MAGAZINE
RAINE Entrepreneurs. Fashion. Technology
QUARTERLY
INTERNATIONAL ISSUE VOLUME 10
Poken. The Future of Social Networking
A New Jason Bourne Thriller Meet Project Runway’s Viktor Luna
I n s p i r e .
E m p o w e r .
D e l i v e r
t h e
M u s t
K n o w
E n t r e p r e n e u r .
FASH ION TO L I V E FOR
Photographer - Michael Morrison Stylist - Francis Urrutia Models - Johanna Rae, Olivia Pawlowska (Q) Makeup - Lyse Jarvis Thread Hair - Michael Morrison Hair - Yas Vivo 12
Raine Magazine - Volume 10
Behindthe Seams JUST CAVALLI blouse. PENDEEN Â Dress. PRADA tights. BOUTIQUE 9 shoes.
Raine Magazine - Volume 10
13
FA SH ION E NTREPRENEURS | DESIGN ER S
AUTOBIOGRAPHIE Melting Two Artistic Visions by Marilyn R. Wilson Photos by Morteza khaki 24
Raine Magazine - Volume 10
Autobiographie of Paris is the melding of two minds, two artistic visions
and two influences – the designers’ Persian heritage combined with contemporary elements. The result is a unique line created out of luxury French and Italian fabrics with a subtle multicultural flair. Nazafarin Sadat Akhavi and Dena Motevalian were both born in Tehran and went on to study fashion design at Esmod International in Paris, but along the way their journeys took separate paths.
As a child, Nazafarin loved painting classes and could often be found,
“..Making clothes with leftover fabrics for my Barbies”. The family moved when she was in her teens to Canada, but she returned to Paris and reconnected with her childhood friend at Esmod. Upon graduation she gained industry experience in the D & G Showroom at Ittierre Co. in Paris, at Betsey Johnson in New York and finally at Hay & Company in Vancouver where she was a handbag designer. While in New York she also studied marketing and branding at FIT. When young, Dena painted girls and fashion illustrations all over her schoolbooks and homework. She remembers, “I loved sketching details of accessories, bags and clothes even at the age of 6.” After finishing studies at Esmod she went on to work with Kenzo’s assistant, Tsutomo Saski, supervising production and manufacturing as well as managing all aspects of the design process.
In 2010, Nazafarin’s thoughts turned to her childhood friend. Nazafarin
remembers, “I always believed that two creative minds put together are better than one. At Esmod I appreciated Dena’s creative sense, her commitment on projects and her leadership.” Dena shares, “I had great memories of working with Nazafarin – how serious and creative she was. I collaborated with others after graduation, but none like her.” They reunited in Paris and decided the time was right. It took a lot of organization and brainstorming to come up with a business plan and the designs for that first collection – initially only five pieces. There were fabrics to source, detailing to consider and hours of sketching. The palette chosen was a range of pastels and the designers worked intimately with the manufacturer to ensure all garments were impeccably tailored. The final line eventually expanded to include 12 looks. It was introduced slowly into the Parisian market and made a triumphant showing last spring at Vancouver Fashion Week.
Inspiration begins first and foremost with their Persian heritage, but
many other influences come to bear. Architecture, Japanese Origami, art, travel, personal experiences, movies, cities and other cultures all have an effect. They do trend research and bring ideas that each have sketched separately to the table. Then both have to sift through it all to come up with the final vision, sometimes mixing and matching elements. Nazafarin proudly talks about their vision. “We offer the fashion world quality, impeccable tailoring and unique styles with a touch of Persian art and culture. Each piece is a journey through time. It brings alive the inspiration of delicate Persian artistry to a modern wearable collection that suits the lifestyle of today’s modern woman.”
When asked how they would describe Autobiographe to the world,
both designers’ thoughts converged into one strong vision. “It is a collection of impressive and moving colors. There are contrasts: pastel colors from light to dark, influences from the wide lands of the East to the skyscrapers of the West and architecture from the geometrical shapes of Origami to opera halls.” All these elements are smoothly integrated into garments sure to catch the attention of women everywhere.
For more information on Autobiographie, go to http://www.
autobiographie-paris.com. Raine Magazine - Volume 10
25
Photo courtesy of Ondango
E NTE RTAIN M E NT
®
Innovating Ecommerce for Facebook Will Etsy or EBay ever be the same? Written by Nova Lorraine Having moved from Chili to Munich, Germany in 2007 to obtain an MBA, José Matías has quickly made a mark for himself in the world of ecommerce and innovation. Now residing in Berlin, the European capital for startups, José is focused on his role as Co-founder and CEO of Ondango, the “go to” platform for selling or buying on Facebook. Will Facebook now be a threat to Ebay or Etsy? As with many entrepreneurs, it wasn’t until after a short time in the corporate world, that José realized that he wanted to create a start-up. “I was working at a great position at Proctor and Gamble, however I did not like the narrow scope of my job. I wanted to do something more meaningful with my professional life.” It was this desire along with a friend who acted as the catalyst, which the idea of selling directly to one’s Facebook fan base was born.
