Dear Friend,
Last week Balanced Fashion hosted our first non-fashion related event where Mario Lanzarotti of Awl and Sundry shared his inspiring story of following his heart and creating a purpose-filled work. The points Mario and Dennis Sarkozy of BestMe (the event's facilitator and my dear friend) touched upon are part of the universal wisdom that can be applied to absolutely anyone, working in any industry. It is so important to remember to take control over our lives, connect with like-minded people and be vulnerable yet firm with your own choices, the choices your gut/heart/soul/higher self made, not what your family or society told is good for you. The event included opportunities to apply the acquired knowledge in real time in the form of audience participation and interaction with fellow event attendees and helped people experience the power of vulnerable sharing. This event celebrates the first big step towards my universal goal to help as many people as possible people become their best and truest selves, embrace the magic and the abundance of life and influence an impactful change in the world! You can check out a few clips from this event here.
On June 6th I also quietly hosted Balanced Fashion's first European event in Barcelona, where I lived in the past 2 months. You can check a recording from this event here. I invited Oscar Campoy, co-founder of VELVET BCN, Sylvia Calvo, owner of Sylvia Calvo Moda Sostenible and Alba García Betorz, co-founder of BCOME, a sustainable fashion consulting company to speak about the current state of sustainable fashion in Europe. We spoke about the state of the fashion industry in Spain and beyond and where it's heading, highlighted the pioneers leading the sustainable fashion movement, discussed sustainable/ethical business models, such as customization, and on-demand production. In Europe, the shift towards sustainability is really happening, especially with initiatives from Textiles and Clothing Legislation from European Commission and other sustainable fashion legislations aimed to reduce energy and resources consumption. All these points of discussion were super important, yet we all came to the conclusion that without a consciousness shift and a lifestyle change on a more mass scale, a significant industry transformation won’t be even possible soon enough before we run out of our Planet’s resources. That would include government system supporting small and sustainable businesses by tax exemption and other ways of sponsoring sustainability development. At the moment, money goes wrong ways and too many investors could care less about this topic because it’s not set to bring $$$ reward till until the shift is completed. One thing we absolutely agreed on is once more people become more conscious, their shopping habits will change and they will no longer make blind choices that lead to world’s pollution and suffering garment workers. It’s so interesting how it all comes back to an individual’s self-realization and awakening to the fact that they actually can help change the world to be a better, cleaner, more abundant and happy place if they choose to.
Our next Balanced Fashion event will take place on July 18th and will focus on diversity in sustainable fashion - I feel the conversation about this topic has been long overdue. We are co-hosting this event with Priscilla Debar, the founder of FAUBOURG, my soul sister and a wonderful and powerful human being I truly admire. Please save the date as more details of the event to come! We have a limited amount of free tickets as a super-early bird RSVP - get them here using promo code bfxfaubourgfriend.
News Digest:
Sustainability
- Gucci Commits To Sustainability With Gucci Equilibrium - British Vogue
- A Former Corporate Lawyer Talks Launching a Sustainable Fashion E-Commerce Website, FAUBOURG - Vogue
- The modern way to style sustainable fashion - The Times
- "The fashion system is very much in transition", says State of Fashion curator José Teunissen - Dezeen
- COS introduces recycled fashion line as H&M continues to try to clean up its image - Glossy
- Sustainable Fashion Requires Collaboration, and Consumer Insights Too - WWD
- The Problem With The Term "Ethical Fashion" - Forbes
- Relax. Sustainable Fashion Is Easier Than You Think - Refinery29
- Stella McCartney unveils sustainable shop with 'cleanest air' in London - The Independent
- 20 Fashion Revolutionaries Making Sustainability A Fashion Must-Have Luxury - Forbes
- Circularity: Sustainable Fashion's Holy Grail or Greenwashing? - Business Of Fashion
Business/Technology
- Mary Meeker's Internet Trends Report: New Online Users Are Getting Harder to Find - Fortune
- How Natalie Massenet’s new VC firm sees the future of retail - Pitchbook
- Blockchain can help authenticate ownership of fashion goods - WWD
- Google is actually pretty good at identifying what people are wearing - Racked
- How Depop is catering to Gen Z and millennials to get an edge over resale competitors - Glossy
- How Macy’s is using its store employees and stylists as Instagram influencers to drive sales - Glossy
- Instagram Adds Shopping Tags Directly into Stories - Tech Crunch
- Fashion Got Woke. But at What Cost? - Business of Fashion
- Understanding metrics: What’s really driving retail growth? - Glossy
Events
Tuesday, June 19th
6:00pm - 9:00pm Design For Circularity: Building Materials as Banks
With Amanda Kaminsky (Founder, Building Product Ecosystems), Kasper Jensen (Sr Partner 3XN Architects), Niels Heidtmann (Partner, Komproment, Anne Nicklin (Founder, Reuse Studio). LMHQ Price: Free Location: LMHQ, 150 Broadway, 20th Fl
6:30pm - 8:30pm Tech and... Ecommerce
The omnipresence of technology has rapidly transformed lives over the last decade. Now, it’s rare to go about a regular day without interacting with tech. Staying ahead of the innovation curve and being able to predict the future of tech in various industries has never been more important - both at work and at play. Price: Free Location: General Assembly, 902 Broadway, 4th Floor
Wednesday, June 20th
10:00am - 11:30am Live Webinar! Bespoke Tech- Custom Pattern Tailoring tech: Q&A w/ Seth Verbeek
Join us for a live webinar conversation with Seth Verbeek on digital pattern tailoring software for the bespoke industry. This fit technology is able to streamline the production process through an end-to-end solution for custom bespoke companies. Price: Free Location: Online
11:00am ShareCloth Press Event
ShareCloth is a cloud-based solution that directly connects retail and manufacturing, allowing fashion retail and vertical brands to manufacture the garments after the purchase is made. On June 20th the founder, Sergey Moliavko will present ShareCloth's on-demand solution for retailers and manufacturers and speak on the better way the technologies could offer to the fashion business. Price: Free, by invitation only - RSVP: hi@sharecloth.com Location: TBD
6:00pm - 9:00pm Understanding Crowdfunding Models: For your Seed Financing...and beyond?
