WE ARE FEP LAUNCHES NEW DIGITAL SERVICES - COVID SERIES

The recent pandemic caused the fashion industry to pause and reset. Becky Mullins, Creative Director at We Are FEP, has outlined how they have been adapting to the changes and supporting the industry by creating a digital presence for their company and the emerging brands and graduates they support. We Are FEP is a one stop creative production company, offering all types of fashion production from shoots, runways, installations, pop ups and parties. The creative division of the company represents models, makeup artists, stylists and photographers, as well as Art Directors and performers. We Are FEP works with brands from startup, assisting them on branding, sales marketing, and all types of content creation leading on to PR with their experienced PR division. Their core aim is to create memorable fashion experiences and events that monetise the brand and gain global exposure for the brand.

When lockdown began, Becky started the free of charge YouTube channel Fashion Inc, allowing companies to submit their brand video to promote themselves and help build relationships, aiding the audience to see the faces behind the brands. Becky runs IGTV live videos with these brands every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, increasing their social media following and connecting them with bigger audiences. Through this medium, they have assisted the brands in becoming more digital, and clients have claimed they love the way it has significantly gained them more followers on social media. As a company, it has also meant an increase in business for We Are FEP, as the audience see the faces behind the company, strengthening relationships, building trust, and garnering further brands looking for mentoring, branding and PR services. Becky explained that, “The change was strange at first, but now we have adapted to it, and love the time it gives us to do things in a new digital way, as opposed to rushing around London attending meetings and spending half the day stuck on public transport. We are thus able to use our time more efficiently in assisting our clients.”

We Are FEP work with their clients on all aspects of fashion business to help build fashion brands with longevity. They themselves have adapted and rebranded and their new website will be launched in the next few weeks with the facility to stream digital events from their website. With the current Covid situation meaning that no events will happening for the foreseeable future, We Are FEP have moved with the new digital way of working, planning digital fashion shows, installations and e-commerce pop ups. They have also recently partnered with the Fashion Channel in Milan in order to also stream their shows to their 2 million subscribers.

Becky Mullins Director- We Are FEP

All enquiries enquiries@fashioneventsandproductions.com

Instagram

You tube channel Fashion Inc

We Are FEP new website will be live in August

OUTDOOR RETAIL MARKETS – PAST, PRESENT AND POST COVID

By Jay S Khan

On 23rd March, the Government announced strict ‘lockdown’ measures in order to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Part of these measures included the closure of all markets except for stalls providing essential items such as food stuff. 

On Sunday 24th May, the Government made a further announcement stating that Markets can begin to re-open from the 1st of June. However, markets were only permitted to re-open if it was safe for them to do so and subject to social-distancing measures being put in place. Following this announcement, Councils up and down the country had 1 week to prepare, design and execute their plans of re-opening, instilling a fair degree of panic to most Councils, Market Managers and Operators. For some this would be relatively straightforward, particularly smaller markets who operated in open spaces where social distancing measures could be implemented easily. However, for many others such as Walthamstow Market, the longest outdoor street market in Europe, Portobello Market in Kensington & Chelsea, and the Broadway Market based in Hackney, this proved to be a significant challenge. 

Markets are a place of rich diversity and culture and even though the market landscape has changed somewhat over the last 40 years, they can still be considered as the heart of a town. I am sure there are many like myself who have memories of our parents reluctantly dragging us to a market, Ridley Road Market in Hackney in my case, for shopping on a hot Saturday.  Looking back as I write this article however, those are some of my fondest memories and ones that I will treasure for many reasons.

Image Ridley Road Market - Selina Seesunkur

The point is that markets can leave an everlasting impression, and I certainly can’t really recall any fondness in going to a supermarket to buy fruit and veg in the same way I do with markets.  Markets paved the way for many entrepreneurs to make it big in the commercial world, most notably people like Sir Alan Sugar.  Markets are not only a place of thriving commerce but a place where you are likely to bump into old friends and foes alike, catching up and perhaps even resolving disputes, such was the magic of markets.

