All posts tagged "Decoded Fashion Forum"

Decoded Fashion On The Runway: Fashion Week’s First Tech Forum

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Tech and fashion, together, took over the runway to close out Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, yesterday, at the first forum in the Tents to discuss the future of fashion from a technology standpoint. The Stage was packed with 500 attendees for Decoded Fashion Forum, presented by Conde Nast, with a lineup of top speakers including designer Zac Posen, Candy Pratts Price, Foursquare Founder Dennis Crowley, and the finale of the Fashion Hackathon.

Fab.com’s founders talked about selling 25 products a minute, Vogue invited Crowley to the Calvin Klein show and Gilt Groupe’s founder said “API” under the Tents. Tumblr’s Fashion Evangelist called the event “brilliant,” and Stylitics’ Founder Rohan Deuskar described the mergence of fashion and tech as “just the beginning of something incredible.”

Several attendees noted the diversity of the crowd, which included fashion editors, early-stage startup founders, and executives from brands including Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan, Stuart Weitzman, and Michael Kors. Social media proves it, with top Tweets and Instagrams from LaForce + Stevens, Glamour Editor-in-Chief Cindi Leive, Council of Fashion Designers of America, Fab.com founder Jason Goldberg, and Startup Bus engineers. (Check the hashtags #DFNYC and #FashionHack!)

The conversations touched on major topics, from e-commerce best practices to advancements in production processes with 3-D printing.

8474021399_f4d7f27dd0_bThe defining thread among all the speakers was the importance of customer engagement to drive business, whether that be incorporating content with commerce, building partnerships with a brand with a similar mission, or being the first to conquer a platform. As much as data plays a major role in the business aspect, brands must also focus on relationships.

“We have always looked at content through data and analytics, but also embracing relationships with influencers,” explained Refinery 29’s Co-Founder and CEO Philippe von Borries. His fashion website has grown 1,936 percent in the past three years and made $8.6 million in 2011, not something easily accomplished by just looking at spreadsheets.

Foursquare is working on building new partnerships with luxury influencers to move toward becoming a destination for social discovery. Many simplify the company to check-ins and rewards. Crowley defied the simplification that Foursquare is just check-ins and rewards with details on their development of VIP programs for high fashion brands and collaborations with style magazines, including Lucky.

Model Coco Rocha has built a fan base by showcasing a behind-the-scenes look at the modeling and fashion industry through 13 different social media platforms she runs herself. Most recently, her Vine—short videos you can create on your smartphone—has given even Decoded Fashion an insiders look at NYFW’s Fall 2013 collections.

Posen offered a different perspective on his use of technology. “Social media allows me to control my privacy, by supplying the demand for information about my brand,” he told WIRED’s Editor-in-Chief Scott Dadich during the Fashion Keynote.

His advice to young founders, however, transcends fashion and tech boundaries: “Keep it small. It’s really important to build integrity and keep your hands on every part of it.”

SWATCHit Wins The Fashion Hackathon

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Decoded Fashion announced SWATCHit, a platform for connecting designers and artisians, as the winner of the Fashion Hackathon, taking home $10,000 and the the opportunity to have their app launched by the CFDA.

In a very close competition, SWATCHit out-pitched two other finalists—Coveted, one-click purchasing for Tumblr, and 42, in-store retail analytics tools—for the top prize.

“It’s been an incredible experience,” said SWATCHit’s Jagjeet Gill, who is currently earning her MBA at MIT.

The finalists were chosen during The Fashion Hackathon, a 24-hour event where 550 registered participants and 78 teams competed to build a technology that helps American fashion designers. It was held Feb. 2-3, at the Alley NYC.

Some of the projects were inspired by the Fashion Brief, a conversation with designer Rachel Roy, DKNY’s Aliza Licht, Rebecca Minkoff’s Uri Minkoff, Michael Kors’ Farryn Weiner, and the CFDA’s Kelly McCauley and Sideways’ Nathaniel Catanio, on what areas of the fashion industry could utilize technology to increase efficiency and drive business. Others, like Coveted, were conceived prior to the Hackathon.

“I had this idea for about a year, but never had time to work on it,” said Michael Dizon, of Coveted. “At a Hackathon, you have to do it in 24 hours.”

The finalists pitched to a panel of fashion judges including Minkoff, CFDA’s CEO Steven Kolb, Style.com’s Editor-in-Chief Dirk Standen, designer Zac Posen, and Gilt Groupe’s founder Alexis Maybank, each of which asked some tough questions to the hackathon teams before determining SWATCHit the winner.

