An Instagram book! Why didn’t we think of this? Luckily, CFDA CEO Steven Kolb had a lightbulb moment and came up with the idea to create a book of the best Instagram shots from their members. Last night Bloomingdale’s toasted the book, Designers on Instagram: #Fashion, which comes out April 14th, with a party at their 59th Street flagship. The book includes shots from Donna Karan, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, and Betsey Johnson, as well as a few lesser-known designers, and a section devoted to-you guessed it-selfies. “Instagram for designers is great because it allows them to connect virtually with consumers, with their design organizations, and stores to connect with consumers and designers,” Bloomingdale’s CEO and chairman Tony Spring told us. “It feels like you’re getting a page inside their life. It’s a chance to understand their inspiration and what their thinking about when they create and make their designs.” Spring says he hasn’t jumped on the Instabandwagon just yet, but checks in with his wife’s account regularly to keep up.
For Kolb, the book is another addition to the CFDA’s ever-expanding book club. “It’s our 10th book!” he says. “We did our first book right after I started in 2007 called American Fashion and we’ve had many different kinds of books over the years. The ones that really resonate and sell are the lifestyle books that give a glimpse into the life of our CFDA members. I love Instagram! I have to control myself and not over-post. I follow every CFDA member on Instagram. It’s a new media, but we’re using a very old traditional media to tell the story of CFDA members.” He also has a message for filter haters. “When people hashtag ‘no filter’, what’s the point? Use the filter! I would triple filter if I could.” Designers who came out for a selfie at the store included Billy Reid, Erin Fetherston, Christian Siriano, Italo Zucchelli, Charlotte Ronson, Ariel and Shimon Ovadia, Rebecca Taylor, Gilles Mendel, Luis Fernandez, Robert Geller, Marc Bouwer with Brendan Fallis providing the jams. #funevent
