Retail experiment

The School of Fashion and the Arts (SOFA), which is celebrating its first year this October, recently launched Retail Lab, its on-site boutique that offers brands created by the school’s students and alumni, as well as those of The One School, SOFA’s sister school.

“The Retail Lab gives students hands-on training. It immerses them in the real world,” says bag designer Amina Aranaz-Alunan, SOFA’s co-director. “It’s an experimental place where students can implement their ideas with minimal risk.” And since some of the students who have set up shop in Retail Lab already have burgeoning businesses via online sites like Multiply, the Retail Lab gives their virtual stores a physical presence. Aside from having their creations sold there, SOFA and The One School students are also in charge of Retail Lab’s daily operations, as well as its physical appearance.

“Even our teachers are excited about it, especially in visual merchandise,” says Loralee Baron, SOFA’s co-director. “We want the students to dress up the window. Even the look of the whole store may change next term.”

“It can be a basis of grading also for the student,” Amina adds. “It’s also a store that anyone can come in and buy from.”

The business of fashion

Getting one’s products displayed in Retail Lab is actually not as easy as it looks. The students must come up with a brand and a business plan and essentially prove to their teachers that they have what it takes to keep their products going on a long-term basis. Students also have to pay a minimal fee to be part of Retail Lab, but that’s part of the experience. After all, to own a store in real life, one has to take stall rental, salespeople’s salaries and other expenses into consideration. “They really have to be committed to the whole business, to the whole brand,” Amina says. “Before production, they usually come to us for advice. We mentor them, teach them how to price their items.”

Retail Lab is only a week old but it’s already generated some buzz. “Some of the students have Multiply sites, so (the store) becomes their pickup point or a place where customers can see samples, and those who want to get into made-to-order can meet their clients at the store,” Amina says.

School of style

Retail Lab is just one of the new things that SOFA has added to its ever-growing student offerings. It also recently became a partner of Istituto Maragoni Fashion and Design School, the school Amina and Loralee graduated from. “Anyone who wants to study in Marangoni can go through us. We can orient them on the programs, and since we ourselves lived in Milan and studied in Marangoni, we can talk to them about the Marangoni student experience,” Amina says. SOFA can also help potential Marangoni students process their applications and SOFA students have the option of taking summer courses or their master’s program there.

Another new item in SOFA’s curriculum is their bachelor’s degree, which is offered in cooperation with The One School. The first term starts on Sept. 29. “I think we’re on our way to being a fashion institution, because our goal really is to be the Philippines’ first fashion university,” Amina says.

Great strides, especially for a young educational institution. Though less than a year old, SOFA’s students have been making waves in the industry. One of its students, Kermit Tesoro, has been featured in a local fashion magazine as a designer to watch out for and Moonshine, one of the brands that can be found in Retail Lab, has an established online and mall presence, plus a loyal clientele.

Retail laboratory

So far, Retail Lab carries 10 fashion and accessory brands and one brand of mineral makeup. And though the store is in its early stages, the students involved are feeling the high of having set up their own businesses.

“It’s really great, especially since it’s hard for a beginner to get a stall,” says Cheena Ng Lo, a fashion design student and one of the people behind Amour Manila, which mainly does cocktail dresses. “Being part of the retail group helped me and my partners pursue our plans.”

“It’s been fun, stressful and fabulous,” says Nica Mendez, an entrepreneurial management student from The One School and one half of the brains behind Decada Filipina, a T-shirt and accessories line that has cheeky designs of Filipinas in traditonal ternos doing modern things like listening totheir iPods. “First of all, it’s convenient. It’s right in my school so I can monitor it. I’m more hands on... I’d be more present.”

For other students, being part of the shop was the extra push they needed to get their creative juices flowing. “The exposure helped my brand, and the actual putting up of the store gave me the drive to start working,” reveals Stacy Rodriguez of Glastnost.

Clothes aren’t the only things one can find in SOFA’s in-house store. It’s also where clients can find Mark, a line of furniture designed by The One School student Mark San Diego. “It’s great because all the pieces here are made out of my designs. In terms of marketing, Retail Lab has helped me a lot,” Mark says.

Needless to say, the students have high hopes for the shop. “I think it’s going to be a huge success with everyone joining together, everyone working as one. We’re each other’s business partners. We’re not competing with each other. When we say Retail Lab, don’t just go to my store, go to everyone else’s (as well),” Nica says.

A student-run boutique, an international alliance and a bachelor’s degree program — these are all small but steady steps that SOFA is taking towards its goal of becoming the country’s first fashion university. “There really is a growing interest in the fashion industry. It’s not seen as a hobby anymore. The fashion industry is now seen as a real profession, a real career,” Amina says. “It’s time to educate fashion professionals because even local companies are looking to work with them. We’re creating specialized education for fashion companies. The business side of fashion, that’s what we want the students to learn.”

And judging from SOFA’s student response, it looks like a lot of young minds want to be taught.

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Retail Lab can be found in School of Fashion and the Arts at 55 Paseo de Roxas Ave., Makati City (tel. 491-5536/www.sofamanila.com).