44
Raine Magazine - Volume 10
Ondango is not the first business venture for José. Shortly before finishing his industrial engineering degree he became very intrigued with everything Internet related. His first startup was a micro-encyclopedia for cell phones – think Wikipedia meets Twitter for mobile devices. However, avfter one year of development, it was a flop. “We found out that there was no demand for such a product. We made every mistake that could have been made in the areas of marketing and product development.” Serving more as a learning experience, this setback did not deter or dampen José’s vision of creating a successful company in the near future. One day, a good friend from Hong Kong contacted José asking for his help in selling products directly to the Chilean marketplace. It was this query, which led to José finding a solution. “Facebook is really big in Chili – almost everyone has a Facebook account. Facebook would be the most logical and efficient way to penetrate the Chilean market.” Within months, Ondango was born. Ondango is a mechanism for people to sell products directly from their Facebook pages in a seamless, user-friendly way. “I tried a few existing shopping applications and the shopping experience was really bad. I saw an opportunity to build a worldclass shopping experience for Facebook.” Ondango’s three-man team keeps the engine moving full speed ahead. Claudio Bredfeldt, Co-founder and the company’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), is a good friend from school who José has known for over 20 years. Nicolas Dittberne, the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), is German and comes from Sponsorpay.com, a startup that developed a special payment system for the gaming industry. About a year ago, when José and Claudio had the idea of Ondango – the first thing they did was to go to potential customers and explain their idea and have them signup for the software. “ In December 2010, we had our first rough online idea of Ondango. We kept developing it further and acquiring customers in a closed Beta.” At the end of September, after closing their first round of financing, Ondango was officially launched. Now anyone can sign up and create their very own ecommerce shop on Facebook. While in Beta, Ondango first started acquiring customers in Chili then moved on to Germany and began obtaining shops there. “We were exploring different verticals, we were looking at online shops, music, bands, hand made products, etc. Through Ondango’s market research, they realized their shops provided a great resource for music labels, bands, fashion labels, and other large online stores. They discovered that existing online shops have a loyal fan base and run contests and provide customer support on their Facebook pages. These companies can use Ondango as a great promotional tool. At the moment, bands use the Ondango shops the most. “Music bands have real fans on Facebook and most do not have a good ecommerce presence. Since musicians’ fans define themselves through their taste of music, they continuously buy merchandise from their favorite bands.” Ondango facilitates and simplifies this process.
Although innovative, Ondango will not replace traditional online shops. “We see our selves as a compliment, as ecommerce specialists on the Facebook channel.” Ondango is not seeking to replace existing online stores. Its goal is to offer a user-friendly Facebook option to other ecommerce platforms. For some, such as bands, sports teams, and fashion designers, Ondango may indeed be their main channel for sales. Undeniably, the knowledge and insight José gained from the failure of his first startup, definitely prepared him to move quickly in launching Ondango. From October 2010 through March 2011, he grew Ondango with no financing at all. In March 2011, he received a scholarship from the European University Fund
to allow him to work on his new company full time and obtain his first employee: a salesperson. Shortly thereafter, Nicolas, their CMO, joined the team. It was at that time that Ondango began to seek financing. In August, about 5 months later, they closed the financing round after successfully raising six figures. Ondango was then publically launched in September. As CEO, besides sales, HR and managing large accounts, José spends a good portion of his time focusing on the user experience. He really cares about how good the product feels to the customer. He wants to make the use of Ondango as seamless as possible while offering his clients an authentic Facebook experience. Now with 8 employees and quickly growing, Ondango focuses on their long-term goal of becoming the ecommerce layer for Facebook. As a CEO of a rising startup, José shares some advice for others. “The one thing that I learned from my first experience – you really need to push your product out early on – no matter how bad it is – and get feedback as soon as possible to fix the kinks. About 90% of the time the entrepreneur’s first vision of the product is wrong. It usually changes along the way based on customer feedback. To be successful, one has to build what the market wants.” For more information or to open your own Ondango shop on Facebook, visit www.Ondango. com.
Raine Magazine - Volume 10
45
TRAVE L
64
Raine Magazine - Volume 10
Take a step back in time in British Columbia Written and Photographed by Yila D.
Raine Magazine - Volume 10
65
FA SH ION TO L IV E FOR
SWEDISH BILLIONAIRE BUILDS A
Fashion Legacy: H&M
Researched by Kenneth Smith and Jasmin Forrest
Photographer: Florence Leung @ www.flotography.ca Models:Cecilia S. & Kate K. Make up artists: Tommy Chiang & Cherry Mai Hairstylist: Cherry Mai Wardrobe stylist: Sarah Danniels Assistant: Jeremy Hsu Kate (left): Dress H&M, Tights American Apparel, Earrings H&M Cecilia(right): Dress H&M, Scarf American Apparel
80
Raine Magazine - Volume 10
“H” is for Hennes and “M” is for Mauritz. Erling Persson began his famous retail store in 1947 in Vasteras, Sweden – initally named Hennes, a Swedish word meaning “hers”. Erling sold only women’s clothes prior to purchasing Mauritz and Widforss, a hunting store, in 1968. The store then became Hennes and Mauritz, selling both men’s and women’s clothing from that point on. Since 1982, H & M has experienced rapid growth and now has over 2300 stores in more than 43 markets. Germany is the biggest market, followed by the United Kingdom and then Sweden. In 2000, the first US store, was launched in New York City. From 1982 – 1998, Stefan Persson, Erling’s son, ran the company as CEO and then as the Executive Chairman of the Board until 2009. Before turning the reigns over to his sons Karl-Johan and Thomas Persson in May 2011, his estimated net worth was $24.5 billion. Accidental or purposeful, Erling created a concept that will continue to resonate with millions. It was during a trip to the US in 1947 that gave Erling the idea of creating a new kind of clothing store: one that combined high fashion with low prices. The retailer has expanded greatly on this concept and since 2004; the retail juggernaut has teamed up with some of the hottest and most exclusive designer labels to bring limited edition runway fashion to the masses. Some of the most notable collaborations include Karl Lagerfeld, Roberto Cavali, Kylie Mingue, Comme de Garcon, Mathew Williamson, Versace and most recently Marni. H & M continues to be a leader in fashion trends and a favorite amongst the stylish yet price conscious, worldwide. Kate is wearing Top H&M, Skirt H&M, Socks Urban Outfitters, Shoes Red Carpet Collection Raine Magazine - Volume 10
81