Fashion & Founders The Podcast (Victoria Smith)
Explorez tous les épisodes de Fashion & Founders The Podcast
| Date | Titre | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Apr 2023 | 1. Introduction and a Greetings and Goodbyes Jacket | 00:10:08 | |
Hello and welcome to the first episode of Interwoven Stories! In this episode Victoria, the host, describes the reason for starting this storytelling series, explains the concept, and shares a couple stories of her own. Thank you for listening! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/interwovenstories.pod/ | |||
| 03 May 2023 | 2. A Publicist on Outfit Repeating for Milestone Moments | 00:42:28 | |
First guest! This week Valeria, who works in PR and is a full time masters student, talks about different articles of clothing she’s worn for major moments in her life (good and bad). She’s also a big advocate for outfit repeating and the creativity making a lot of outfits from a little takes. Thank you for listening! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/interwovenstories.pod/ | |||
| 11 May 2023 | 3. The Sustainable Luxury of Second Hand Fashion | 00:20:23 | |
This week features, Chloe, who studied sustainable fashion and is now getting a master's in luxury brand strategy. She talks about how some of the favorite things she has in her closet were her grandmother's, and the second life she can give to these pieces now. | |||
| 26 May 2023 | 4. Dressing in Color for Joy and Culture | 00:34:23 | |
This week, Kirsty, a writer who definitely has a way with words discusses dressing in color for joy and culturally. She also talks about colonialism in the context of her own life and fashion. Thank you for listening! | |||
| 29 Jun 2023 | 5. The Significance and Celebrations our Items Hold | 00:36:59 | |
Little hiatus since the last episode, but this week, Isabella, who is starting a sustainable and size inclusive denim brand joins us. She shares stories of shared pieces and the large significance that even the smallest pieces we own hold. Thank you for listening! | |||
| 07 Jul 2023 | 6. Shared Clothes and Memories with Friends | 00:40:58 | |
This week, Lucy, my roommate joins me and we reminisce on our favorite memories and unsurprisingly we both can remember what we wore (often each other’s clothes). She talks about the fun and joy she gets from sharing clothes with people and recalls some of her most memorable pieces. Thank you for listening! | |||
| 31 Jul 2023 | 7. Making a Statement Through Maximalism | 00:36:44 | |
This week, Maura, talks about what has inspired her bold and graphic sense of style from her art background to a desire to be heard. Fashion in an incredible channel to express your individual identity, who you are, how you wan the world to see you, and how you hope to see yourself. | |||
| 24 Aug 2023 | 8. Family Ties: Handmade Clothes and Priceless Pearls | 00:35:00 | |
This week Charlotte Turner, a sustainable consultant and educator joins me. She discusses the joy in making her own clothes and the family influence. She tells the beautiful story behind her wedding dress, one with many layers and adorned in pearls. | |||
| 15 Feb 2024 | 9. Finding Meaning in Experiences not Things | 00:32:00 | |
Last episode of Season 1! Sheridan shares pieces that have travelled with her all over the world. She talks about the experiences she has created in her clothes and the memories her clothes hold, transporting her back to the places she’s been. After all, we are human beings first, not consumers. Sheridan embodies this and shares her mentality around clothing, shopping, and getting dressed in the morning to be ready for any activity. Thank you for listening! | |||
| 22 Feb 2024 | 10. The Best of DC Thrifting with Vintage Lover and Curator Caroline Le | 00:30:41 | |
The Best of DC Thrifting with Vintage Lover and Curator Caroline Le. First episode of Season 2! Caroline Le is a vintage lover and curator with her own amazing collection of preloved pieces effortlessly styled. You can also shop her look as she runs her own pop ups at Ella Rue in Georgetown, DC. Caroline also shares some of her favorite vintage spots in Washington, DC that many people don’t know about where she has found one-of-a-kind pieces. Follow Interwoven! Share your own stories about vintage, thrifted, preloved, secondhand, rental, and any meaningful pieces you have! Thank you for listening! | |||
| 29 Feb 2024 | 11. Sourcing and Styling Vintage 101 with Isabel of 7drawers | 00:40:36 | |
