Textile Insight

T o go from fashion model to CEO of a multi-million dollar tex- tile company is an impressive leap, but Amber Brookman has always been up for a challenge. She's made strides as a woman executive, a business leader, a fabric innovator and an experienced hiker, having summited Mt Rainier twice, all the while carving a path forward for her successful U.S.-based textile converter and finishing company. "You've got to take chances," says Brookman. "I run at life with my arms open wide and I'm not afraid of anything." Brookman's fabric interest began when she joined nylon producer Allied Chemical, now AlliedSignal, in 1975 working as a Fashion Design Coordinator. At the time it was a newly created position in the marketing department of the firm's fiber division, a job that involved covering several high-fash- ion events including the Paris Collections. Brookman quickly moved up to the role of Merchandising Manager – Outdoor and began marketing a new Allied yarn, a 430 denier nylon, to a nascent outdoor commu- nity of startups and adventure enthusiasts. Her responsibilities grew as the outdoor industry started to boom and within a few years Brookman was leading marketing cam- paigns for Mt. Everest Assaults with climbers outfitted with gear that featured performance nylons introduced by Brookman. In 1984 Brookman launched her own division — Amber Brookman Fabrics — at Coated Sales, a small NYC-based con- verter, and Allied customer, which under Brookman's leadership shied from an in- dustrial focus to find solid growth within the outdoor sector. However, a few years later, when Coated Sales began experiencing financial difficulties, Brookman, the newly- appointed COO, was tasked with taking the company through, and out of, bankruptcy. When the company was sold, the former assets of Coated Sales became Brookwood Companies, where she served as president and CEO. In the following 30+ years, Brookman managed the company's five marketing di- vision groups, and manufacturing groups as a leading supplier of nylon products to the United States military and a major textile force in the outdoor sector. Not bad for someone who prior to her career in textiles thought nylon came from sheep! Here, a few takeaways from a recent in-per- son conversation with Brookman: Early Days: "I remember when I met the people in the outdoor industry. It was my first assignment selling yarn for the backpack market to Jansport, WIlderness Experience and others. ese were not businessmen in suits working in structured, hierarchical companies. ey were an entrepreneur- ial-spirited bunch who cared about what they were doing and the people doing it. I found people like me and I loved them. I also fell in love with the role of the converter, which like outdoor had an entrepreneurial culture, based on a casual first-name type approach to business, that was very different from the culture of the mills at that time. e outdoor community and converter business were well suited to each other." Fashion Focus: "My fashion background helped my success in textiles by seeing a wider perspective. I could envision new ideas that I had about 'outdoor fashion,' which nobody was doing 40 years ago. I always saw outdoor as a lifestyle, with parkas worn as streetwear and fleece vests as everyday wear. I would do presentations that showed looks from Paris collections and talked about color and trends and outdoor brands were very receptive to it. I was doing trend reports on a regular basis as early as 1985. I believe that now outdoor has to look at fashion to engage with today's younger consumers — like what snowboard did for ski." Made In America: "Military, which accounts for the majority of Brookwood business, was built little by little. I saw the writing on the wall when the U.S. textile industry began moving offshore. My strategy was to stay, strive and ultimately thrive domestically. We capitalized on industry liquidation, replacing key equipment along with implementing state of the art technology, hired talented people, focused on fabric development and continued growth. Military helped put Brookwood on the map financially. Aer outdoor, if you asked me my favorite market, it would be military." en & Now: "Right now there are dynamics in motion that are creating change. Outdoor has stayed in its lane, products are techni- cally different, but stylistically the same. A parka is a parka. You can't innovate in iso- lation; designers working independently is a big loss. We need to assemble. Innovation needs creative collaboration and commu- nity. Outdoor has to look at what fashion is doing, in terms of new looks, but not what it's doing in terms of disposable clothing. I call it garbage bag clothing. We need an infrastructure to meet this new system of sustainability. e whole chain of distribution has to be repurposed. If we really believe in sustainability and the environment and the outdoor industry position in it, then we need a structure where everyone can participate without costing a fortune. I think OR should be reinvented with the idea that the small guy matters. at was the strength and the beauty of it in the beginning. Now we need for people to feel they want to be part of this sustainability movement that brings together the new innovators. Today is about keeping a healthy attitude about the world and at the same time growing the business. It's a matter of vision. is isn't easy, if it were easy somebody would have done it!" n Come together with the outdoor community to find the newest trends and products, get new ideas and inspiration, and build new partnerships. REGISTER TODAY! www.outdoorretailer.com dicove, lean, connect J U N E 1 9 - 2 1 , 2 0 2 3 | S A L T P A L A C E C O N V E N T I O N C E N T E R | S A L T L A K E C I T Y , U T A H

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