With
the growing barriers to entry in New York’s rag trade, public
relations’ firm MAO decided to do something about it.
Phillip D. Johnson on the spring–summer 2005 collections
at MAO Space
Photography courtesy Roger and Mauricio Padilha
Keanan Duffty photographed by Cheryl Gorski/www.cherylgorski.com
Abaete photographed by Casey Kettleson of Abaete
ASHION,
beneath its glamourous surface, is one of the fiercest, dog-eat-dog
(and then some) industries in the world, with the top dogs beating
off newcomers to the field at every turn. It is a rough-and-tumble
life for new talent, especially those on the fringe of mainstream
fashion. They need all the help they can get, starting with raising
funds for their labels. It is a known fact that the average design
house takes up to five years or more to recoup its initial investment;
and with fabric deliveries being near impossible to predict, and
quality hard to control, manufacturing clothing in this environment
is a logistical nightmare. Never mind the fact that the fashion
press is not always known for its collective congenial nature. What's
a young designer to do?
Roger, 31, and Mauricio Padilha, 34, (respectively)
Creative Director and CEO of MAO
Public Relations, already had the clients and two years ago, they
inaugurated MAO Space, an all-important
first step venue for fledgling design labels from which to showcase
their collections and attract the attention of the international
fashion press who was already attending shows at the Bryant Park
Tents. Given the fact that the show week schedule is already so
jam-packed to begin with—with some hours having four or five
shows going on at the same time—without MAO
Space, these designers would be seriously left out in the cold.
Backed by top-flight sponsors, Messrs Padilha
has been able to attract high profile celebrities to their shows,
and the calibre of talent that come back each season just gets better
and better. There is even a fashion week magazine, MAO Magazine,
with contributions from like-minded fashion industry luminaries
such as Simon Doonan, Polly Mellon Allen, Patrick MacDonald, as
well as articles written by Liza Minnelli and Boy George.
In a interview given to another journalist, they
talked about the trials, tribulations and the joys of putting together
an event that they found to be far more fulfilling because ‘fringe
fashion is cool because the stuff is cool, not because people don't
know about it.’
The economy has not spared them or their clients
because, as Roger said, ‘Young designers have been hit hard [and]
because they have less money, we have less of a budget [to work
with]. I think what used to be a cheap price three or four years
ago is now the highest price we can ask for. Our rates have come
down almost 50 per cent [in recent years].’
To make MAO Space
a success, Mauricio remarked that they have had to ‘pull every connection
that we have—every friend, everyone who owes us a favour. If
we know a celebrity, we call them up and make them come—anything
that is going to make that event more successful.’
Adds Roger: ‘We rely heavily on the fun factor.
It's quite easy to do a theme related event on a smaller budget
than to have champagne and a fancy chef. People are never going
to walk away from our parties saying, “That's the best food
I ever ate,” but rather, they'll say, “That was the first
time I ever saw midgets serving things.”‘
The decision to expand into major show space production
was made all the more easier once IMG
bought 7th on Sixth in the late 1990s. ‘Once IMG
got involved with 7th on Sixth, their prices increased a lot,’ Roger
said. ‘A lot of our designers used to do tent shows, but all of
a sudden they couldn't afford it. Also, we were doing shows all
over town, and people would call and say they wanted to come to
our shows, but they couldn't go downtown when they had to attend
an advertiser's show at the tents. We needed to make it easier for
the audience.’ And so they have done exactly that.
This season, for the spring 2005 shows, the slate
of designers were as varied as any they have shown over the years;
and one must commend the Padilha Brothers for going the extra distance
by providing buses to their venue at West 18th Street and from the
the tents in midtown. It showed a definite awareness and consideration
that went a long way in relieving some of the stresses associated
with Fashion Week.
With
the growing barriers to entry in New York’s rag trade, public
relations’ firm MAO decided to do something about it.
Phillip D. Johnson on the spring–summer 2005 collections
at MAO Space
@