Hello, fashion lovers! My name is Madeline Armitage and I am one of the new interns at Open Runway. You will be hearing a lot from me over the next couple of months so I would like to take some time to get better acquainted. First thing you should know about me, I have a serious shoe fetish. And if you are anything like me, you live from paycheck to paycheck because any extra spending cash falls immediate victim to your wardrobe. You also believe that the best therapy and the only therapy worth actually paying for is retail therapy. Even more so, there is no heartbreak a great pair of pumps can’t fix. This is not an opinion; I know this from experience!

The thing that I love most about fashion is that it is constantly changing. Every era up until the 20^th century had a very distinct style. The 20s coined the flapper dress and helmet hats. The 30s was all about wide shoulders and narrow waists, the two-piece suit and womanly hourglass shape was introduced in the 40s. The 50s were inspired by polka dots and full skirt dresses, the mini-skirt was invented in the mod-60s and enter Audrey Hepburn with the black shift dress. Saturday Night Fever brought about bellbottoms, three-piece suits and platform shoes in the 70s. And who could forget the 80s with ripped sweatshirts, headbands and “ra-ra” skirts? The 90s were known as the “anti-fashion” era where it was cooler to be an anti-conformist than a trendsetter, or should I say being an anti-conformist was the set trend?

Today, designers gather much inspiration for their current lines from past eras. Every designer takes a piece of the past and reinvents it to make it their own. There will never be another decade defined by a trend like the decades of our past.

Just like the most popular couture designers of our time, you have all the colors, fabrics and styles right in front of you. The only job you have is putting them together to make your own personal style. And thanks to Open Runway, they have just made your job a whole lot easier.

I am very excited to be a part of the Open Runway team and see where the next few months will take us. Thanks for listening, until next time!

xx

Madeline

We are very excited to announce the launch of Open Runway’s private beta!  For those of you who need a refresher, Open Runway is an innovative “Design your Own’ fashion platform where YOU are the designer. In our Design Studio, you can create your own high fashion shoes and handbags by choosing from a wide array of styles and materials and wear them in just a few weeks.

Desperate to start designing?  Go to openrunway.com and request an invitation to our private beta. Be sure to tell us about yourself and what you hope to get out of the experience. Right now we have a limited number of invitations to give out but we’ll let you know when space becomes available.

As with any private beta, we have a few bugs to fix and kinks to work out.  We ask only for your help (and a little patience) as we listen to your questions, concerns, and comments to transform Open Runway into the ultimate user experience. A fair warning, here are a couple of things in particular to watch out for that are still a work in progress:

1. Our handbags are ready to be designed and purchased, however, we are still working on getting our shoes up and “running.”  By all means, please feel free to play around in our shoe design studio and let us know what you think. For now you will only be able to drool over them until we work out a few more details on the back-end.
2. Due to changes in sourcing, a few of the materials seen on some of the configured designs in the “Shop”  area may no longer be available. We are working on implementing an “out of stock” message.

Open Runway exists to serve you, so we need your assistance and feedback to achieve perfection, or… in the case of our private beta (in Tim Gunn’s words) “make it work.”  Without it, this won’t be possible.

All of us at Open Runway are confident that you will find  the design experience to be fun and creative.  You have our commitment to not only make your experience enriching in the design and creation phase, but also to deliver to you products of the highest quality craftsmanship that will allow you to enjoy and proudly display your “uniquely you” creation for years to come.

Sign up here to gain exclusive access to Open Runway!

With our impending launch, the Open Runway team has been extremely busy this summer perfecting all last minute details. To help us deliver the best personalized shopping experience you can imagine, we’ve tapped into the minds of some of the best and  brightest interns in the area. We’re excited to introduce June, one of our newest interns, who joined Open Runway in….you guessed it…June!

Born and raised in China, June has been in the US for only a year. Similar to Kailai, another Open Runway intern, June is pursuing a Masters degree in Marketing Analytics from Bentley University. Previously, June studied international trade in China and then accounting at Bentley before transferring into her current masters program.  June is looking forward to her Open Runway internship and wearing a more creative hat than she has been able too in the past!

