Fashion Next Hosted by Fashion Group International Toronto

On October 19th I attended an amazing event held by Fashion Group International called Fashion Next. The event featured an panel of talented women in fashion talking about their careers. They each were interviewed by Much Music host Sarah Taylor and gave their advice on how to succeed in the world of fashion. Here is a little bit about each speaker courtesy of the Fashion Group International Program for Fashion Next! Join the facebook page for fashiongroupinternational or follow on twitter here.

Marika Brose
Marika Brose just recently established her fashion line Brose in 2009. She has worked with top fashion labels including Prada, Jimmy Choo and Pink Tartan. Marika's advice to young designers? "Always be in tune with business, motive and brand." You can visit her website here.

Natalie Lecomte
Natalie is a 2007 graduate of Ryerson University's Fashion Communication program. She has worked in a variety of positions at Holt Renfrew over the last six years. She assisted Barbara Atkin and worked as Assistant Buyer, to name a few! In the world of fashion buying, Natalie's advice for when you really want to see a piece bought, "take a stand, build your case and fight for it!"

Liv Judd
Liv is currently the Toronto Market Editor and resident style expert of Lou Lou Magazine. She often appears on shows such as Breakfast Television, Canada AM, Global News and ET Canada as the style expert! It was great to hear her exciting take on the world of Fashion Magazines.

Sarah Taylor
Sarah is a regular fixture on Canada's MuchMusic. She has interviewed famous celebrities such as: Jay-Z, Gwen Stefani, Alicia Keys and Beyonce. She reports on style and fashion for Much on Demand and attends Toronto LG Fashion Week regularly. You can read her blogs here or follow her on twitter here.

Rita Liefhebber
Rita is a fashion designer, stylist and writer for FORD. She has worked for esteemed magazines Flare and Elle and worked with Katy Perry, Coldplay, Nelly Furtado and Metric. Rita says you must always "trust your instinct."

Karen Cleveland
Karen is the Marketing and Communications Manager of FASHION Magazine. She also gives her time to causes like Fashion Cares, Buy Design for Windfall and Strut for a Cure. It was really interesting to hear about the business and numbers behind a fashion magazine!