All the finalists took home a collection of prizes from the CFDA, DKNY, GAP, Gilt Groupe, Bonobos, Macallan, Samsung, Refinery 29, and Quotidian Ventures.

The Connected Closet

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2013 is the breakout year for the digital closet. And that’s very good news for pretty much everyone in the fashion industry, whether you’re a brand, a retailer, a publisher, or a consumer.

If this is surprising to you, I can tell you, we’ve seen this movie before…

We’ve seen it in the early days of online retail. As recently as 2009, a lot of people were asking, “Why the heck would people shop for clothes online? What about fit? What about returns? People want to go into the store and touch the product, not order based on some picture online!”

These are fair questions. We still haven’t solved these friction points. And yet, Women’s Wear Daily reports that 72% of consumers shop for clothes online. Why did online retail take off? Because when you connect the storefront to the power and convenience of web and mobile, you unlock a whole new set of benefits that outweigh the friction for many consumers.

Similarly, when brands first started flirting with social media, a lot of people said, “Why would people want a brand talking to them 140 characters at a time?” They called it gimmicky and niche, and said it would cheapen the brand. And yet we’ve seen social media turn into the primary voice for many major players.

The rise of digital closets is a similar story for the similar reason: when you connect the closet to web and mobile, you can suddenly do some incredibly powerful things – with data, with retail, with recommendations – that were simply not possible before. At Stylitics, we’ve seen this first-hand. Digital styling for a fraction of the price. Personalized recommendations based on what you actually wore and bought, across brands. Creating your packing list with items in your closet…and your boyfriend’s closet…while sitting in a meeting. All these things are either live today or will be live before the summer.

The key to taking this completely mainstream is making it really easy for people to put their closets online. So, Stylitics is working with top brands and retailers on a technology we’ve developed called Closet Connect, launching in a few weeks. Closet Connect lets people pull in all their past purchases from across retailers into their digital closet, at one time and in a few seconds.  After that, every purchase you make from participating retailers is automatically synced to your closet online. It’s free for consumers and for retailers, and we think it’s going to change the industry!

Rohan Deuskar is the Co-Founder and CEO of Stylitics. He will speak at Decoded Fashion Forum on new approaches to forecasting trends. Follow him at @rohand

Rightster Will Livestream Decoded Fashion Forum, Wishes Luck to Fashion Hack Finalists

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When we learned about The Fashion Hackathon we knew this was something we just had to get involved with. The mission of this event and Decoded Fashion is one that we share at Rightster. We’ve been on a mission to develop new technology solutions to advance the fashion industry for all stakeholders, from designers through to retailers and the end consumer from our inception, so we couldn’t wait to join up with Decoded Fashion on this initiative.

After industry leaders from the fashion industry shared the challenges they face in evolving their businesses at the weekend event, we experienced an amazing creative energy from the 30 finalist teams who overwhelmed us with the breadth and depth of their proposed solutions.

For two seasons we’ve helping designers reach more and more of their potential customers by distributing the live stream  and runway videos of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week to hundreds of sites across the internet. Now, we’re excited to be able to bring the excitement and energy of the The Fashion Hackathon Finale straight from Lincoln Center to a wide audience on Decoded Fashion website and many other sites across the web with a live stream. The in-person attendees and at-home viewers will share a unified experience with the #fashionhack hashtag wherever they are watching.

We’d like to offer anyone with a site or blog who is interested in supporting Decoded Fashion the opportunity to live stream the finale on his or her site as well. Get in touch for more information at mbfw@rightster.com.

Congratulations to all the finalists and best of luck!

Rightster will livestream the Decoded Fashion Forum on Feb. 14. Watch on mbfashionweek.com.

Hack Talk: Spotify’s Hacker Advocate Andrew Mager

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We may be the first Fashion Hackathon, but we’re also the first Hackathon for plenty of developers, designers and business and marketing professionals. What? how? why? do you do what? when? To answer some of the top questions, we talked to Spotify’s Hacker Advocate Andrew Mager, who’s been to more than 50 hackathons around the world.

What is the most challenging aspect of the Fashion Hackathon?
Getting people to understand that it’s more than fashion. It’s art, it’s e-commerce, it’s music, it’s retail.

