Fashion & Retail Entrepreneurial Business Management Program
About GFBA
The Global Fashion Business Alliance (GFBA),is a fashion and retail business development organization. The GFBA is an outgrowth of The Fashion Business Association of America (FBAA) representing a larger geographic footprint and has created a Virtual Fashion Education program for entrepreneurs, designers, and companies within the international fashion and retail industry.
The GFBA Academy provides programs to designers and entrepreneurs in emerging markets with best practices and guidance in building sustainable businesses as well as offer advanced individual and cohort based training and support focused on scaling, internationalization, and all aspects of brand and company growth.
The GFBA has a strategic partnership and collaboration with the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN). GEN fosters cross platform collaboration among entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, policymakers, and ecosystem builders to scale businesses in over 180 countries.
Fashion Business Management Accelerator Program
The GFBA has launched the Fashion & Retail Entrepreneurial Business Management Program accessible through Flitepath, a digital platform for entrepreneurship acceleration and incubation programs worldwide.
The Fashion & Retail Entrepreneurial Business Management Program provides the latest information, contacts and resources in collaboration with North America’s top consultants in finance and factoring, supply chain management, digital marketing and retail technologies, legal issues for protecting your brand, accounting, taxes and compliance, experiential branding, marketing and merchandising, and building a sustainable brand.
The Fashion & Retail Entrepreneurial Business Management Program is aimed at all professional levels in the industry - from CEOs and directors to managers, showroom sales account executives, entry-level associates and students studying fashion design, marketing and merchandising. Professionals with diverse industry backgrounds (fashion, retail, design, beauty, cosmetics, media, art, gastronomy, etc.) and with high levels of creativity are welcome to join.
Our Live Webinar Series
Our webinar series, started in 2020, is hosted by Beth Sobol, founder and CEO of the GFBA and has featured top fashion business experts from the United States representing respected organizations such as Hilldun Corporation, American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), Columbus Consulting, PM Business Advisors, Prager Metis CPAs, Pilnick & Associates, Reed Smith LLC., and The Barbarian Agency.
Next Upcoming Live Webinar
New Date
Wednesday, May 19, 2021 @ 1 pm ET, 12 noon CT, 10 am PT
Reboot: A Webinar on Approaching Your Bridal Industry Dreams - Motivation, Education and Access to Funding Opportunities
The Fashion Industry has seen a massive disruption in the last 18 months -- given the confluence of climate change, sustainability momentum, consumer consciousness, the alleged mall / retail apocalypse, the rise of the direct to consumer brands and a global pandemic. Creativity, pizzaz and innovation have given way to a reboot and a rethink about supply chains, operational efficiency, and inventory and cash management. If 2020 was the year of interruptions and survival, then 2021 is the beginning of the decade of resilience.
Presented By
Beth Sobol
Founder, Global Fashion Business Alliance
Jane Heflin
Global Bridal Industry Consultant
Myrdith Leon-McCormack
Editorial Director of World Bride Magazine
Live Webinar Schedule
Meet the Fashionistas: A Conversation With...
A Global Fashion Business Alliance (GFBA) on-going LIVE webinar series. Every two weeks, on Wednesdays at 11:00 am ET, we showcase impressive, interesting and inspiring fashion business conversations / stories with those on the front line. The visionaries, the doers, the disruptors, from all facets of the fashion landscape (apparel, footwear, accessories, etc.) from the US and around the world as well as the ancillary industries that support them in technology, sustainability, logistics, public relations, marketing, etc.
Participating Members
Sponsorship Opportunities
GFBA’s virtual programs are designed to help drive the engagement and connections that propel your business to new heights. To learn more about our sponsorship opportunities and reach our global audience.
Industry Updates
GFBA Founder
Beth Sobol
Beth Sobol, founder and CEO of the GFBA is a premier fashion business expert and consultant with a focus on launching the careers of International emerging designers into the American market. Sobol is the founder of the original Miami Fashion Week, one of the top fashion weeks in the world, and developed the platform that gave thousands of international designers their initial launch into the American market. In 2015 she sold the brand to European investors and now focuses on developing educational programming for entrepreneurs in the fashion and retail brand markets.
Reboot: A Webinar on Approaching Your Bridal Industry Dreams - Motivation, Education and Access to Funding Opportunities
Wednesday, May 19, 2021 @ 1 pm ET, 12 noon CT, 10 am PT
Presented By:
Beth Sobol, Founder, Global Fashion Business Alliance
Jane Heflin, Global Bridal Industry Consultant
Myrdith Leon-McCormack, Editorial Director of World Bride Magazine
The Fashion Industry has seen a massive disruption in the last 18 months -- given the confluence of climate change, sustainability momentum, consumer consciousness, the alleged mall / retail apocalypse, the rise of the direct to consumer brands and a global pandemic. Creativity, pizzaz and innovation have given way to a reboot and a rethink about supply chains, operational efficiency, and inventory and cash management. If 2020 was the year of interruptions and survival, then 2021 is the beginning of the decade of resilience.
It's time to do things differently.
The Global Fashion Business Alliance (GFBA), World Bride Magazine (WBM) and Jane Heflin a Bridal Consultant, whose founders have deep experience in the Fashion Industry, with over 60+ years combine, have joined forces to collaborate on a comprehensive program geared to bridal designers and entrepreneurs who are ready to break out, get unstuck and grow. Join us on Wed. May 12th to learn more.
About Beth Sobol
Beth Sobol is the founder of the Global Fashion Business Alliance, an out growth of the Fashion Business Association of America. The GFBA is a fashion business development organization for designers, brands, retailers and entrepreneurs around the world. She is also the creator of the original Miami Fashion Week, one of the largest fashion events in the USA and developed the platform that gave thousands of international designers their initial launch into the American market. MiaFW began in 1999 and after nearly 20 years she sold the brand to European investors. Beth now focuses on the development of educational programming for fashion entrepreneurs, is a sought-after speaker at international fashion events and universities, and is a mentor to young brands vying to scale their business and enter the American market.
About Jane Heflin
Jane Heflin, International Bridal Consultant - Jane Heflin is a veteran in the bridal industry. Her work spans from designing her own children's wear line for Neiman Marcus and Bridal for Jasmine Enterprises, to product management, material procurement, marketing, sales, and multi-unit bridal retail management. In recent years, Jane has focused on B-to-B bridal trade shows. During her tenure as Director of The Knot Couture Show in New York City, and now as the Director of the National Bridal Market Chicago, Ms. Heflin helped grow both of these shows to be the bridal industry's leading trade shows in the North American market. Jane searches for domestic designers and regularly travels abroad in search of the best in cutting edge creativity to attend the show.
Myrdith Leon-McCormack
Myrdith Leon-McCormack, the Editorial Director of World Bride Magazine - The betrothed-or any woman seeking enlightenment on luxury brands and services to complement her quality of life-now has a new source. WBM offers insight into various cultures and available resources around the world. Our goal is to present a kaleidoscope of beauty and information on various brands, products, and services to enhance your exposure to the elegant, luxurious, and diverse world that exists in the bridal industry. Nuptials Around the World. Living, Culture & Beyond.