Fashion Tech and Sustainability News & Events in NYC | 5.21.18 - 6.13.18 | BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY — Applications in Fashion Industry

Dear Friend,

As many of us today, I am really intrigued by the way blockchain technology is going to transform multiple industries, including fashion, so I wrote an article series highlighting my vision of how exactly this is going to happen for the industry to become all the good things we hope it to be: transparent, authentic, ethical, sustainable, circular, personalized and with an excellent and engaging consumer experience on top of it all. In this article series, I’m diving deep into the ways blockchain can be applied in fashion by looking at each aspect of the product lifecycle. In the first part, I've focused on pre-consumer stages (when the product hasn’t reached the consumer yet): transparent production and supply chain, design & product authenticity, and efficient distribution and smart inventory control. Read the first part of this heavy-on-tech series here. In the second part of this series, I’m going to explore the ways blockchain can be applied in retail innovation, customer feedback, and circularity.

Out upcoming  Balanced Fashion event will take place on May 31 in partnership with DWT Fashion Law firm and will be focused on The Future of Authentication Technology and Anti-Counterfeiting - we are going to have a dynamic conversation with industry leaders about what brands can do to protect their products from fakes. Blockchain technology is one of the solutions out there. Attend this event to out why this topic is so crucial at this time and how to contribute to a more honest industry. Panelists are Derek Morales, Brand Protection Counsel, Ralph Laure, Vidyuth Srinivasan - Co-Founder, CEO, Entrupy (Authentication technology), and Charles Beckwith, Producer and Host, American Fashion Podcast. Get your discounted for a limited-time tickets here! 

News Digest:

Sustainability

  • Why We Need To Talk About Transparency In Fashion - Vogue
  • New Technologies Hold the Key to More Sustainable Fashion Practices - WWD
  • Copenhagen Fashion Summit: Sustainability has a leadership problem, not a technology one - The Current Daily
  • Sustainability in fashion is growing, but ‘systemic’ change a ways off - WWD
  • Burberry, Gap, H&M join circular fashion initiative - Ecotextile News
  •  New Tech Platform Makes Sustainability A ‘Common Objective’ for Fashion Companies - Sustainable Brands
  • Sustainable Fashion Influencers Predicting The Future Of Fashion - WT VOX
  • 9 Reasons Why Sustainable, Eco and Ethical Fashion Businesses Close and Finish Up (AKA Fail) - Eco Warrior Princess

Technology/Business

  • The Age Of Algorithmic Fashion Styles And AI Fashion - WTVOX
  • What Impact Will the Robot Revolution Have on the Fashion Industry - Fashionista
  • Say yes to the tech: the start-ups changing the way you buy your wedding dress - Evening Standard
  • ‘The Spotify of stuff’: eBay debuts personalized product pages to increase discovery - Glossy
  • How Tech Is Remaking Fashion in Its Image - The New Republic
  • M.Gemi is updating the drop model with Instagram Live - Glossy
  • How product customization is driving a new business strategy at Tapestry - Glossy
  • Google’s Style Match Feature Applies Image Recognition to Finding Products - Racked
  • A Startup Has Invented an Augmented Reality App for Trying on Shoes - Quartz 
  • The $1 Billion Company That Is Building AI Wearables for Blind People - Fast Company Design
  • China’s Live-Streaming Fashion Boom Woos Gen-Z Buyers - South China Morning Post

Events


Monday, May 21st

6:30pm Sustainable Fashion Committee Meeting at LIM College - May

Join the NYC Fair Trade Coalition May 21st for an evening of planning, organizing, and collaboration. Learn how to get involved and push the sustainable fashion movement forward! Price: $5 Location: Lim College 216 E 45th St

Tuesday, May 22nd

7:00pm - 9:00pm Utopia / Dystopia: Fashion, Gender, and the Feline Divine

The series Utopia / Dystopia, co-presented with Morbid Anatomy, continues with an exploration of the history of leopard print and its evolution as one of the most popular prints in western fashion. Author Jo Weldon will discuss its impact on womenswear and how the lineage of divinity, royalty, and warriors has influenced the style of contemporary divas, a new perspective on a much-misunderstood domestic goddess. Price: Free Location: Hauser & Wirth Publishers Bookshop, 548 West 22nd Street

6:00 - 9:00pm Innovations + Business Models for Social Enterprise (workshop/panel/networking)

Join us for a unique academic-business partnership to explore innovative business models of social entrepreneurship within a new co-learning forum. The event is designed for socially minded actors from diverse sectors to come together and develop new ideas and skills. Price: $23.16 Location: The Centre for Social Innovation, 601 W 26th St, #325

Wesnesday, May 23rd

5:45pm - 9:00pm Design Driven NYC

NYC's top monthly event focused on design with TED-style presentations. Price: Free Location: BuzzFeed 111 East 18th Street

6:30pm – 8:30pm Tech and... Wellness.