June’s passions, however, have always laid in fashion. She chuckles as she reminiscences about her previous fashion “experiments”. From completely submerging herself in hiphop and rocker trends, to giving the colorful Japanese styles a go, June has even sported a daringly short boyish haircut! June discusses Asian style with us, crediting its roots back to massive flea markets and boutique stores. These vivacious markets are full of wonder and splendor- florals, stripes, ruffles, glitter, and bright colors can be seen in all directions! One of June’s biggest joys is visiting these markets once a week and scouring for the best bargains- something she has become quite an expert at!

June’s personal style may be described as an infusion of her native Asian roots with a Western spin on chic. June looks to the fashion runway for the latest trends as well as celebrity blogs for inspiration in her own closet.  An avid enthusiast of DIY, June often creates expressive pieces using garments from her very own wardrobe!  This “Do It Yourself” attitude meshes perfectly with Open Runway. Total customization is what we’re all about, and after all, who doesn’t love a pair of perfect heels?

Congratulations and welcome June, we are looking forward to having you join our Open Runway family!

Joining our steadily growing team is Amy Zehner, our newest intern! Amy is from Alexandria, Virginia and graduated from college this past May.  Amy is excited to be up in Boston with us and is loving her experience thus far.  Let’s get to know Amy a little better!

Open Runway: Tell us a little bit about yourself? Where did you attend college?

I am a recent graduate from Virginia Tech with a degree in Apparel Product Development and Merchandising Management (quite a mouthful!) and also earned a Business minor.  I had such an amazing undergraduate experience at Tech. I loved everything about living in the mountains – well almost everything…shopping the latest trends was no walk in the park. Lets just say Blacksburg, VA is no Milan, Italy.  Most of the time it came down to being crafty and making the most of what you had (good thing flannel and distressed denim were in – there’s not a lack of those two in town!).

Open Runway: What inspires you the most about fashion? What is your favorite fashion era?

Fashion is a powerful emotion. What I love the most about fashion is that it can change your perceptions, what you think and feel; radiating from the outside in. My favorite fashion era would probably have to be the transition from the 1950s to the 1960s- the silhouette was changing from structured and restrictive to loose and free-flowing, allowing for women to be more expressive- think Audrey Hepburn and the black shift dress!

Open Runway: What other interests do you have, what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I love photography and capturing images with my own perspective. Whenever possible, I enjoy traveling and have been fortunate enough to experience many different cultures all around the world. I also enjoy the outdoors, cooking, horseback riding, and my guilty pleasure? Harry Potter (haha).

Failing to find orange glitter pumps for her Virginai Tech "Hokie" themed graduation, Amy took matters into her own hands and constructed a pair herself!

Open Runway: Why did you choose to intern for Open Runway?

The entire concept of Open Runway is very appealing to me.  I can sit at home in my robe and slippers while I conceptualize, create, and bring to life my very own designs. Sorry Milan! I’ll no longer be fantasizing about you! And the best part? Anyone can do it (even my Dad who expressly tells me my gladiators should only make an appearance on Halloween, paired with toga and sword). I am very excited to be a part of such a great team and looking forward to helping Open Runway launch!

Open Runway: Will you leave us with your favorite must-have summer trend?

I love the idea of a crochet top worn effortlessly over a swimsuit or paired with a high-waisted short and a nude wedge, of course!

Open Runway: Thank you Amy, we are very delighted to have you with us!

For the past two weeks we have been working on creating Open Runway’s new concept video. A few days ago, we finally finished and uploaded it to our Youtube Channel! Andrea described the video to her friend as “my life’s work,” and even though it only took us a couple weeks to create it, it is one of our proudest accomplishments! We hope you like it as much as we do!

Open Runway Concept Video

Andrea’s Experience: When I started the project I was familiar with iMovie thanks to an overzealous Egyptology professor who liked to incorporate media into his curriculum by having us make movies about everything from the Sphinx to the typology of pre-dynastic pottery. But now that we’re done I can say with confidence that I am an expert! Kailai and I created scenes and animations that I didn’t know were even possible. When Monika, Open Runway’s founder and CEO, requested we have words flying in one at a time over an image, I was tempted to say, “Impossible! Lower your expectations lady, I’m not a professional film editor!” Instead I sucked it up and tried to discover a way to accomplish the task. Ok, I may have complained about not knowing how to do it, but I still figured it out! With a combination of Kailai’s supreme Photoshop skills, some PowerPoint innovation, and an application called Camtasia that allows you to record your computer screen, we created our masterpiece! So if you are looking to make an expert promotional video using only the resources found on your computer, take some advice from me. The help tab is your best friend! Without it I would never have known there is a green screen effect in iMovie or that you can group objects in PowerPoint in order to make them animate at the same time.