What are your top 3 tips to first-time hackers?
Make friends early, network your ass off. Listen carefully to the API pitches to see what’s possible. And have fun; you’re building something in a short time that you aren’t getting paid for. You could be building the next big thing though, so don’t have too much fun!

What is the best way to form a team?
Network as soon as you walk in the door. Watch people as they watch the API demos to see which talks to interesting people. At the end of the API demos, stand up on the mic and say your skills and say what your idea is. Ask for help if you need it.

What are your top tips to experienced hackers who have never worked with fashion or retail tech?
Expand your horizons. A fashion hack is more than just nice clothes and runways. Even if you wear a nerdy black t-shirt everyday, there is a place for you at a fashion hackathon.

Andrew will meet with the Hackathon finalists for a mentorship session before they pitch at the Decoded Fashion Forum at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. @mager

What Isn’t Working in E-Commerce and More: Preview of The Fashion Brief with Nate Catanio

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Nate Catanio, co-founder of Sideways, an interactive advertising agency that works with the CFDA, is a “firm believer that mostly all tech can be applied to fashion and have a positive impact.” He’ll be speaking on The Fashion Brief, sharing his observations of how tech influences fashion and retail, especially streamlining the business side. He explained his overall view: “The real challenge with technology and fashion is the traditions and habits of the fashion companies and fashion marketers. They need to catch up to the opportunities and grow more comfortable with new technology. The designers are often onboard,it’s the infrastructure that needs to keep up and adopt more quickly.” Here are his thoughts on major tech topics within the fashion industry.
Social Media
“Technology has brought the consumer and designer closer. It has created a way for designers to communicate directly, personally and immediately with their consumers. Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr, especially, have wide adoption, along with Pinterest and Instagram. For example, Burberry is using Twitter and Instagram to give their audience behind the scenes access to their work and the creation process — which consumers are eating up. Also, external partnerships with companies like Groupon and Foursquare are working well and have the added benefit of driving in-store foot traffic.”

E-commerce
“E-commerce opportunities for retailers to drive purchases and conversion online is immense compared to in-store. For example, abandoned cart messaging. Some e-com sites will send you an email if you have placed an item in your cart and then not completed the purchase. The email often is an offer for a discounted price on that item. It works, quite well. In a brick and mortar store, you can’t really mimic that same tactic. You can’t chase someone down 5th ave and say ‘What if I lower the price?’ but you can do that online.

“[However], e-com is a good example where the tech is not always working well for companies. Many of the off-the-shelf e-com solutions work adequately but can be difficult to customize, especially for small designers with no budget to engage an outside agency to customize. Designers need e-com solutions that are easier and more affordable to customize for their particular needs, especially the ability to integrate things like social media throughout the sales funnel, capture customer behavioral data and ECRM contact data. Off-the-shelf solutions just aren’t that powerful yet. I see that as a big limitation for smaller brands. Enterprise and custom solutions are expensive and complex; we need to solve that and get powerful and affordable ecom available to all.

“Also related to e-com, we have encountered the problem with connecting online sales to fulfillment. In some cases, we have had to build a custom solution to an existing ecom package to automate the fulfillment process. A customer makes a purchase online and the order is sent to a fulfillment house for pack and ship, inventory numbers are adjusted, etc. This should be so much easier out of the box.”

Production
“Designers, especially young and emerging designers, have the ability to produce and distribute at a lower cost and access to more consumers directly without the need for traditional ad spends and marketing costs. 3-D printing [has also] opened new opportunities for designers to create jewelry,clothing and accessories rapidly and with complexity that may have been cost prohibitive or not physically possible before.”

Information Technology
“Probably the most widely adopted tech is ECRM. ECRM is a powerful way to influence consumers, if done correctly, when used to collect and analyze data on consumers’ behaviors, actions, preferences, etc. With proper analysis and then segmentation, brands are able to target messages and offers to their customers that are much more likely to be actioned compared to non-segmented messaging. Big brands do this well. Smaller brands and newer brands do not. In fact, many don’t even know it exists outside of sending newsletters to one big list. Brands that have capitalized on this have the highest levels of conversion and engagement around. And they know more about their customers than most.”

Emerging Tech
“Some emerging areas that I am excited about are:

  • Crowdsourced funding for designers
  • Geolocation/mobile opportunities to support and drive traffic to brick-and-mortar stores
  • Personalization and custom wear. The ability to produce items on demand, with custom fits/styles is an entire ecosystem of technologies, both consumer facing and internal, that could be implemented to do this in mass.
  • Online customer service. Warby Parker does a phenomenal job at this!”