I am joined today by Isabel, a vintage curator and seller based in New York City, who runs the brand 7drawers. Isabel shares her best tips of sourcing and authenticating vintage designer pieces from heels to handbags. Vintage designer handbags and heels are her speciality as you can see from the amazing array she has curated on her Depop page. If you’ve ever wanted to get started selling or curious about the process this episode is for you. She shares a lot of tangible tips on how to get started, branding, sourcing, how to get authentication, and more. She has a great eye for sourcing and styling with an incredible collection of vintage designer handbags, shoes, and clothes so definitely check those out on her page linked in this episode because they’re truly one of the kind. Follow Interwoven! Share your own stories about vintage, thrifted, preloved, secondhand, rental, and any meaningful pieces you have! Thank you for listening! | |||
| 15 Mar 2024 | 12. The Adventure and Joy of Charity Shopping with Jenn of SusieSecondhand | 00:36:24 | |
If you’ve ever needed inspiration to pop into your first charity shop or thrift store I truly believe Jenn can convince you. Jenn shares so many wonderful stories about how fun secondhand shopping can be and how as a parent she shares this with her kids in a super special tradition she has created. She also shares some really great tips on getting started secondhand shopping and the joy of the search, not knowing what you’ll come out of the charity shop with. Jenn is an avid charity shopper based in the UK and shares her finds on her instagram @susiesecondhand. Follow Jenn! Follow Interwoven! Share your own stories about vintage, thrifted, preloved, secondhand, rental, and any meaningful pieces you have! Thank you for listening! | |||
| 31 Mar 2024 | 13. Everything Fashion Rental with Sarah Founder of Our Pinterest Wardrobe and By Rotation Ambassador | 00:39:30 | |
This week I am joined by Sarah, the founder of rental company Our Pinterest Wardrobe based in the UK. She is also a By Rotation ambassador and exemplifies how to you can still be sustainable as a fashion lover and even make money from it. We talk all things rental fashion and Sarah offers tangible tips on getting started and the business side of renting out her closet. Although somehow Sarah has never seen the Sisterhood of the traveling pants movie, she shares stories behind the experiences girls create through her shared wardrobe from birthdays, nights out, to potential proposals. If you needed a reason to book your first rental or starting making money off the clothes sitting in your closet, keep listening. Follow Sarah! Follow Interwoven! Share your own stories about vintage, thrifted, preloved, secondhand, rental, and any meaningful pieces you have! Thank you for listening! | |||
| 08 Apr 2024 | 14. Top Depop Seller Fairycity on Blumarine, Rare Runway Pieces, and Curating a Designer Vintage Collection | 00:21:13 | |
This week I spoke with Xyee, the founder of Fairycity. A luxury vintage boutique specializing in the most stunning clothes from lux French designers to rare runway Blumarine. She expertly curates pieces for girls around the world, with even Matilda Djerf following her. With over 15K Depop followers, her pieces are not ones to miss. Definitely check out her instagram and depop for some incredible vintage inspiration that definitely embody “fairycore.” Xyee is passionate about giving clothes a second life and sharing the the timeless beauty and quality of the vintage pieces she sources. Definitely check out her page on Depop and Instagram for some incredible vintage inspiration. I hope you enjoy this episode getting to know the the stories behind the brand Fairycity. Follow FairyCity! Follow Interwoven! Share your own stories about vintage, thrifted, preloved, secondhand, rental, and any meaningful pieces you have! Thank you for listening! | |||
| 25 Apr 2024 | 15. Social Media’s Impact on Shopping, Overconsumption, and Personal Style with Content Creator @thecolourfulthrifter | 00:34:47 | |
This week I spoke with Marika a content creator who shares her thrifted outfits on instagram. Share your own stories about vintage, thrifted, preloved, secondhand, rental, and any meaningful pieces you have! | |||
| 02 May 2024 | 16. Rachel Kibbe, CEO of CSG and ACT on the Americas Act, a Bipartisan Bill for Textile Circularity & Innovation | 00:33:13 | |
Excited for this week’s episode and with Rachel Kibbe. We met at the Sustainable Fashion Forum in Austin in April and I’m so glad we had the opportunity to keep talking about her work. | |||
| 06 May 2024 | 3, 2, 1: Vintage Fashion on TikTok Shop, Chanel Sueing Upcyclers, Luxury's Returns Problem, and a Poshmark Bidding War | 00:15:43 | |
