From model to mogul: Founder of Miami Fashion Week visits FAU
On Tuesday, international supermodel and founder of Miami Fashion Week, Beth Sobol, stopped by Florida Atlantic University’s Executive Education building for a conversation with FAU’s American Marketing Association (AMA) on marketing, entrepreneurship, and building an empire that lasts.
Members of the AMA welcomed Sobol as she dove into her story of going from a model who knew nothing about the fashion industry to building an empire and brand.
“One of my biggest takeaways from Beth’s story was her point about making yourself valuable and learning through experience. I really liked how she talked about learning through osmosis–being in the room, asking questions, watching how things are done, and taking advantage of every opportunity you can,” said Tyler Morris, president of the AMA club.
By 1999, Sobol had been modeling for 20 years and felt it was time to pivot in her career. When she moved back to Florida, her former clients attempted to call Sobol back to the runway. She declined in favor of producing the fashion shows instead. It was there that the idea for a fashion week in Miami took root, the rapport she’d built with her past cliente coming in handy.
“I was asked to do an event in Guayas, Ecuador, which is where I met all of these [Latin American] designers, and everybody wanted to come back to Miami, but nobody knew how,” she said. “Two years later, I launched the first Miami fashion week, brought them all up, and that was all in 1999.”
In the first year of Miami Fashion Week, she hosted 21 designers from 12 Latin American countries, and about 70 international media members attended. Carolina Herrera was a special guest. Her third year garnered over 750 international press. By 2015, her last year of production before she sold MFW, she had garnered $6.2 billion in media impressions.
“I also slept two hours every night,” Sobol said jokingly. While Sobol is a fashion mogul, she is also a marketing connoisseur.
“I was the product that I sold. When you’re modeling, you’re essentially selling yourself,” Sobol said. She thought back to her modeling days, explaining how, while her peers would be chilling and relaxing behind the scenes in between work, Sobol was networking with producers and photographers, soaking up as much knowledge as she could.
Starting her career in modeling at the age of 19, Sobol left with an American Express Gold Card, $1,000, and a ticket back home, just in case modeling didn’t work out. She would spend the next 20 years building a name for herself as an international model.
Now that it has been 10 years since she sold the brand to European investors, Sobol has drawn on all her experience and set her sights on Pegasus Manor, a full‑estate venue she founded and designed for weddings, quinceañeras, and other events. She keeps a lookout for marketing students, such as those in the AMA, to bring onto her marketing and social media teams.
“I think that gave her an advantage now that she became a producer cause she knew how everything worked, as a marketer, that’s definitely something I took away from her career,” said JayAnna Botton, social media chair for the AMA.
Sobol’s advice to marketing students: to nurture your creativity, stay on top of your work, and make sure you have a solid foundation when you step out into the world. Making yourself not only valuable but also flexible is key to sustaining a fulfilling career. Take whatever opportunities and tools are afforded to you.
“This is an ever-changing and rapidly changing industry, that’s why I depend on young smart people like you that come around, that will help build business as you build your careers,” Sobol said.