Sep 12, 2017
Dear Friend,
Happy Fashion Weeks Season! Each year I’m noticing more and more that fashion weeks are becoming no longer relevant for our industry, and to me personally, any runway show look like a joke more than anything. Extremely expensive to produce, clothing is not visible so well, buyers don’t really attend them, press only looks for the true innovation or established brands/advertisers and, in addition, who cares about the next season when the current one is still arriving at the stores… Ok, Instagram influencers? There are much cheaper and effective ways of getting them. Read this Fast Company article for a comprehensive pros and cons overview of fashion week and why some brands no longer need it and some brands still think it’s bread-making for them.
Continuing my articles series overviewing the business of fashion tech. Focusing on B2B companies or solutions, which help other businesses grow, make them more efficient and smart. They are usually even more innovative and technologically advanced start ups that truly build something that changes the industry at its core. I’m a strong believer that some of the B2B companies mentioned below will play a crucial role in changing the way the industry will operate in years ahead. Read the full article here.
Finally, don’t forget to RSVP for my own fashion tech event on Wednesday, Sept. 20th, The Future of On-Demand Fashion featuring an awesome guest speaker, Veronika Harbick of Thursday Finest. Only a few spots left!
News Digest:
- Business of Fashion 500 2017 Revealed — Business of Fashion
- A new t-shirt sewing robot can make as many shirts per hour as 17 factory workers — Quarz
- What’s the best way to approach artificial intelligence technology? — Decoded Fashion
- Is Fashion Week Irrelevant? Rebecca Minkoff And Anna Sui Weigh In — Fast Company
- Leandra Medine: Fashion Houses Need “Generation Z Mentors” — Refinery29
- Fashion forward: How Rebecca Minkoff uses technology to drive triple-digit sales growth — CNBC
- Why This Fashion Tech Company Pivoted From Brand Collaborations To Vibrating Yoga Pants — Forbes
- How Fashion’s Most Talked-About Start-Ups Are Actually Performing — Business of Fashion
- Data From Your Clothing Could Soon Earn You Digital Currency Thanks To This Blockchain Integration — Fashion and Mash
- It’s Time to Upend Tradition: Fashion Week Does Not Make Sense for Many Brands — The Fashion Law
- In a Zara world, who orders custom clothing? — Racked
- H&M’s Arket encourages transparent shopping on its new e-commerce site — WGSN
Events
Tuesday, September 12th
5:00pm NY Fashion Week Presents — The Future Of Fashion
Hang w/ top fashion startups, influencers, accelerators, & investors. Free drinks + swag on NYC’s best rooftop. Price: $99 Location: The Attic Rooftop, 251 W 48th St
5:00pm — 7:00pm NYFW Presents — The Future of Fashion
Presentation by 5 emerging designers and 5 fashion-tech startups. Price: Free Location: The Attic NYC, 251 W 48th
5:00pm — 8:00pm Design Driven
Please join us for a very special Design Driven NYC, with an event themed around one of the most important topics in design: accessibility. Price: Free Location: BuzzFeed 111, East 18th Street
7:00pm — 9:00pm 5to9 x thecnnekt: LIVE Podcast Recording + Network
5to9 is a podcast for the side hustle generation. For those who make their bread in a 9 to 5 job, and fulfill their dream in a 5 to 9 hustle. For the moonlighting culture. For those who want more. We sit down with inspiring people for a conversation on how they fulfill their passions with creative projects, and why they do what they do. Price:$10 Location: Galvanize, 315 Hudson Street
Wednesday, September 13th
6:30–8:30pm Inside of Minds of Brilliant Designers
This inspiring panel event series invites key players in NYC’s design community to offer a rare insider’s look at how they work and create. From branding to user experience to city planning, panelists will discuss how they approach projects from a design point of view, how design thinking methods help with problem-solving, and much more. Plus, they’ll cover opportunities within the field and their vision for the future of the industry. Price: Free Location: General Assembly, 902 Broadway, 4th Floor