Introducing the first episode of my new series Fashion 3, 2, 1: News, Trends, and Vintage Finds | |||
| 22 May 2024 | 17. Fashion Revolution: Education, Community, and Transparency in the Fashion Industry | 00:40:15 | |
This week I am joined with two amazing leaders at Fashion Revolution on the US team, Kelly, who manages education and Madison who leads the community work. Follow Interwoven! Vintage Fashion Finds Featured intro story! Share your own stories about vintage, thrifted, preloved, secondhand, rental, and any meaningful pieces you have! Get featured and submit your own story here! Thank you for listening! | |||
| 06 Jun 2024 | 18. The New York Fashion Act and Fashion Policy with Michelle Gabriel | 00:56:07 | |
This week I spoke with Michelle Gabriel an educator, researcher, and sustainability strategist in the fashion space. We met at The Sustainable Fashion Forum back in April as she kicked off the conference with a workshop on policy. Michelle has been involved with the New York Fashion Act and in this episode shares her insight and breaks down the act. Michelle shares her diverse range of experiences in fashion and what lead her to where she is now in education and academia. For anyone not on a linear path with multiple interests who wants to work in fashion you will definitely find comfort and inspiration in hearing her background. I find the New York Fashion Act to be a really exciting piece of legislation as it written in a way that attempts to tackle global issues the entire fashion industry faces on a state level since the fashion economy in New York is one of if not the largest in the world. Whatever component of sustainable fashion you are interested in you can learn something from this episode and the different facets of this bill. More on Michelle! New York Fashion Act Links! Follow Interwoven! Featured intro story: Vintage find: Share your own stories about vintage, thrifted, preloved, secondhand, rental, and any meaningful pieces you have! Get featured and submit your own story here! Thank you for listening! | |||
| 12 Jun 2024 | 19. Colorifix & The Business Opportunity of Investing Early in Material Innovators | 00:44:32 | |
This week I spoke with Nora, the marketing manager at Colorifix. Colorifix is a business creating a natural dye solution through a biological process using bacteria as opposed to the toxic chemical dyes currently being used by most of the fashion industry. These dyes have multiple environmental consequences like water pollution which was the genesis for the founders of Colorifix to begin on this journey. Nora breaks down how Colorifix creates dyes that mimic nature and I know it’s science but it also kind of seems like magic to me. They are able to sequence the DNA of the color wherever it is found in nature, transfer that DNA code into a microorganism that the can produce that color then through fermentation, and without using any additional harsh chemicals to fix the dye onto a fabric. We discuss material innovation in the fashion industry, what is going on behind the scenes in the supply chain to help move the industry forward, the scalability of such innovations and the the big potential business opportunity in investing. Follow Interwoven! Featured intro story: Vintage find: Share your own stories about vintage, thrifted, preloved, secondhand, rental, and any meaningful pieces you have! Get featured and submit your own story here! | |||
| 02 Jul 2024 | 20. Entrepreneurship, Fashion Tech, and Consumer Forecasting with Georgie Hyatt Founder of Rotaro | 00:31:14 | |
This week I interviewed Georgie Hyatt a London based entrepreneur. She was named Forbes 30 Under 30 and Drapers 30 under 30 in 2022, for her fashion rental business Rotaro. Who What Wear featured her as one of “The Best Wardrobes in Britain." Georgie’s fashion journey began at WGSN, a trend forecasting and analytics company. She then founded Rotaro, a UK based fashion rental company that offered rental as a service for brands. After consolidating Rotaro with another fashion rental company, Georgie moved into consulting and the VC space scouting for climate tech companies. She expressed her passion for building a great produce and business and will be starting her own company soon again and I can’t wait to see what she does. Georgie has such an interesting background and if you are interested in fashion forecasting, consumer insights, entrepreneurship, fashion tech, and vc investing, Georgie has the experience and knowledge to learn from. she shares a a very fully circle story of how Ganni’s legal team sent them a letter at the beginning of their business so keep listing to find out how that ended. Follow Georgie! Follow Interwoven! Share your own stories about vintage, thrifted, preloved, secondhand, rental, and any meaningful pieces you have! Thank you for listening! | |||