Join NYC Startup Academy on Wednesday, June 20. Our guest will be Cheryl Clements, the Founder of PieShell (itself a successfully crowdfunded company) - a crowdfunding platform for food and beverage entrepreneurs. We will hold a fireside chat about Cheryl's experiences with crowdfunding, learn about how PieShell helps prepare companies to run successful crowdfunding campaigns, and offer some insights into how you might use crowdfunding to build and scale your company. Price: Free Location: TBD
6:30pm to 8:30pm Are Subscription Models The Future Of Digital Media?
With Claudius Senst (Head of Consumer Subscriptions, Business Insider), Max Willens (Media Reporter, Digiday), Hamish Mckenzie (Founder, Substack). Price: $5 Location: SeatGeek, 400 Lafayette St, 4th Fl
6:30 - 8:30pm Designing Sustainable Cities of the Future
Swell Investing’s Purpose Meets Profit events began in California as a way to share the stories of local, socially conscious entrepreneurs. For 2018, they’re visiting a few select cities and the next step is NY where we’ll discuss the future of sustainable cities. Hear from designers, architects and entrepreneurs on how our cities will evolve over the next few decades and what that means for business. We’ll cover topics that range from urban farming, smart energy usage, and designing spaces that are human-centered. Price: Free Location: IDEO, 395 Hudson Street, 8th floor
Thursday, June 21st
6:30pm Winning Women - Social Impact Travel
With founder/CEOs Valeria Hinojosa (WaterThruSkin), Jen Morilla (The Social Girl Traveler), Joy Carrera (Part Time Exploradora), Kelley Louise (Impact Travel Alliance), Kimberly Reyna (Work Life Travel), Michal Alter (Visit.org), Nika Hedrick (Earthling Magazine). Price: $50 Location: The Farm SoHo, 447 Broadway, #2nd Fl
Friday, June 22nd
4:30pm - 7:30pm The Library x Helpsy
The Library is a sustainable resource who’s mission is to educate and inspire through events and collaborations. On June 22nd, join us at our sister company Slow Factory, in its store to celebrate our partnership with HELPSY the best way to recycle your clothes. Come loaded with all that you deem unwearable or at the end of its life-cycle. Our goal is to avoid the landfills as much as possible, and together with HELPSY are going to recycle your clothes for you! Join us!! We cannot wait to see you! We will have a panel conversation starting at 6PM that day as well as a few drinks and snacks. Clear out the clutter and join our movement: circularity, sustainability and love for both: our planet and people. Price: Free Location: 188 Woodpoint Rd, Store Front at Slow Factory
Saturday, June 23rd
9:00am Priceline Hackathon For Social Good
Priceline.com is hosting our first ever public hackathon and we would like you to join us to HACK FOR SOCIAL GOOD! Sample Projects: Educational games for children, clean water finder, round up at checkout and donate to a charity of your choice. You will not be limited to working on these projects/organizations. We welcome any ideas related to common good. Price: Free Location: Priceline HQ, 470 Park Ave S, 10th Fl
Sunday, June 30th
6:30pm – 9:30pm Artistically Fashionable
Artistically Fashionable is an event created to showcase fashion designs in a realistic art form. This show will provide a diverse fashion experience that showcases emerging independent designers. Price: $20 Location: Caelum Gallery, 526 West 26th Street, Suite #315
Sunday, July 14th
12:00pm – 5:00pm FOTH - Fashion on The Hudson
Fashion on the Hudson is the Independent Designers Fashion Week Showcase. We feature International Designers and local. We will feature 20 designers from across the Globe. Price: Free Location: Riverbank/State Park, 679 Riverside Drive Cultural Center
Wednesday, July 18th
6:00pm - 8:30pm Balanced Fashion x FAUBOURG: Diversity in Sustainable Fashion
The sustainable fashion movement is reshaping the industry around more ethics, transparency and responsibility. But are brands missing this opportunity to address inclusion and diversity? For our next Balanced Fashion event we’re collaborating with Priscilla Debar, the founder of sustainable fashion e-commerce FAUBOURG to address the lack of representation of minorities in sustainable fashion and come up with ways ethical brands can be more inclusive. Price: $10-$15. Limited amount of complimentary tickets are available with code bfxfaubourgfriend Location: eBay HQ 625 6th Ave
Thursday, July 26th
6:30pm Brunchwork w/ Facebook & Rent The Runway
With Angie Gentile Hellman (SVP Brand, Customer Strategy & Product Mktg @ Rent the Runway) & Soumith Chintala (AI Leader @ Facebook). Price: $40 Location: TBD
Cool Finds:
- Mary Meeker’s 2018 internet trends report: All the slides, plus analysis
- Caraa co-founder Aaron Luo: ‘Retail brands should not raise VC funding’ - Glossy Podcast
Stay Inspired,
Nataliya