Wellness has become more and more of a priority in people's lives. With this changing behavior, the wellness industry has adapted to offer innovative solutions to meet consumer demand. From personalized guided workouts, to meditation and sleep training, to access to thousands of fitness studios, the technology is constantly evolving. Join us at GA HQ, as we host a panel of representatives from Equinox, LifeBEAM and ClassPass Live. They will discuss how they’ve been impacted by the rise of tech, how they've adapted and innovated, and what they expect to see in the future. Price: Free Location: General Assembly, 902 Broadway, 4th Floor

6:00pm – 8:00pm, EXPRESS Presents: How to Become an Unconventional Entrepreneur with Jeff Laub

Join EXPRESS at 51st and Madison for an instructive and inspirational conversation with the founder of Blind Barber, Jeff Laub, on starting a unique business from scratch. Price: Free Location: 477 Madison Ave

7:30pm – 9:00pm, Fashion Addicts Anonymous

This community-led forum examines the negative effects of the fashion industry and explores how to create change. It dives into personal experiences from a diverse group of industry members and considers conversation crucial to promoting sustainability. Price: Free ($10 Suggested Donation) Location: Zero Waste Daniel, 369 Hooper Street

Thursday, May 24th

4:00pm – 5:00pm, Tour the Brooklyn Fashion + Design Accelerator

Take a tour of the space and learn more about what the BF+DA does and the services they have to offer. See the Production Lab, Sustainable Strategies Lab, Technology Lab, and sneak a peek at the talented Fellows working at the BF+DA. Price: Free (Please RSVP) Location: 630 Flushing Ave, Suite 704

5:30 - 8:30pm #TNYSCM06: Convergence Across the New Apparel Supply Chain

The global apparel supply chain is not only rapidly evolving, but also converging, creating blurred lines between raw materials, design, manufacturing & point of sale. Our 6th meetup will feature a showcase of emerging companies innovating across this ecosystem, followed by a panel of industry executives talking about the innovations they are most excited about, how they are integrating them into their current supply chain, and how we can bridge the vast divide between emerging fashion tech and real-world integration at scale. Showcase start ups include: Trendalytics, Swebo, Bolt Threads, Loomia, Fuse Inventory. Price: Free Location: SAP America, 10 Hudson Yards, 48th Floor

6:30 - 8:30pm Tech & Wellness

Wellness has become more and more of a priority in people's lives. With this changing behavior, the wellness industry has adapted to offer innovative solutions to meet consumer demand. Join a panel of representatives from Equinox, LifeBEAM and ClassPass Live. They will discuss how they’ve been impacted by the rise of tech, how they've adapted and innovated, and what they expect to see in the future. Price: Free Location: General Assembly, 902 Broadway, 4th Floor

Sunday, May 27th

3:30pm – 5:30pm, Wolf & Badger Presents: Sustainability Sunday

Wolf & Badger boutiques showcase independent brands. The Sustainability Sunday series is an opportunity to discuss sustainability in fashion, design, and beauty with some of these brands. Price: Free Location: 95 Grand Street

Tuesday, May 29th

8:30pm - 9:30pm Scaling Your Business Through Strategic Processes

During this event, you’ll hear how successful independent business owners created a defined roadmap and scalable process to reach their business goals. They’ll also share some real and repeatable tactics for growing your bottom line. Price: Free Location: 95 Grand Street

Wednesday, May 30th

6:30pm - 9:00pm Customer Acquisition: Advertising Strategies & Tactics for Startups

Digital ads are everywhere. On our favorite blogs, videos, and social networks, on our computers or our smartphones. Digital advertising has been an important growth tactic for many startups, given that their customers are always on a digital channel. Join us for a discussion on various digital advertising & customer acquisition topics. Price: $23 Location: Alley Chelsea, 119 West 24th Street

Thursday, May 31st

6:30pm - 9:00pm Balanced Fashion x DWT Panel Event: The Future of Authentication Technology and Anti-Counterfeiting

At my next Balanced Fashion event, we will have industry experts at the forefront of enforcement discussing the evolution of counterfeiting, including, the Darknet, Artificial Intelligence authentication technologies, the benefits and risks of blockchain technology and, how some brands are moving toward creating their own counterfeits to condition the consumer. Panelists: Derek Morales, Brand Protection Counsel, Ralph Laure, Vidyuth Srinivasan - Co-Founder, CEO, Entrupy (Authentication technology), Charles Beckwith, Producer and Host, American Fashion Podcast. Price: $15 Location: Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, 1251 6th Avenue, 21st Floor

Saturday, June 2nd

10:00am - 4:00pm Fashion & Justice

Fashion forms part of a society’s rich tapestry and can serve as an entry point into contemplating how marginalized and racialized communities understand themselves and their place in the world. Fashion & Justice is a daylong workshop that examines the role of fashion in challenging inequality through sartorial ingenuity. This iteration, which will be held at The Phluid Project, will focus on the way in which sexual and gender identities are expressed and challenged through fashion. Price: $32 Location: The Phluid Project 684 Broadway

Thursday, June 7th

9:00am New York Fashion Tech Lab: Tech Runway Demo Day 2018

NYFTL will present companies from its latest cohort: Cherry Pick Ai, Eon, Ever Thread, Fashwell, Finmeashoe, Headliner Labs, Linc, Narrativ, Shimmy.  By Invitation Only. Please email info@nyftlab.com to request an invitation.  Price: FreeLocation: TBD

Wednesday, June 13th

6:30 - 8:30pm Save the date for the next Balanced Fashion Event! 

To shake things up, next month's event is going to be more than just about fashion, tech and sustainability. It will be about personal branding development and importance of self-development and inner-exploration, from perspectives of a fashion technologist and a sustainable fashion advocate. Let's just say, this is a must go if you'd like to discover 3 simple steps to completely transform your life. Price: $10, email me for an early-bird free ticket! Location: Knotel, 666 Broadway (Near Bond Street)

Cool Finds:

Stay Inspired,

Nataliya

RSVP for our next Balanced Fashion event