Martyn Lawrence Bullard lit up the Schumacher showroom with his celebrity status and fabulous sense of humor during his presentation The Road to Landing a Licensed Fabric Collection at the DDB's Fall Market. Susan North, senior vice president and creative director for Schumacher, and Carolyn Sollis, contributing editor of Editor at Large, joined Martyn for a panel discussion on the inspiration and collaboration involved in creating a collection.
Having flown in from London where Martyn was working on Tamara Mellon's flat, Martyn had everyone in the audience laughing when he explained that while his life is jam-packed full of projects, events, panel discussions and more, it's all worth it because it's fun. Martyn's first and foremost point throughout the discussion resonated for us all, "Don't you dare do anything that's not fun. Don't even consider getting yourself into a project or a situation that you have the ability to decline if it's not completely a blast!"
The three discussed the winding paths of licensed fabric collections using their own experiences respectively, but eventually came together on a shared tip that proved integral to their discussion. "One thing that must be understood by those who are hoping to eventually launch a fabric collection is that it's extremely, unimaginably hard to do so," said Carolyn. "It's not easy for anyone—celebrity designers and even celebrities included! The amount of time, energy and money that goes in to creating, pitching and earning a licensed collection may be better spent taking a different risk that may prove more fruitful."
"It's very true," Martyn said, agreeing and smiling at the glance Carolyn shot him when she mentioned celebrity designers. "A collection of your own is one of the most difficult things to achieve successfully. Launching a collection is about timing, and it's about the need in the market."
Stay tuned tomorrow for more from Martyn, Carolyn and Susan on landing a licensed fabric collection.
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