Kailai’s Experience: Working with Andrea on the concept video was really fun. In the beginning I was worried that I would not be able to contribute much to this project as I’m a total rookie on video editing but my powerpoint and photoshop skills combined with Andrea’s iMovie expertise proved to be a great combination. In my humble opinion, the video looks awesome! I am really amazed how different the final video looks from our first version. After we came up with the first draft video, we spent hours discussing and getting feedback from the entire Open Runway team to make sure that we were conveying the right message concisely and effectively. We are basically using the same storyboard for the video as what we first developed at the very beginning of this project. However, after two weeks of polishing and MANY versions later, the video looks much more professional.

As we were resource constrained we found a way to create the video just using using Powerpoint, Photoshop and Camtasia to fake the effects of professional video editing software. We think we did a great job of fooling people’s eyes. Well, at least my friends’ eyes.

Good luck in all your movie making endeavors and don’t forget to check out our masterpiece!

Last week the Open Runway team took a field trip to deliver our first handbag. We delivered to Judi, one of the design contest winners from last month’s pre-launch party. Take a look at her reaction to her prize winning bag below.

Judi Opens Her Handbag

Some highlights from the day include packaging our first delivery in silver and black, seeing Judi’s genuinely thrilled reaction, and taking a field trip outside on a beautiful summer day. It’s too bad we can’t deliver every order in person.

Last week we got our first order of handbags in and we were ecstatic to open them! We thought it would be fun to film the occasion so we could share it! Take a peek at some of the styles of handbags and some of the cool unique ways you can make them your own!

Click here to view video.

We got some great feedback last week with Andrea’s self-introduction blog post and her “downtown hunt for the perfect packaging” coverage. We were excited to find out that you are interested in learning more about our team and wanted you to meet another member of the Open Runway team – our ‘not-so-new’ intern – Kailai!

Kailai studied Fashion Design and Apparel Engineering in one of Asia’s fashion hubs – Shanghai – and is now pursuing a Master’s degree in Marketing Analytics at Bentley University.  She has been involved in various aspects of the fashion industry for the past 3 years and is definitely the go-to-person for style tips. Kailai has been working with us since April and it’s a pleasure to have her on the team. We had an interesting conversation this afternoon about her career interests and her perception of the Chinese apparel industry.

Open Runway: I heard that you just came back from Europe. Welcome back! How was your trip?

Kailai: It was phenomenal. I spent 18 days in France and the UK and loved every second of it. I love immersing myself in different cultures. It helps me to understand differences and to appreciate them.

Open Runway: You had an interesting undergraduate major. In China, is it common for high school graduates to choose fashion as their college major?

Kailai: Haha, my choice is actually…unusual. Even though the apparel industry is one of China’s ‘Pillar Industries’, not many universities offer a fashion program in China. The school I attended,  Donghua University in Shanghai, offers the oldest and most prestigious fashion program. The thing I loved about my undergraduate experience is that it helped me to understand the fashion industry from both the designer/engineer’s point of view as well as from the business perspective. My school is located in downtown Shanghai, a perfect location for fashion students.

Open Runway: Why did you choose to intern for Open Runway?

Kailai: I met Monika at an 85Broads conference. She was one of the speakers in a fashion panel that I attended. I felt truly inspired by her business concept and I knew from the very beginning that this was the perfect fit for me. Social Networking, mass customization and e-commerce are all emerging trends of business today. Monika has found a way to fuse these three areas using fashion as the glue. How cool is that? I would have been crazy if I hadn’t seized the opportunity to join this exciting company. My fashion background as well as my current study in marketing analytics has helped me contribute a lot to Open Runway. I’m very happy that I have this chance to practice my skills.

Open Runway: What’s the fashion industry like in China? What are some of the popular domestic brands?  Would Chinese customers be interested in customized fashion?