Thursday, September 14th
6:00pm — 8:30pm Dolphin Tank NYC: Fashion Tech
A “feedback-driven” pitch session, Springboard Enterprises’ The Dolphin Tank allows entrepreneurs to pitch to investors and industry experts and immediately get actionable insight on their presentation in a friendly, constructive way. Price: Free Location: Davis & Gilbert LLP 1740 Broadway
Saturday, September 16th — Monday, September 18th
9:30am — 6:30pm Capsule Fashion Trade Show
Capsule is the premier gathering of the finest apparel and accessories brands from around the world. More than a tradeshow, the brands who participate in Capsule make up a community that is shaping the future fashion landscape. In our case, different really is better. Price: Free Location: Pier 94, 711 12th Ave
9:00am — 6:00pm Cabana Fashion Trade Show
Cabana is a place where brands and buyers can do business but also reunite and relax. Service is taken into consideration in all aspects of the show whether it’s golf carts between venues, creative food options, or a personalized bracelet instead of a badge as you enter the show — at Cabana it’s all in the details. Price: Free Location: Pier 92, 711 12th Ave
Sunday, September 17th — 20th
1:00pm — 6:00pm FTWNY (Fashion Tech Week NY ) “ Internet of fashion “ Expo
The annual 4 day event, includes workshops, panel discussions, networking mixers, competition and runway show highlights the applications of 3D print designed apparel, accessories and footwear. Augmented/virtual reality, retail tech, robotics, wearables, IoT and sustainability in the fashion ecosystem. It’s an opportunity to connect with the innovative and forward-thinking fashion-tech community. Price: $99 Location: Microsoft Flagship 677 Fifth Avenue 3rd floor
Tuesday, September 19th
6:00pm — 8:00pm Investing in Unmanned Systems
Join us while we take a deep dive in to drones, flying cars and the future of unmanned systems. Price: Free Location: WeWork Grand Central 450 Lexington Ave, 4th Floor
Wednesday, September 20th
6:30pm The Future of On-Demand Fashion with Thursday Finest
My first official event will feature Veronika Harbick of Thursday Finest one of the very first companies succeeding in the on-demand production of clothing & accessories, using 3D knitting technology. We’ll hear about how she built her start up from the ground up, challenges and road blocks of creating a vertically-integrated direct-to-consumer business, which accelerators are worth participating. Nikka will also share her thoughts on the future of on-demand production and sustainability in fashion. Price: $15 Location: SPRING HQ, 360 Park Avenue South (btw 25 & 26 st), 16th Floor
Tuesday, October 3rd
8:00am — 5:00pm Glossy Forum
The Glossy Forum brings the intersection of tech and luxury to life. It’s time to toss out the old playbook — digital has changed the rules. For brands, experimental pop-up stores are replacing 20-year-long leases, as shopping malls switch out shuttered department store spaces in favor of experiences. Direct-to-consumer retailers are cutting ties with the middlemen in favor of a closer connection to their customers and more control over the supply chain. Even owning your own clothing has become optional: A slew of data-driven retail companies want us to upload our closets to the cloud. As innovative startups shake up the landscape and legacy brands struggle to adapt, the retail business as we’ve known it is becoming a thing of the past. Price: $1295 Location: Convene Conference Center, 730 Third Ave
Friday, October 6th
Fashion Tech Forum provides a platform of discovery and inspiration for the leaders of fashion, retail and technology sectors to collaborate to build communities and the disruptive, sustainable brands of the future. FTF provides an environment for the most curious, committed and bold innovators, who are willing to understand the inherent cultural differences between fashion and technology creators so they can create authentic conversations and true collaborations. Price: $650 Location: Culver City, CA
Cool Finds:
- E-Commerce Trends 2017 by LAB
- Interview w/Michelle Bacharach, CEO of FindMine — FIYB Podcast Episode
Stay inspired,
Nataliya