Fashion Tech Talk: Coco Rocha, a Social Media Model

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When Coco Rocha started modeling nearly 10 years ago, digital photography wasn’t the norm, and social media as we know it didn’t exist. But as a young model, Rocha realized the importance of sharing her experiences in the world of high fashion, seemingly untouchable to the mass consumer. A master of more than 10 social media platforms, and one of our favorite Instagram feeds, Rocha shared her thoughts on social media, how she started a blog, and why Square makes sense for models.

Decoded Fashion: How did you become interested in social media?
Coco Rocha: I remember hearing about these things called “blogs” early in my career. I started one of my own with the goal of keeping friends and family back home in Vancouver updated on my adventures in New York, London, Paris, and Milan. At that time, very few people were blogging from inside the world of high fashion, and I found it was getting a lot of attention from an audience much bigger than my friends and family. People all over the world were checking in. That was a really empowering thing for me because I realized I had a voice and that others were listening.

I found myself starting out in the industry at the right time to take advantage of this new digital world. Ever since, the idea of cultivating an audience, whether it be for promoting charity or just promoting my clients, has seemed like a good idea for me as a model.

DF: Many people claim they don’t have time for social media as an excuse for not participating. How do you find the time to post to tumblr, Tweet, Instagram, etc?
CR: I view my social media it as an important part of my job, so I find the time for it whether I feel like it or not. Its become an important part of my relationship with my clients that I promote my work with them. Connecting with fans is almost as if I have my own focus group. I view modeling as a performance art and so if I put up one picture that gets 1000 likes and one that gets 15,000 likes, it gives me a big clue as to what people enjoy seeing from me. I’m always amazed to check my twitter feed or facebook page and see someone from half the world away reaching out to say they enjoyed my work, or even that they hated it!

For a long time, I think fashion was seen as this untouchable world only for the elite. The fact that on a whole, the industry is embracing social media is proof that hopefully the pendulum is now swinging away from that attitude. More than ever before people want to be and expect to be a part of this world, and I’m happy to have been here as we usher in a more inclusive attitude from within the industry.

DF: What do you feel is the best social media platform for you personally?
CR: It’s hard to say because I get something different from all of them. I get the most feedback from Instagram, where I find people are very vocal and interactive. As far as social media goes, I don’t think any one platform has been as well received or well suited to the fashion industry as Instagram. At its most basic, fashion is a visual world and people find that inspiration all around them each and every day. Zac Posen, for example, uses Instagram masterfully to show his life, his work and his inspiration.

Twitter has always been great way to get important messages out very fast. It has also been a great way for me to network with others in my industry; I even get to reach out to the legends who I admire like Cindy Crawford!

The app Pose makes a lot of sense for me as a model. I think the rise of street-style photography has shown us there’s a huge audience of people interested in what others are wearing out and about. Pose is great because it allows each user to show the world their personal style and tag each piece of clothing with correct brand names. Users can also click through to actually buy everything they see. The idea is a good business model for young fashionistas, and a new legitimate way to monetize on social media.

DF: I’m really impressed by your Tweet sharing a Mashable article about Instagram (here). What would you change about Instagram if you could?
CR: I think it would be great to be able to add location tags to images retroactively. Personally, I often feel uncomfortable tagging my location at the time I’m there because I have had awkward occasions where some weird person tracked me down from a Instagram I posted. Perhaps they could make it so the geo tag is on some kind of delay? I would also love for instagram to play nice with twitter again. I think it was ridiculous that the two are no longer integrated, what a waste. We live in a world that needs to find more ways to interconnect, not less!

DF: What are some other types of tech, besides social media, that you find useful to fashion? This could be a certain app, software that helps streamline business, in-store display tech, etc.
CR: My friend Jack Dorsey developed Square which is a revolutionary, free device that allows anyone to accept credit card payments through their cell phone or tablet. It levels the playing field for everyone. You’re probably asking yourself, why would a model care about Square? Well, we like to get paid too! I have jobs I did for major magazines and designers in 2006 and 2007 that I still have not been paid for. When Jack first explained this project to me the first thing I thought was how amazing Square would be for the next generation of models who are often times living from job to job. Want me to walk your runway? Just be ready with your credit card when I step off.