Kailai: The fashion industy in China, in terms of retail, is still dominated by international brands. There are domestic brands in China that are doing very well, like Metersbonwe. However, they are targeting the lower and less fashion-forward part of the market. This seems to be true for most domestic brands in China. Most of the apparel companies started as manufacturers for international brands and later evolved into developing their own brands to serve the domestic market especially after the economy crisis in 2008. Because their focus has historically been focused on manufacturing, I think they are doing great in this area, however they definitely need to work on their marketing strategies.  As for mass customization, I think it would attract a lot of young people since individualism is a huge trend among the younger generation in China.

Open Runway: We are really happy to have you on board Kailai!

Kailai: Thanks! I’m excited to be involved in launching Open Runway and I’m looking forward to getting our first online orders!

We are excited to announce Open Runway has a new intern! She just graduated from college and will be joining us for the summer. So shoe fans meet Andrea:

Hi Open Runway followers! I’m so excited about interning with Open Runway this summer.

Yesterday was my first day and it can only be described as fabulous. Something to know about me is that I absolutely love shopping, so you can imagine how ecstatic I was when Monika suggested we do packaging research Downtown! After delicious Chinese dumplings we went to investigate shoeboxes. We looked at all shapes, sizes, and colors of shoeboxes as well as the shoes that went with them. Then we moved on to researching shoe bags, which meant designer shoes! After trying on fantastic footwear designed by Chanel, Prada, Miu Miu, Stuart Weitzman and Valentino we had looked at many a shoe bag and were forming some great ideas on how to design our own. At the end of the day I knew this was the internship for me, shoe shopping on the job! Can there be anything more fantastic!

Working here is a big change for me and I couldn’t be more delighted! I just graduated from college with a degree in archaeology. Exploring packaging options for shoes is completely different then digging in the dirt, and if I can make such a sweeping statement so soon, a lot more fun. Plus you get to wear better shoes! I mean I have nothing against the utility of tennis shoes, but lets face it, they just aren’t that attractive, especially covered in mud. Despite the unattractive footwear options in archaeology I did love studying it and digging in the dirt, sometimes, what can I say I’m multifaceted.

Excavating in Bad Shoes

Other than footwear and ancient artifacts a few of my favorite things are sunny weather, trying exotic foods, musical theatre, celeb sightings, and traveling! I’m originally from Northern California, which isn’t known for its sun, and am completely enjoying the great weather we’ve had in Boston this week! The city is so vibrant and I can’t wait to discover more favorite things around every corner.

I’m ecstatic to keep you all updated on the behind the scenes action at Open Runway as we get ready to launch the site. This is such an exciting time for us and I am honored to be a part of the Open Runway team!

Open Runway Love,

Andrea

THANK YOU to all that attended our Design-Your-Own Pre-Launch Fashion parties on May 5th and 7th at the Mass Challenge Incubator space in Boston! We had a blast with our friends, family, volunteers, and special guests Thread Tradition, Zyrra and stylist Naomi Mirando. These events celebrated our latest shoe and handbag samples and our soon-to-be-launched design tool.

With the first party falling on Cinco de Mayo, we were more than happy to kick-off the events with tons of food, yummy margaritas, and even shoe-shaped chocolates. Guests were able to browse our array of shoe and brand-new handbag samples, as well as try their hand at design with the latest version of our design configurator.

Open Runway Sample Collection

Testing the Design Configurator

This was a great opportunity for us to get some key user feedback about the designs and functionality of the new tool. It was also really fun to see which shoe and handbag templates and colors people liked the most. Thanks to all for the suggestions – we’re working furiously behind the scenes to make the site as intuitive and easy-to-use as possible.

We ran a contest on each day for best designs for both shoes and handbags, and had party attendees vote on their favorites using – what else? – a shoe stamp! Congratulations to Shirley Shen and Judy Downey for their designs! Each winner gets a $100 Open Runway gift certificate  – we’re excited to see what you come up with next!

Guests deciding which designs to vote for

The pre-launch parties an exciting way to celebrate Open Runway’s progress thus far and uncover fresh user insights. Being in the Mass Challenge space helps to keep our momentum going, especially as we stare down the next phase of the competition. Stay tuned for more updates and our launch this summer!

Open Runway Founders Monika Desai and Eric Estabrooks