| 10 Jul 2024 | 21. Building Bipty: Fashion Rental, Side Hustles, and Creating Community with Founder Natalia | 00:31:47 | |
This week I spoke with Natalia, the founder of Bipty a fashion rental platform. She shares how she got started running around her college campus delivering clothes and how she built her business where it is today as they launch an app July 11th as well! Natalia has great advice for people who want to start their own business and get started renting out their clothes and have a great side hustle. She has built such an incredible community and I can’t wait to see what she continues to create. For those interested in entrepreneurship, side hustles, fashion, and more you’ll learn a lot from this episode! Follow Bipty! Follow Interwoven! Share your own stories about vintage, thrifted, preloved, secondhand, rental, and any meaningful pieces you have! Thank you for listening! | |||
| 24 Jul 2024 | 22. Fashion Takes Action: Empowering Youth Through Education with Founder Kelly Drennan | 00:33:45 | |
This week I spoke with Kelly Drennan, the founder and executive director of Fashion Takes Action (FTA). FTA is Canada's only non-profit organization devoted to advancing sustainability in the entire fashion system through education, awareness, research and collaboration. Kelly shares how she started Fashion Takes Action in 2007 and discovered a real need to education and collaboration in sustainable fashion and how in wake of the Rana Plaza Factory Tragedy she found a way to educate and empower young people. Kelly has become a true leader in the industry and served as Fashion Revolution’s country coordinator for Canada for the first three years. FTA does a lot of work around education so if you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by media around climate change, Kelly offerers her insight with years of expertise on how to effectively approach and communicate these difficult topics. Her work around education in for young people to adults, using fashion as a channel to empower people to take action has created a ripple effect of change. Follow Fashion Takes Action! Listener Story! Follow Interwoven! Share your own stories about vintage, thrifted, preloved, secondhand, rental, and any meaningful pieces you have! Thank you for listening! | |||
| 07 Aug 2024 | 23. MAES London: Transparency in Fashion Manufacturing with Founder Diana Kakkar | 00:39:47 | |
This week on Interwoven Stories, I spoke with Diana Kakkar the founder and chief executive of MAES London, a luxury garment manufacturing studio located in North London specialising in designer womenswear. I got the opportunity to tour her factory and it was incredible to see firsthand what she has built. Diana is deeply integrated in the UK fashion scene as she is also a mentor at the British Fashion Council, a visiting lecturer at the University of art London, and an ambassador for the uk fashion and textile association. We discuss her entrepreneurial journey and she shares some great tips as well as her advice for aspiring founders. She is at the forefront of fashion innovation and is on a mission to reconnect designers with the people who make their clothes. Follow MAES London! Follow Interwoven! Listener Story! Share your own stories about vintage, thrifted, preloved, secondhand, rental, and any meaningful pieces you have! Thank you for listening! | |||
| 21 Aug 2024 | 24. BEEN London: Creating Beautiful Bags from Waste with Founder Genia | 00:36:27 | |
This week I was joined with Genia the founder of Been London. Started in 2018, BEEN London is an award-winning accessories brand that was named 'one of the most innovative fashion companies in the world' by British VOGUE. BEEN London Links! Follow Interwoven! Listener! Share your own stories about vintage, thrifted, preloved, secondhand, rental, and any meaningful pieces you have! Get featured and submit your own story here! Thank you for listening! | |||
| 04 Sep 2024 | 25. World Collective: Unlocking Potential through Fashion Tech with Founder Jeanine Ballone | 00:35:30 | |
