Dear Friend,
This month I am excited to announce the launch of my consulting website, Balanced Fashion. I have worked in the fashion industry for over a decade, and not many people know that I've designed my own first (and last so far) collection when I was 15-16, launched my own e-commerce when I was 18 and started working with international brands as a sales & pr rep when I was 20. Since then I have worked at several large brands, like Vince and Marc Jacobs, retailers, like Kirna Zabete and Moda Operandi & fashion tech startups, such as Tinker Tailor and SPRING. While working full time over these years, I have consulted a number of fashion brands and tech startups as I applied my experience and knowledge of the industry and now finally claiming this work as my full-time practice. At Balanced Fashion, myself and a network of industry experts I collaborate with, are set to provide strategic advice on business, technology development and partnerships for fashion brands and tech startups. Our services include assessment & innovation strategy, b2b sales, operations & projects implementation, sustainability planning & development. So if you have any leads to tech startups that are looking for business advice and technology implementations and to brands that are set to become sustainable - please do send them my way. I am looking forward to further expanding my network of sustainable brands and innovative technology solutions to help make this industry better together!
As a reminder, tomorrow, on Wednesday, January 18th I'm hosting the first Balanced Fashion Event of 2018, featuring the panel on Conscious Consumption. We're going to hear from an amazing panel of influencers, retailers, and designers in the sustainable fashion spaceL: Kate Mcgregor, Founder of Kaight, Britt Bergmeister, Model and Founder of ODM/ODC, Jasmine Aarons, Founder of VOZ, and Priscilla Debar, Founder of FAUBOURG. Hope to see you there, please register here if you are coming - I've set last minute tickets free for my newsletter subscribers!
News Digest:
- Voice is about to fix our love-hate relationship with machines - Wired
- Speed-to-market: How luxury brands are picking up the pace of production cycles - Glossy
- Amazon patents a mirror that dresses you in virtual clothes - The Verge
- For fashion brands, 2018 will be the year of the ‘influencer roster’ - Glossy
- Try-at-home gets a tech update with sensor suits - Glossy
Sustainability
- Inside the on-demand designer production process that could replace see-now-buy-now - Glossy
- V&A exhibition demonstrates how fashion and nature influence one another - The National
- The world’s largest clothing maker isn’t betting on automation replacing cheap human labor - Quarz
- Key sustainable textile innovations set to transform the industry in 2018 - FashionUnited
- Consumers’ Expectations Of Sustainable Fashion Brands - WT Vox
- Dame Ellen MacArthur on Building Momentum for Sustainability in Fashion - Business of Fashion
- Why you need take sustainable fashion seriously in 2018 - Vogue India
- Target, Zara, and others have agreed to map their Chinese factories’ pollution in real time - Quarz
Events:
Tuesday, January 16th
6:00pm Retail X Series - B2B Seed Fundraising from Angels
Join us to learn how to target angels for a B2B seed financing. How do I tailor my pitch to angels? What should I have ready before I begin the process? What questions will I get asked? How do I target angels that focus on B2B in this space? What about angel groups? Guest Speakers: Lockie Andrews, Sector Lead Fashion Tech, HBS Alumni Angels NY, Barbara Raho, Managing Director, Golden Seeds Price: $20 Location: Davis & Gilbert, 1740 Broadway
6:00pm XRC Labs Cohort 5 Accelerator Launch
We are excited to unveil our new dynamic group of startups innovating the retail and consumer goods space. Price: Free Location: Parsons School of Design, Theresa Lang Student Center, 55 W 13th St, New York
6:30pm Women In Tech - Simplifying Life Through Tech
With Rachel Drori (Founder, Daily Harvest), Irina Krechmer (VP Engg, XO Group), Yvette Pasqua (CTO, Meetup), Diane Brady (Founder, dBomnimedia). Price: $36 Location: XO Group, 195 Broadway, 25th Fl
6:30pm Women In Tech - Simplifying Life Through Tech
With Rachel Drori (Founder, Daily Harvest), Irina Krechmer (VP Engg, XO Group), Yvette Pasqua (CTO, Meetup), Diane Brady (Founder, dBomnimedia). Price: $36 Location: XO Group, 195 Broadway, 25th Fl
Wednesday, January 17th
6:30 - 8:30pm Balanced Fashion Panel: The Future of Conscious Fashion Consumption
First Balanced Fashion Event of 2018 kicks off with the panel on the most basic and essential topic, more relevant today than ever before: Conscious Consumption. We're going to hear from an amazing panel of influencers, retailers, and designers in the sustainable fashion space. Price: $10 Location: Knotel,
7:00pm The Future Of Creativity - Will Art Become Automated?
