Today, we’d like to introduce you to Moriah Robinson.
Hi Moriah, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I grew up on a 30-acre tree farm in Oregon. I spent my childhood years primarily in the outdoors: swimming, biking, fishing, horseback riding, fruit picking, etc. When I wasn’t outside, I loved to read, write, and bake. There’s a lot of maintenance that comes with owning a farm, so as a kid, I had several daily responsibilities and chores, which later in life led me to develop a very solid work ethic.
In my teenage and young adult years, I became passionate about fashion, specifically the history of it. My mother was an avid “thrifter,” and we’d spend nearly every weekend following a ritual of getting coffee out and hopping from one thrift shop to another. I was fascinated by the generations of fashion – how it looked and how things changed and evolved over time.
I would find incredible pieces from the 50s, 60s, 70s, or 80s at the local Salvation Army or Goodwill. I started to pay attention to design, fit, and style. When I found a piece I loved, I often had to make alterations, so I taught myself how to alter garments and sew. Still, to this day, I love the feeling I get when I walk into a thrift store. It feels like a treasure hunt and the beginning of a blank canvas at the same time.
After high school, I moved to Los Angeles to attend the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. As soon as I entered college, I was eager to start working. Through the school’s network, I started volunteering at big fashion shows and events in LA. After a couple of months of volunteering, I landed a job at Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills as an assistant in the Designer Salon. I worked my way up within the company, jumping from assistant to a sales position, and eventually became one of the top 5 producers in my department.
I was making fantastic money for a 20-year-old, but ultimately what was so crucial about being a high performer was that I used my sales performance to leverage myself into the Public Relations department, which is where I really wanted to be.
Working in the publicity department at Saks was a dream job. I worked alongside the PR Director on all major fashion shows and events with big-name designers like CHANEL, Dolce & Gabbana, Donna Karan, Akris, Carolina Herrara, and Oscar de la Renta, among so many others. It was a pivotal career move as I had knowingly taken a significant pay cut from my work in sales to work in the publicity department.
Following my time with Saks Fifth Avenue, I worked primarily in public relations and events in Los Angeles spending my days doing everything from drafting social media content for celebrities to coordinating brand placements on famous red carpets and working backstage at prestigious designer fashion shows. I eventually landed at the California Market Center, the largest wholesale fashion marketplace on the West Coast, and led their fashion market and event strategy as the Director of Events.
I worked closely with a small collective that set the dates for the LA Fashion Market calendar and coordinated all LA Market Weeks. Over six years, I’ve built a large network with a foothold in the Los Angeles fashion landscape and produced more trade shows than I can count.
The launch of The Textile Show was a natural progression from my tenure and expertise in the fashion industry. The Textile Show is a highly curated, boutique-style show presented in growing US markets. We feature textile mills, trims & accessories, print design studios, trend & creative services, packaging, and manufacturing services & consultants. We’re the ideal show for designers, fashion brands, industry professionals, product development teams, fabric buyers, and press.
Let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
The production of events and trade shows is rarely a smooth road, but that’s what I love about it.
My team and I work hard leading up to each show, aiming for the best production. In live programming, you must factor in contingencies because unknown obstacles will always occur, even with the best planning in place, and the true testament is how you react and recover.
As you know, we’re big fans of The Textile Show. What can you tell our readers who might not be as familiar with the brand?
The Textile Show is a curated, boutique-style show presented in growing US markets. In 2024, we will have a show in Los Angeles, Nashville, and Dallas.
We are known for creating an intimate and inviting environment. We’re not your typical large-scale trade show located in a massive convention center. We focus on bringing qualified buyers into the show and adding value to their experience.
On the exhibitor side, our show features textile mills, trims, accessories, print design studios, trend agencies, packaging, and manufacturing services. Our attendees are primarily designers, fashion brands, industry professionals, product development teams, fabric buyers, and the press.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love to try new restaurants and cafes, and one thing Los Angeles offers in spades is diverse food. You can go from having amazing French pastries from a French-owned bakery to getting the best sushi in Little Tokyo and beyond. I’m also a sucker for LA staples like the debate between Pinks Hot Dogs and Carney’s. My vote is always Carney’s, by the way.
It’s incredibly hard to beat LA’s weather – 70s and beautiful. I also love that people are always “out.” There’s an ongoing joke that no one works in this city because cafes, shops, and fitness centers are always packed. I think there’s some truth to that stereotype, given all the creative industries here that offer alternative schedules, but what I enjoy about seeing people out at all hours of the day is that it promotes an alternative lifestyle outside of what’s considered “the norm,” and who doesn’t like to be unique?
What do I least like about our city? The traffic, of course.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thetextileshow.com
- Instagram: @thetextileshow
Image Credits
The Textile Show