This week I am joined with Jeanine Co-Founder and CEO of World Collective, the first digital transformation hub for the fashion industry. She has an incredible background in fashion with two decades of experience from the Otto Group to being the VP of Supply Chain at Calvin Klein to the Global VP at the Innovation Lab of PVH Corp to founding a nonprofit to support women and children working in the fashion industry to the executive Director of Fashion for Development. Jeanine‘s vision for the future of fashion is so incredibly inspiring. You can feel how much she believes in the work she is doing and the possibilities it can create. everyone to create a more ethical, innovative fashion industry through the business model the world collective supports and has created, whether you’re a student interested in designing your first collection, a small business, or a large corporation or creating your own material collective has something and someone for you to connect with and learn from. World Collective Links! Follow Interwoven! Listener Story! Share your own stories about vintage, thrifted, preloved, secondhand, rental, and any meaningful pieces you have! Get featured and submit your own story here! Thank you for listening! | |||
| 18 Sep 2024 | 26. Pickle: Hyper Local and Scalable Peer to Peer Fashion Rental with Founder Julia O’Mara | 00:38:47 | |
Welcome back to Interwoven Stories, this week I had interviewed Julia O’Mara, Co-Founder and COO of Pickle. Pickle is a peer to peer fashion rental platform headquartered in New York City and we were able to meet in person amidst New York Fashion Week. In this episode Julia shares some fun stories about the early days of Pickle, advice for entrepreneurs, and really fun renter stories from engagements to revenge dresses. Julia has not always worked in fashion and before joining Forbes 30 Under 30 and the Female Founders List, she studied Materials Science Engineering and Entrepreneurship at the University of Pennsylvania and before founding Pickle, served as Senior Product Manager at The Blackstone Group, where she met her co-founder Brian. I can’t recommend Pickle enough, not only because they have the best dresses or that I had so much fun recording this with Julia, but I can honestly say I’ve made hundreds of dollars in just a couple of weeks. You can visit them in person at their store in the West Village or download the app and get $20 off your first rental. If you’re interested in entrepreneurship, fashion tech, or just love the Pickle app, keep listening. Follow Interwoven Follow Julia: Follow Pickle: Listener Story: Share your own stories about vintage, thrifted, preloved, secondhand, rental, and any meaningful pieces you have! Get featured and submit your own story here! Thank you for listening! | |||
| 02 Oct 2024 | 27. Remake: Fashion Advocacy and Remake’s Preloved Fashion Show at NYFW with Vice President of Advocacy Emily Stochl | 00:30:41 | |
This week I spoke with Emily Stochl, Vice President of Advocacy and Community Engagement at Remake. Emily has been in the sustainable fashion space for many years now and began at Remake as an ambassador. She also hosts her own podcast, the Pre-Loved Podcast, so check that out as well. Remake is working on systems change in the fashion industry and creating a more ethical fashion industry. In todays epiosde we cover a lot as Remake is involved in so many branches of the sustainable fashion industry, from legislation with the Fabric Act, the Brandy Hellville Documentary, the no new clothes challenge, and of course there preloved fashion show during New York fashion week. If you’re looking for a way to get involved and find a community in the sustainable fashion space, remake’s ambassador program is a great way to get started and you can learn more about all the opportunities they offer throughout the episode. Follow Interwoven Follow Remake: Follow Emily: Listener Story: Share your own stories about vintage, thrifted, preloved, secondhand, rental, and any meaningful pieces you have! Get featured and submit your own story here! Thank you for listening! | |||
| 09 Oct 2024 | 28. Cascale: Measuring and Reporting on Fashion’s Impact, the Higg Index, and NYFW with Editorial Director Kaley Roshitsh | 00:22:29 | |
This week I am joined by Kaley, editorial director at Cascale, formerly known as Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC). You may have heard of the Higg Index, a collection of tools that measure the environmental and social impact of products and supply chains in the apparel, footwear, and textile industries In 2009, Walmart and Patagonia founded the SAC to convene apparel industry stakeholders on a pre-competitive basis and develop a common approach to measuring sustainability and in 2010 they launched the Higg Index. Each year, over 24,000 users rely on the Higg Index to measure their footprint, improve and take action. Kaley played a founding role as Sustainability Editor at WWD, covering business, spearheading digital properties like the “Sustainability