Of course, this was all pre-internet. Online retailers such as Amazon allow you to buy clothes at the same retail price as you will find in a market, if not less. The same can also be said of the larger chains such as Primark, where you also find the added comforts of a changing room, the warmth and the sacred returns policy.

Markets of today already face significant challenges, particularly with the change in consumer buying behaviour through internet shopping, and the large retail outlets can benefit from economies of scale and sell products at huge discounted prices, leading to the gentrification of local areas. The last thing they need is to get kicked while they’re already down due to COVID-19 and everything that comes with that.  But it is not all bad news as Markets have finally been recognised for the value they provide as a retailer, with leading organisations such as NAMBA being able to challenge government thus allowing them to apply discretionary grants to get them through the impact of Covid-19.  

On a lighter note, one can only imagine what Del Boy would have made of COVID-19 and its accompanying restrictions. You can just picture him sending out Rodney to Peckham Market to sell face masks with holes cut out exposing the mouth, or face shields that are not see-through, claiming that they are military grade issued!

SUSTAINABLE LOGISTICS IS NO LONGER A LUXURY

By Farah Asemi

As we are all trying to adjust to the new mode of life with Covid-19 and the pandemic, it has become painful for me as a business owner and environmentalist to witness the hardship suffered by so many people around the World. Covid-19 has completely overshadowed many other priorities such as pursuing a more environmentally friendly mode of life. Financial survival, well-being, finding the right vaccines, and social distancing have become practically everyone’s top concerns. Currently, the only silver lining for the environment is the cleaner air caused by the much lower use of hydrocarbons in cars, planes, and the manufacturing sector.

I started operating an eco-friendly last mile delivery logistics business using electric cargo bikes and electric vans in London nine months ago. Our ethos centres around affordable, competitive, first class professional delivery services whilst reducing air pollution through the replacement of diesel vans and lorries.

I have lived most of my adult life in North London. Every day the thought of fighting congested roads, which seem to be under constant construction, with 3-way and 4-way temporary traffic lights, made me want to cancel all my appointments in the city and simply stay home. Having realised that diesel engines, lorry and van traffic are the big culprits for city pollution and congestion, I decided it was high time to take some action. As a newcomer in the world of start-ups, I got talking to friends and family on how I could go about making a difference in an area I am very passionate about; a cleaner environment, less congested streets, and a professional operation.

I quickly realised that no university course can prepare you for starting and operating a business better than simply jumping into the deep end of the pool with my principles intact, so I have instilled the ecofleet ethos to include

• integrity (my number one priority),

• focus on what really matters,

• optimism,

• premium quality customer service, and

• Risk taking.

Covid-19 completely overshadowed the Earth Day celebrations this year. Yet I see many common threads between my environmental concerns, the pandemic, and Tsunami. When the Tsunami hit East Asia, it was quite sudden, with plenty of devastation and years of rebuilding. Covid-19 is lasting much longer and recovery from it will be even more painful. The environmental Tsunami has been ongoing for quite some time but as the impact is not sudden and visibly devastating, we seem to be ignoring it or putting it on the back burner for the next generation to deal with. I see our collective environmental malaise as a house with the gas cooker leaking without the occupants realising it because the leaking gas is odourless. All it takes is one struck match to blow up the house.

The alarming facts surrounding environmental impact, make me determined to continue my journey in the growth of ecofleet and other sustainable mobility solutions not only in London but across the UK. At the current rate, the number of delivery vehicles in major metropolitan cities will grow by 36% by 2030 as a result, emissions from delivery trucks will go up by 32%.

With 4 million parcels being delivered daily in London, an environmental disaster is real and inevitable with our current lifestyle as a global community. With the launch and future expansion of ecofleet into other markets I am trying to make a small difference towards eliminating pollution and congestion, but I believe everyone needs to pitch in to avert further destruction of our world. I have entrusted my family savings to this project and do expect to run it as growing enterprise when one day the name ecofleet will be synonymous with the best in last mile sustainable delivery. I do have sleepless nights, but my optimism and the wonderful people surrounding me give me the courage to move forward at full speed.

Farah Asemi, Founder & CEO ecofleet

Last mile delivery service: zero emission, efficient & sustainable

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