Dear Friend,
Our last two events of 2017 were so powerful and truly summed up what Balanced Fashion stands for. Lona Alia of StyleLend had an insightful talk about her peer-to-peer clothing rental company as she uncovered her smart business model and talked about the future of shared wardrobes around the world. Lona emphasized the value of affiliates in gaining new customers and adviced to be prepared for the rough journey of getting investment in the fashion tech space. She shared that one of the secrets of her well-being and balance of work and life is daily abundance meditation.
On a Holiday Volunteering event with Balanced Fashion, we visited FABSCRAP warehouse and helped them with sorting fabric scraps which they gathered from various brands for recycling. It was such a unique opportunity to learn about different fabrics, their contents, recyclability and how FABSCRAP helps brands get rid of excess fabrics without compromising neither our environment and nor their brand image. If you're intrigued, sign up for our next volunteering event there this upcoming January!
This is the last Balanced Fashion newsletter of 2017. Wishing you my, dear reader Happy, Mindful and Fulfilling Holidays! Hope you spend these holidays with your loved ones and enjoy every single moment of love, celebration and connection with family, friends and the world! From what I've observed, for many of us, 2017 has been a very challenging, yet rewarding and impactful year of growth. We are all interconnected, so let's bring the positive energy with us to 2018 and help each other start this year with a meaningful purpose. Lots of powerful changes are happening in the world these years... I'm so grateful to share my excitement in the form of news & events in fashion tech with you as together, I'm sure we are making meaningful changes in our industry and on our Planet overall. Let's accelerate these positive changes in 2018! Happy New Year!
News Digest:
- These were 2017’s wildest innovations in clothing technology - HighSnobiety
- This Was the Year Sustainable Fashion Got Sexy - Vogue
- The future of retail in the age of Amazon - Fast Company
- Fashion in the Age of Biofabrication - The Business of Fashion
- Stella McCartney calls for overhaul of 'incredibly wasteful' fashion industry - The Guardian
- Eileen Fisher makes strides towards circularity with ‘tiny factory’ - Business of Fashion
- This natural liquid silk is starting to replace oil-based plastic - Fast Company
- Trending: algae, ocean plastics pave the way for more sustainable consumer products - Sustainable Brands
- Women Are Using Blockchain Tech to Make Sustainable Fashion - International Business Times
- With Aday investment, H&M hopes to ‘leave stigma of fast fashion behind’ - Glossy
- Death of retail? 2017 was all about the empire of luxury e-tail - NY Times
- A new textiles economy: Redesigning fashion’s future - Ellen Macarthur Foundation
- ‘The era of the mega brand is over’: The Modern Citizen guide for the new consumer startup class - Glossy
- What Goes Around Comes Around joins retailers gunning for shoppers’ used luxury goods - Glossy
- Industry insiders’ fashion and retail predictions for 2018 - Glossy
- Online e-commerce giants get personal - Business of Fashion
- BoF and Google partner on artificial intelligence experiment - Business of Fashion
- How Westfield Is Using Next-Gen Tech To Top Amazon In The Physical World - PSFK
- 2017 Year in Review: 8 Fundamental Shifts Reshaping the Consumer Economy - Loose Threads
Events:
Wednesday, December 20th
5:30pm Chasing Consciousness - The Great AI Debate
Artificial intelligence - it seems you either love it, hate it, or don't know what it really means. Will thinking machines save us & enlighten us, or destroy us? Can we control what's happening with developments in machine learning, or are they already controlling us? Join YHouse's guests Simon DeDeo & Erik Hoel as their human minds battle it out, while you, the audience, get the final vote. Price: $15 Location: Caveat, 21 A Clinton St
Thursday, December 21st
7:00pm Be Dauntless Holiday Party
Holiday showcase edition w/ high vibrations, live performances, DJs & Old Blue Last Beer by VICE. Price: Free Location: Tender Trap, 66 Greenpoint Ave, Brooklyn
Wednesday, January 3rd
6:30pm Why Open Source Products Are Important
This talk is geared towards a non-technical audience interested in the magic & wonder of open source. We'll go over what open source is, why it's important, what it means to have an open source product & why it's important to customers. Price: $20 Location: Product School, 1216 Broadway, 2nd Fl
Thursday, January 4th
7:00pm Real/Fake Science
Join us for the fourth edition of this exciting series! All new presenters will confound you with their alternate facts and surprising truths. Gather together in the lovely Caveat, a bar appropriately decorated with artefacts and books from all corners of the academic world, and prepare to be regaled with tales of real and fake science, recounted by knowledgeable presenters hailing from a range of scientific disciplines. Price: $25 Location: Caveat, 21 A Clinton St
Monday, January 8th
5:45pm Design Driven
The best design & product development event in NYC. Price: Free Location: BuzzFeed, 111 E 18th St
Tuesday, January 9th
8:00am - 11am NYC Female Founder Office Hours
With Rebecca Kaden (Union Sq Ventures), Joanne Wilson (Gotham Gal), Karin Klein (Bloomberg Beta), Anu Duggal (Female Founders Fund), Hayley Barna (First Round), Susan Lyne (BBG), Dayna Grayson (NEA), Nimi Katragadda (Box Group), Shana Fisher (Third Kind), Ellie Wheeler (Greycroft), Beth Ferreira (FirstMark). Price: Free, by invite only - apply here. Location: Union Square Ventures, 915 Broadway, 19th Fl
6:30pm Data-Driven Design Thinking At Slack
In this talk, he will sketch the data-driven directions Slack's Search, Learning, & Intelligence team is exploring to build the business operating system of the future, & discuss the design process they use to quickly prototype & ship product features powered by machine intelligence. Price: Free Location: General Assembly, 902 Broadway
7:00pm NY Tech Meetup + Afterparty
Join us for NYC's most famous & longest running monthly tech event! You'll see a fantastic lineup of New York tech companies presenting live demos of their products, followed by an afterparty where you can network with the community & meet our demoers & sponsors. Price: $10 Location: AppNexus, 28 W 23rd St
Wednesday, January 10th
6:00am Daybreaker - New Years Sparkles & Sequins
The New Year is all about fresh starts & blank slates. So tell 2018 to get ready because on January 10th, we're re-creating the ball drop & setting intentions together for ourNew Years Sparkles & Sequins. Since we can't be all together for New Years, we're pouring some kombucha "champagne" & toasting to a brand new year together with a full countdown & everything.Think of your wishes for the New Year beforehand. Then come to the dancefloor, ready to vision them to life. Price: $20 Location: Space Ibiza, 637 W 50th St
Friday, January 12th
9:00am - 12:00pm Balanced Fashion's First Volunteering Event of 2018 - Fabric Scraps Sorting @ FABSCRAP
Sunday, January 14th
7:00am - 6:00pm NRF 2018 - Retail's Big Show
It's retail's most important three-day conference, which brings together the largest gathering of industry executives for discussions of the latest industry trends & gives attendees an unparalleled view into how retail brands of all sizes are transforming themselves for the digital age. The event offers unique networking opportunities & a glimpse of the latest technologies & solutions for retailers. Price: Varies Location: Javits Convention Ctr, 655 W 34th St
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
6:30pm 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
Balanced Quote:
I would advise [emerging fashion designers] to focus on the essential requirements of clothing and get a sense of the zeitgeist without losing sight of the future. Because fashion should also give us strength for the tasks that lie ahead. - Jil Sander
Stay Inspired,
Nataliya