FaB, a global community, explores the beauty and fashion tech industry in the Philippines
1st FAB Meeting: Exploring Fashion and Beauty Tech in the Philippines
Last Saturday, July 20, 2019, at Acceler8 by UnionSpace’s Rockwell, the launch of the first FaB meeting in the Philippines took place.
FaB or FaB Fashion and BeautyTech Community is a global movement for mission and data-driven founders in the Fashion, Beauty and Retail Industry, created by Odile Roujol in 2017 (ex- CEO of Lancome). The community is gathering 2500+ beauty and fashion entrepreneurs and investors in 12 local chapters: San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Berlin, London, Tokyo, etc.
The Philippine chapter aims to showcase the local Fashion and Tech Startup Ecosystem and the opportunity to revolutionize the industry by pushing the conversation forward.
The panel discussion last Saturday focused mainly on tech empowerment and how the Philippines very own local startups disrupt the fashion, luxury, and beauty industry as they build their brand.
The panel consisted of veterans and trailblazers in the fashion and beauty industry namely: Rione Palacios, Co-Founder and Chief Curation Officer of StyleGenie Asia; Nina Dizon, CEO, and Founder of Colourette; Ivanna Pacis, Marketing Specialist of LuxeIN; and Jen Gerodias-Diaz, CEO and Founder of SnoeBeauty.
The Founder route is no easy feat. This has made apparent by the experience shared by the Panelist. “It’s a battle of working hard vs working smart — I used to be a slave to my own brand!” expressed Jen Gerodines — Diaz of Snoe Beauty Inc. The silver lining, of course, is the simple wins that you may come across as stated by Rione of StyleGenie. “We have our downs, also with StyleGenie it is not easy but when we find those wins, everything becomes worth it.”
What’s next in the industry? All agreed that tech will become the focal point of any industry — even Beauty and Fashion. Being ahead of the game, one must really utilize where the world is going. Technology is everything and it would be a founder’s loss to not utilize it to fully elevate their business.
The panelist truly has one thing in common- they don’t shy away in integrating technology to disrupt the landscape.
Ivanna of LuxeIN, the first luxury eCommerce mobile app in the Philippines, expressed how the new technology of Entropy is their foundation in the business. Capitalizing on Entropy The World's Only AI Luxury Handbag Authentication Solution. LuxeIN now can fully guarantee the authenticity of their luxury product. Technology that supports their inhouse appraisers gives consumers an assurance of credibility for LuxeIn.
Styling and fashion through technology are made possible. A point that picked into the audience curiosity.
Rione shared how StyleGenie uses technology as a tool to help its customers get styling help through a virtual stylist. Wherein the next stage of the brand is to have a machine learning catalog that is based on the customer’s style profile. Providing a more seamless and fun experience to the customers by recommending products based on their style and preference as well as automating the process of curation. An era of a more personalized and curated style that caters to the customer made possible through technology.
While others integrate technology towards their operation, Nina of Colourette uses the technology as a platform to share and educate the market about their brand’s mission garnering her a cult-like following in the beauty industry.
The mission of clean and sustainable beauty should not only be restricted to beauty and fashion alone but also to be implemented through a consumer’s lifestyle.
I also shared the story of how I reached out to the Founder, Odile Roujol, and how I’m grateful for the opportunity to highlight more Filipino founders in these series of events.
Part of my introduction to FAB, I expressed that this is a community where we can share best practices and new trends. Our joined mission and belief in sustainability, technology, clean fashion, and beauty.
Our goal is to make FAB Philippines, a hub for collaboration and a place where founders and funders can learn from each other.
Alexa Calingo, the event’s panel moderator, said that they all had amazing advice on starting a start-up business and using technology to grow their brand.
Each one of them had something unique to share regarding their own lines of expertise. Alexa had a fabulous time hosting, moderating, and meeting people — — she’s very much looking forward to FaB’s future events, and we are too!
Nina of Colourette left us this nugget of wisdom, “Only invest what you are willing to lose. Getting into business is a risk in itself, winning is not guaranteed. Arm yourself with knowledge and courage because it’s gonna be one hell of a ride.”
Through the FaB event, it is now apparent that the Philippine Fashion and Beauty Tech start-up ecosystem is on the way to whole new other levels. This is the only the start and we will be back more this year for upcoming events.
Our attendees who shared their feedback from the event:
I enjoyed and learned a lot from last Saturday’s event. The passion, wit and talent of every speaker really inspire me to pursue my dream career in the fashion and beauty tech-industry. Hope you continue to organize an event like this. Wish you and the team the best!
I learned that passion and hard work can make you a business. But passion, hard work, talent, and willingness to learn and adaptability to change can make a successful, long term running business/es. — Jesslyn
It was great to hear about the humble beginnings of the speakers! I learned about being consumer-friendly. How their brands were not afraid to take a course that wasn’t a trend yet that’s why their business was a hit. Key points were making sure you are equipped when going to war. So when you are passionate about something, make sure to back it up with education and to learn about your product. — Angela
It was an amazing experience to learn from some of the top CEOs in the fashion and beauty industry. Also, I’m excited to see what’s in store for the future of fashion and beauty technology. This event inspired me to do better on my start-up business. Hope to see you on your next event! — Carmela
it’s pretty amazing to see entrepreneurs in Fashion and Beauty optimizing processes and consumer journey through technology. Getting out of the traditional business structure and entreprenuer need to make sure what they offer to their market are data-driven. The event wasn’t just purely filled with moving words that could inspire young entrepreneurs to step out of their comfort zone. On the other hand, It also highlighted the utilization of technology as businesses build their brand and relationship with their consumers. I never knew that innovation is pushing the industry forward. every brand should embrace technology to improve and automate their service. — Rica
More photos from the event:
