Fashion is fun. Great fun for many. But above all it is one of the most competitive industries. It is also one of the industries that thrives on collaboration. In fact, given endless fast paced trend changes and the fickle nature of consumer interests, it would be almost impossible for the fashion industry to maintain its relevance without collaboration. In this week’s selection of recommended reading, ROADMENDER includes an article about timeless classic footwear, Converse All Stars canvas shoes. The article looks at some of the collaborations that helped All Stars stay relevant and competitive over the years. It seems that fashion industry leaders have known for a long time that, in the words of Distinguished Scholar at Harvard Law School Center Heidi K. Gardner , “true rainmakers don’t need to be convinced to collaborate”.

Sincere thanks to those who have suggested articles for this edition of Roadmender Recommends.

Coworking Is Old News: Why You Should Look At Collaboration Spaces

Open desk space at LMHQ

Coworking has been one of the fastest-growing entrepreneurial trends of the last decade. In 2005, there were just a handful of coworking spaces in America. Now, there are over 2,000. New York City alone has more than 50. Coworking’s quick spike in popularity means a new coworking space will have less innovative impact than it might have 10 years ago. And it means coworking spaces have saturated the startup culture so completely that they’ve caught the attention of larger companies…READ ON

The power of collaboration: 6 success factors for private-NGO partnerships

Organizations from different sectors are increasingly recognizing the potential of greater cooperation to achieve positive change and improve the way that individual organizations can approach their work. This new outlook finds nongovernmental organizations identifying opportunities to work with private sector companies and, in turn, companies are seeing the benefits of greater engagement with civil society and NGOs to build a more strategic approach to development…READ ON

Converse in 25 Collaborations

legends built on collaboration

In 1921, American basketball player Chuck Taylor became a salesman, then ambassador for Converse, adding his name to the iconic sneakers launched in 1917 so they became the Chuck Taylor All Stars. The classic canvas sneakers have been worn by generations, frequently reworked and revisited over the years. From Missoni to Maison Margiela, and Comme des Garçons to colette, even The Simpsons, look back at 25 memorable collaborations between the sportswear label and fashion houses, cultural icons and international artists…READ ON

Harvard Study Lays Out Keys to Collaboration Among Lawyers

True rainmakers don’t need to be convinced to collaborate.

True rainmakers don’t need to be convinced to collaborate: referring work to colleagues and developing a loyal team capable of extraordinary client service is the only way they can build an enormous portfolio. But it’s no surprise: the bigger the account, the more stressful leading it becomes. The more sophisticated the client, the more likely it is that the advisors with the specialist technical expertise needed to address their complex issues are distributed throughout the firm and possibly around the globe…READ ON

Toyota headquarters designed to drive innovation, collaboration, CEO says (Video)

Toyota North America unveiled architectural renderings of its new Plano headquarters today — a 100-acre campus with glass buildings and a plaza that will accommodate 4,000 employees and consolidate divisions now spread across sites in California, Kentucky and New York…READ ON

Parking app Divvy eschews disruption in favor of collaboration

Divvy began life in Sydney, Australia back in 2011 as a way for people to lease their unused car parking space through the internet. Its business is essentially connecting users with vacant car parking slots in their local area and exacting a small commission in return for the referral…READ ON