Elissa Bloom is the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Fashion Incubator at Macy’s Center City. She has been with the organization since 2011 and launched the successful initiative which is now used as an international model for fashion incubation.
With over 20 years of both corporate and entrepreneurial experience, Elissa brings a unique and fresh understanding to the world of fashion and business. She has worked corporately for Bloomingdales and Anthropologie and has taught fashion entrepreneurship courses at Drexel University, Moore College of Art and Design, and Jefferson University. She launched a successful accessories brand, Elissa Bloom New York, which she oversaw for eight years. While managing all aspects of her company including design, sourcing, manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution, Elissa learned what it takes to run a successful fashion company. She has a strong understanding of both the creative and commercial side of business and is committed to sharing her experience with others to help them achieve success in the business world.
In 2018 Elissa was awarded the Philadelphia Business Journal Woman of Distinction. In 2017 she was nominated as the Philadelphia Ambassador of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, a global event empowering female entrepreneurship that is celebrated in 144 countries with the United Nations. She organized and led Philadelphia’s first and second annual event honoring female entrepreneurs in the region. In 2016 she was honored with the Trailblazer Award by Philly Fashion Week.
Elissa is a highly sought after international speaker on fashion incubation and the business of fashion:
2019 US Embassy Trip to Italy - In conjunction with International Women’s Day, Elissa was invited by the US Embassy to teach a series of workshops on the business of fashion to the fashion communities of Rome, Palermo and Milan.
• 2018 Fashion and Technology Panel Speaker – Estonia Creative Conference hosted by Incubator Tallinn
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2017 Keynote: Fashion Tech Event Moscow – Elissa was invited by the US Embassy to be the keynote at their annual Fashion Tech event and teach business boot camps to the fashion sectors of Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Philadelphia Ambassador, Women’s Entrepreneurship Day (WED) – Elissa organized and led Philadelphia’s 1st and 2nd Entrepreneurship Day event. www.wedphiladelphia,wordpress.com and www.womenseday.org
• 2017 International Business Innovation Association: featured speaker on the Creative Economy
2016 The Enterprise of Culture, ‘Harnessing Uncertainty’ Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland 2016 JWRP Fashion Industry Trip to Israel
2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit, Nairobi, Kenya with President Obama in attendance. Elissa was invited by the White House to speak on two panels: Specialty Incubators and the Creative Economy.
• 2015 PA Conference for Women: featured speaker on Entrepreneurship.
• 2014, Elissa was invited to teach her customized Business Boot Camps to the fashion communities of
the Baltic States and Finland via two US State Dept. grants.
2014 Estonian Design Festival: featured speaker on ‘Design Mistakes’
2013 International Fashion Incubator Conference, Toronto, Canada. Featured speaker on the ‘Top Five Sales Trends for Emerging Designers’.
2014, 2015 National Business Incubator Association International Conferences in New Orleans, LA and Denver, CO. Featured speaker on Fashion Incubation.