Scene,” and moderating live events. After 5 years at WWD, Kaley now oversees editorial and currently guides Cascale’s distinctive voice across content and live media operations, all key to the organization’s rebrand’s success. Listen for some shoutouts for vintage and repair stores in New York too. With such a strong record in sustainable fashion journalism, Kaley is a thought leader in this space and offers great insight in this episode, I’m very excited to share it. Follow Interwoven: Follow Cascale: Follow Kaley: Listener Story: Share your own stories about vintage, thrifted, preloved, secondhand, rental, and any meaningful pieces you have! Get featured and submit your own story here! Thank you for listening! | |||
| 23 Oct 2024 | 29. Threads of Tech: The Booming Fashion Tech Industry, Creating Your Niche, & Job Opportunities with Co-Founders Naama and Manya | 00:32:34 | |
This week I spoke with Manya and Naama founders of Threads of Tech. Together they are creating a community in the fashion tech community from putting on events during NYFW to their job board and connecting people to their dream jobs. Naama has a background as a software engineer and knitwear designer and Manya as a Data Analyst and Fashion Designer. What started out as a roommate search ended up with them putting on two major events in 5 weeks and becoming co-founders. Manya and Naama are often behind the scenes making sure their events run smoothly, so I am excited to share their story here and help others learn more about the really exciting work they are doing. Maybe you follow data but make it fashion on instagram or have seen a cool new fashion tech startup, if you’ve ever wanted to learn more about fashion tech whether you’re a student or someone looking to use their tech background at a fashion brand this episode is for you because they share a lot of insight. Follow Interwoven Follow Threads of Tech: Follow Naama: Follow Manya: Listener Story: Share your own stories about vintage, thrifted, preloved, secondhand, rental, and any meaningful pieces you have! Get featured and submit your own story here! Thank you for listening! | |||
| 04 Nov 2024 | Intro: Fashion & Founders The Podcast, Fashion Tech, Circularity, and More! | 00:08:13 | |
Hello and welcome to the first episode of Season 3 of Fashion & Founders The Podcast, Conversations in Fashion Circularity, Tech, and Innovation! Podcast IG: @fashionandfounders Podcast Website: fashionandfounders.com Victoria TikTok: @vfsmith11 Victoria Pickle Closet: @victorias | |||
| 10 Nov 2024 | 30. Locker: Kristine Locker on Founding a Fashion Tech Business, Fundraising and Angel Investor Maggie Sellers, Building Community, and the Future of Online Shopping | 00:31:17 | |
Welcome to the first episode of season three of fashion and founders the podcast. This week I am joined by Kristine Locker founder of Locker, the Pinterest for online shopping. In this episode, Kristine talks about the founding of Locker the amazing community that she has built, all about fundraising, working with Maggie Sellers as an angel investor, and so much insight into her founder journey. Kristine has some really exciting things lined up for Locker and they’re really innovating how we online shop. If you haven’t already definitely sign up for the Locker shopping club, they send out monthly challenges that you can participate if you choose to and the winner will get a $500 gift card to a certain brand of the month. You can also join the waitlist for the Shopping Payback feature locker is offering. We were able to film this in person in New York and I got to meet Hanna, the Locker social media manager. I’ve recently been getting a lot of questions and interest in fashion tech and Kristine has described Locker as shopping tech before which I think definitely falls into this category of fashion tech so this is definitely a great episode to listen to if you’re interested in learning more about companies in this space and hearing how people got it directly from the founders themselves. Follow Fashion & Founders: Follow Locker: Follow Kristine: Thank you for listening! | |||
| 24 Nov 2024 | 31. Beni: Fashion Tech Making Resale Shopping Easier, the Future of search, and AI with Founder Kate Sanner | 00:44:13 | |