DF: How do you see tech revolutionizing fashion?
CR: Iris van Herpen has been pioneering the use of 3-D printing in fashion for a few years now and with really amazing results. I’m hoping others in the industry take note and explore the possibilities! I find Iris’ work with 3-D printing technology more of a hybrid of architecture and sculpture than anything. It’s really amazing to see shapes and designs that were previously incomprehensible are now possible. I also think that laser-etched clothing will allowing designers the ability to create patterns in fabric that would have been impossible to do by hand. It’s like moving from finger painting to working with a fine sable hair paint brush.

Designers today have some unbelievable tools at their fingertips. Basically if they can conceptualize it, they can make it.

Coco Rocha will be speaking on the future of fashion and technology at the Decoded Fashion Forum at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Follow her @cocorocha

Stay tuned for Coco’s top social media tips, coming next Tuesday.

The World’s Fastest Growing Fashion Website: Refinery 29

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What fashion-inspired website attracts 30 million users per year, has editions in seven U.S. cities and named by Inc. as #2 of the top 100 fastest-growing media companies?

Refinery 29.

As the world’s largest independent fashion website from the United States, Refinery 29 connects style-enthusiasts through a content- and e-commerce-focused community of tips, tricks and tools to “lead a beautiful life.” From articles about new fashion-tech startups to Refinery29 Shops that offer a boutique shopping experience, the website has leveraged a unique audience using innovative technology, adventurous editorial, and fashion-forward merchandising to become the destination for style discovery.

Founded by Philippe von Borries and Justin Stefano in 2005, the site has grown 1,936 percent in the past 3 years and made $8.6 million in 2011. We just can’t get enough of these numbers!

As a leader in fashion publishing, branding and social media, Refinery 29 will be all over the Fashion Hackathon and Decoded Fashion Forum. Listen to von Borries will chat with Rebecca Minkoff CEO Uri Minkoff in our Top Influencers Chat at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, and keep a lookout for the Refinery 29 team at the Fashion Hackathon. Vice President of Technology Chris Bunk will judge the Hackathon Pitches on Feb. 3.

Refinery29 will also offer a prize to the Hackathon winner—a strategy lunch with the Refinery29 founders at the company’s stellar digs in Cooper Square. Learn from the best on how to scale your business and develop your tech style.

Register for Decoded Fashion Forum here, and until then, follow @refinery29 for the latest fashion week news.

Shapeways Hosts 3-D Printing Design Expo at Ace Hotel During NYFW

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Decoded Fashion isn’t the only one talking Fashion in 3-D during New York Fashion Week this February. Our friends at Shapeways, a 3-D printing design studio and marketplace that spoke at our Startup Showcase last fall, will host an interactive design experience and lectures on the future of fabrication at Manhattan’s Ace Hotel to explore how digital technology can revolutionize fashion.

Designers Michael Schmidt (famous for Lady Gaga’s bubble dress), Anna Sheffield, and Chris Habana will work with computer-aided design modelers to help guests create custom products using 3-D printing on Feb. 9, in the hotel lobby. The all-day event will culminate with the unveiling of a 3-D printed dress designed by Schmidt and Francis Bitonti.

At the Decoded Fashion Forum at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, Shapeways’ Director of Marketing Carine Carmy will chat with designer Kimberly Ovitz about 3-D printing on the runway. Ovitz will debut her first 3-D printed collection for AW13, one of the few times a designer collection has incorporated 3-D printing.

Two of a Kind: Fashion Keynotes Revealed

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What do fashion designer Zac Posen and Foursquare founder Dennis Crowley have in common?

They will both be making history as the keynotes for the first ever tech forum at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. A creative combination, they will represent the best of high fashion design and traditional tech founders, each explaining their unique contributions to fashion and tech.

Crowley will cover a topic for the first time in public. (Hint: It has to do with new users of Foursquare in a unique space and how they have adopted and developed campaigns.) Similarly, Posen, a leader in luxury, will talk on how his brands could and should incorporate tech into their lifestyle.

Posen will also be a judge for the Fashion Hackathon finalists, choosing which of three mobile app ideas pitched on the runway is most suited for the fashion industry. The Fashion Hackathon is a competition bringing together 500 developers and designers vying for $20,000 prizes and the opportunity to have their idea launched by the CFDA.

The Decoded Fashion Forum takes place on Thu., Feb. 14, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. See the website for latest speaker updates and to reserve your spot.