Nearly twenty-eight stories high on the roof top penthouse of the Ava Lounge looking over New York City Times Square, you could expect to be surrounded by some of the most prominent names in luxury and the retail fashion industry. Premiere designers, buyers, and New York City’s most fashionable were all in attendance at the launch party on Friday, February 11^th, for globalfashionbrands.com, a social e-commerce shopping platform for independent designers and retailers hosted by NOLCHA. As guests enjoyed the evening, one man in particular could be noted racing throughout the venue with not a drink in his hand but a smart phone instructing hospitality, security, and personnel. This tall, dark, behind -the-scenes figure was none other than Arthur Mandel (President of Nolcha), and the driving force behind Nolcha Fashion Week New York and London. Mandel sat down with joonbug.com to discuss the details regarding the launch of GlobalFashionBrands.com and future plans for Nolcha Fashion Week.

The Brooklyn native explains that his vision for a global retail platform was first established in the midst of a career shift from the entertainment industry. Mandel holds a J.D. from St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami, FL. He began hosting fashion events with Kerry Bannigan, CEO of NOLCHA during fashion week in New York and  Los Angeles, as well as separate events in Miami. “I aim to be in the business of fashion”, Mandel says leaning over in a white leather chair in a dimly lit corner of the penthouse lounge. “I want to continue my involvement in a niche market, providing opportunities for independent designers to showcase their collections for New York and London Fashion Week”. According to Mandel, Nolcha was first established as an online network in 2006 for independent designers that did not possess the financial capital to showcase their collections globally. Mandel states, “We [Mandel and Bannigan] started hosting one day fashion events, then four day fashion events, our designer showcase expanded to 50 designers following our 2^nd year”.  Nolcha has since then evolved from a series of annual fashion events into a leading global fashion platform showcasing fall and spring collections. In addition to the highly revered Mercedes Benz Fashion Week NY, Nolcha Fashion Week NY is recognized by the New York City Economic Development Corp (NYCEDC) as an official New York Fashion event. 

The social e-commerce website GLOBALFASHIONBRANDS.COM is the newest feature to the Nolcha brand. “As of now we have no competition that offers this kind of platform”, Mandel shoots back in response to an inquiry about industry competitors. Designers that use the site will have access to unlimited product listing, promotional tools, and educational resources for managing an independent line.

In the upcoming years Mandel intends to expand the horizons of Nolcha Fashion Week to Australia, Turkey, and Japan. Mandel is confident in his vision and the philosophy that empowering independent designers through education and exposure while providing them with the essential tools for business enhancement, Nolcha will succeed in serving the needs of the fashion community.

 

 For more info on Nolcha Fashion Week and Nolcha events go to www.nolcha.com