The CFBA held its first annual event for fashion lovers.
The Concordia Fashion Business Association (CFBA) held its annual Cocktails & Connections (C&C) event at the Emmanuelle Lounge downtown on Nov. 7.
Apart from its end-of-year fashion showcase, this mixer is one of its largest initiatives. It consists of an evening where students from all over Montreal are invited to meet other fashion and marketing lovers, make connections, and speak to specialists from the industry while having drinks and appetizers.
“We heard about this event through Instagram, and we really wanted to come; it seemed like our vibe,” said Terry Labonté, a fashion and marketing student at Lasalle College. “We are here to network, make some partnerships and connections for our upcoming fashion show, and get to know people.”
The CFBA’s team comprises 17 people from various departments, including event planning, marketing, and business relations. Pierre-Alexandre Roy, CFBA’s director of events, said that 250 people signed up to the C&C event.
“I want to get to know people,” said Chloe Torudag, also a fashion and marketing student. “I’m here to talk to everybody at the event, have fun and look pretty!”
Roy explained that his department started by choosing the venue and the theme, “Jazz Night in Montreal.”
“This year, the pillar of the event was the venue,” said Roy.
The Emmanuelle lounge is on the fifth floor of a building on Ste-Catherine St. The dim lighting, the leather couches, and the terrace, which resembles a greenhouse, made for the perfect location to hold a jazzy event, according to him.
“People from all over signed up,” said Roy. “There are students from Concordia, but as it turns out, we have quite a reach!”
Once the event was planned and the venue was secured, the marketing team took over and started promoting the C&C on their social media. Kenzy Ismail, VP of marketing, said her team started by studying the marketing funnels, which go into several levels: awareness, conversion, and loyalty. This technique seemed to work out the way they intended it to, as the first tier of tickets sold out in 20 minutes.
Ismail joined CFBA early in her time at Concordia.
“I came to Montreal three years ago from Egypt. I knew no one in the city and I decided to come to a CFBA mixer,” said Ismail. “It was the scariest thing I ever did in my life, but I got to know a couple of people, and from there, I started managing social media clients. I have six right now. It really opened doors for me, so it really is worth it to put yourself out there.”
The keynote speaker at the C&C was Marla Scattolin, co-founder of CFBA, who now works in public relations for L’Oréal. She spoke about her professional journey, gave pointers to the students while holding a Q&A, and advertised L’Oréal’s internship opportunity.
The CFBA team offered gift bags from their sponsor, Parasuco, to all those attending. A photo booth was also available for those who wanted to take home a little souvenir from the evening.
