the first ever hotel
brand to engage a global fashion director, which led to the creation of
Fashion Next, a seasonal fashion initiative that offered a select group
of young designers the opportunity to showcase their work during the New York
collections. Over the years, the W brand has also collaborated with
designers, including CFDA Members, such as Diane von Furstenberg and Michael
Kors on uniforms and guest amenities.
For more information on W Hotels, please visit www.whotels.com/fashion or www.facebook.com/whotels. Follow W
on Twitter @whotels.
About W Hotels Worldwide
W Hotels is a contemporary, design-led lifestyle brand and the industry
innovator with 42 hotels and retreats, including 14 W-branded residences, in
the most vibrant cities and exotic destinations around the world. Inspiring,
iconic, innovative and influential, W Hotels provides the ultimate in insider
access, offering a unique mix of cutting-edge design and passions around
fashion, music and entertainment. W Hotels offers a holistic lifestyle
experience that is integrated into the brand’s sensibility through contemporary
restaurant concepts, glamorous entertainment experiences, stylish retail
concepts, signature spas and inspiring residences. With more than 13 years of
proven success, W Hotels is on track to reach more than 60 hotels by the end of
2015. W Hotels have been announced for Guangzhou, Milan, Shanghai, Singapore,
Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Athens – Astir Palace, Muscat, Mumbai, and Santa Fe,
Mexico, while upcoming W Retreats include Verbier and Mexico’s Riviera
Maya. For more information, visit www.whotels.com. To live the W Hotels
lifestyle 24/7/365, visit www.wresidences.com.
About the CFDA
The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc, (CFDA) is
a not-for-profit trade association that leads industry-wide
initiatives and whose membership consists of more than 400 of
America’s foremost womenswear, menswear, jewelry, and accessory
designers. In addition to hosting the annual CFDA Fashion Awards, which
recognize the top creative talent in the industry, the organization offers
programs which support professional development and scholarships,
including the {Fashion Incubator}, CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, the Geoffrey
Beene Design Scholar Award, the Liz Claiborne Scholarship Award, and the
CFDA/Teen Vogue Scholarship. Member support is provided through the
Business Services Network, a high-profile group of companies
offering designers strategic opportunities. The CFDA Foundation, Inc.
is a separate, not-for-profit organized to mobilize the membership to
raise funds for charitable causes. Through the Foundation, the CFDA created and
manages Fashion Targets Breast Cancer; raises funds for HIV/AIDS
organizations with 7th on Sale; addresses the issue of model health
with The CFDA Health Initiative; and is a key participant in
other programs such as the annual Fashion’s Night Out. For more
information, please visit www.CFDA.com.
About FASHION INCUBATOR
The Fashion Incubator is one of a series of City-sponsored business incubators
launched since Fall 2009 by Mayor Bloomberg as part of the City’s efforts to
foster the development of entrepreneurs across all industry sectors, and to
encourage small businesses to locate and grow in New York City. New York City
Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) provided a $200,000 grant to help
establish the CFDA’s {FASHION INCUBATOR}. Today, the CFDA gratefully
acknowledges Target, the program’s Lead Underwriter and W Hotels,
our Partner. Additional support is provided by Newmark Holdings, New York
University’s Stern Consulting Corps, School of Visual Arts MPS Fashion
Photography program, DNA Model Management, WGSN, and more than 100 of the
leading experts in the fashion industry who serve as Business Mentors, Industry
Advisors and assist in the ongoing development of the program.
(Note: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of federal securities regulations. Forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance or events and involve risks and uncertainties
and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially
from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made.
These risks and uncertainties are presented in detail in our filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Although we believe the expectations
reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable
assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be attained or
that results and events will not materially differ. We undertake no obligation
to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result
of new information, future events or otherwise.)
Article Publish Date: 09/05/2012