With Douglas Eck (Sr Research Scientist, Google), Helene Alonso (Dir. Digital Experiences, American Museum of Natural History), Steven Masur (Partner, MG+), Grace Cho (Founder/CEO, Orangenius). Price: Free Location: National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South
Thursday, January 18th
5:00pm Pitch Contest & Happy Hour
Demos by Webjets, Mastakey, Alloka, Urbanavtic, Cryptozpay, Magna Moments, Rentarace, Bubuka, Periodix, YayFon, Scorista, Botscape, Stringers Hub, Sky Guru, Mishka, Protectiq, Mirowtech, Tubus, PeerClick, Opensea. Price: Free Location: Starta Accelerator, 220 E 23rd St, #500
Friday, January 19th
4:00pm Hustle Summit
Hustle Summit connects our FindSpark members digitally and in-person to awesome companies, the coolest industry professionals, and future life-long friends. Price: $99 Location: Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Thursday
Tuesday, January 23rd
6:30pm Building A Business to Benefit Us
A panel on work designed to solve challenges of humankind and keep us moving in a positive direction. Learn how these entrepreneurs design their business to incorporate beneficial practices like reducing waste, sourcing sustainably, and treating humans with the respect and dignity we all deserve. Price: $7-$15 Location: Primary 26 Broadway 8th Floor
Wednesday, January 24th
6:30pm Culture Of: Sneakers
Culture Of is an event series for strategists and creatives that explores emerging sub cultures, internet trends and consumer behaviors, co-hosted with thought-leaders. This month, we are taking a look at sneaker culture. From waiting overnight for sneaker drops to fueling a secondary market that's worth over $1B, sneakers have evolved from a sports shoe to a cultural phenomenon. Price: $20 Location: The New Work Project, 97 North 10th Street 2A
Saturday, January 27th
You're invited to mimosas & conversation with Artsy CTO Daniel Doubrovkine and publisher / entrepreneur Alexandra Fairweather. Members will enjoy a curated tour of world-renowned gallery Cheim & Read. Price: Free Location: Cheim & Read Gallery 547 W 25th St
Tuesday, January 30th
7:00pm Sustainable Fashion Club of NYC: Meet, Greet and Mingle @ The Williamsburg Hotel
We are kicking off 2018 with the first official Meet & Greet Networking Event for the Sustainable Fashion Club of NYC. Come, mingle and meet other professionals and enthusiasts of sustainable fashion. See what's going on, find out cool projects people are working on, etc. Price: Free Location: The Williamsburg Hotel 96 Wythe Avenue
Thursday, February 1st
6:30pm Future of Work
The future of work is in innovation and bold action. What isn't given enough recognition, is that both innovation and bold action reside in the area of intuition. Our intuition will not only constantly inspire us but it will leave us with the knowledge of what to do next. Price: Free Location: General Assembly, 902 Broadway, 4th Fl
Cool Finds:
- Ore - a modern jewelry brand that uses technology to link wearers of its jewelry to the movement of the stars and the migration of endangered species: A ring lights up when its wearer’s geographic coordinates align with the coordinates of the meteor it tracks.
- Sustainable Leather Alternatives For Fashion Industry - WT Vox
- KiraKira - Learn to design, 3D model & create your own jewelry
Stay Inspired,
Nataliya