Welcome back to Fashion and Founders The Podcast. My name is Victoria Smith and this week I spoke with Kate Sanne the Co-Founder of Beni. Beni is a google Chrome extension that shops alongside you, helping you find secondhand pieces. Kate shares some great insight into what the future of the fashion tech industry holds. She recently moderated a panel at Harvard Business School’s Retail and Luxury Goods Club and shares learnings including AI in fashion, consumer discovery, and the future of search. If you haven’t already downloaded Beni, it is a hack that once you use it, you wonder how you lived without it, and Beni just launched their resale registry for the holiday season so that you can make a wish list of some vintage secondhand things you want and then it’s super easy because then you can just text it to someone. Follow Fashion & Founders: Follow Beni: Follow Grandpa’s Shirts Thank you for listening! | |||
| 02 Dec 2024 | 32. Fashion Tech Masterclass with Mary Korlin-Downs: How to work in fashion tech, why it’s the next big boom, and advice for students | 01:01:04 | |
Hello and welcome back to Fashion and Founders The Podcast, my name is Victoria Smith and this week I spoke with Mary Korlin Downs. She has become a fashion tech thought leader through her Tiktok, Instagram, and Substack where she posts weekly job boards, fashion tech news, and more. Mary used to work at Bipty, a fashion rental company and I actually have an episode with the founder Natalia. She then went to Recurate a company powering brand owned resale. She then started her own agency Cropd working with fashion tech clients. Mary talks about how she got started in fashion tech by working on a startup while at a full time job in medical device sales. So if you have questions on how to transition into fashion tech listen to this episode. She shares great advice on how to build your portfolio, get started as a student, and her transition into being a founder and starting an agency working with fashion tech clients. This is the fashion tech episode to listen to, it’s a bit longer than other episodes because I went through all the comments and DMs I had gotten on fashion tech so I could get Mary’s take to share with you all so lets get into the episode. Follow Fashion & Founders: Follow Mary Korlin Downs: Follow Pink Antique: Thank you for listening! | |||
| 08 Dec 2024 | 33. Modern Synthesis: Reinventing Materials, Future Fabrics, and a Collaboration with Ganni with Founder Jen Keane | 00:22:44 | |
Hello and welcome back to Fashion and Founders The Podcast. This week I spoke with Jen Keane the Co-Founder and CEO of Modern Synthesis. Modern synthesis is a London-based biotech company bringing life to new materials by working with bacteria to produce an entirely new class of nanocellulose based materials for fashion without using any plastic or animal inputs. Jen’s background leading up to founding her own company is so impressive and she has accumulated so many experiences in textiles and circularity. She did her undergraduate degree at Cornell University with a major in fiber, science and apparel design. She then worked at Adidas for five years getting so much experience in this large company. And then did a masters in material futures at Central Saint Martins of University of Arts London. If you are interested in the bio technology and material innovation side of fashion Tech, this episode is for you. They’ve worked on some really cool projects like “growing a shoe.” A collaboration with Ganni on their iconic Bou Bag, and theres so much more to come so let’s get into the episode. Follow Fashion & Founders: Follow Modern Synthesis: Thank you for listening! | |||
| 10 Dec 2024 | Fashion Tech Talk: How to work in fashion tech, tips for students, current job openings and summer internships with Threads of Tech | 00:13:27 | |
Fashion Tech Talk: short, bite-sized information answering your most asked questions about fashion tech! This series is with Naama and Manya the founders of Threads of Tech a community for fashion creatives and technologists. Topics this week
They also share they have an upcoming Fashion Tech event for NYFW in February so follow them to stay updated! Follow Fashion & Founders: Follow Threads of Tech: Follow Naama: Follow Manya: Thanks for listening! | |||
| 15 Dec 2024 | 34. 4AM SKIN: Launch Party at the Club, TikTok Tips, Selling at Revolve with Founder Jade Beguelin | 00:28:48 | |
Welcome back to Fashion and Founders The Podcast. My name is Victoria Smith, and this week I’m joined with Jade Beguelin the co-founder of 4AM SKIN. You may have seen Jade from one of her TikToks about what hot girls in New York City are gatekeeping or wearing her viral under eye masks for her brand 4AM SKIN. She is how I found out about Pickle and the big silly trivia game, and she shares her best tips for growing on TikTok and some rumblings of what the hot girls are currently doing. 4am is not your regular skincare brand. Their launch party was at a club, they’ve partnered with 818, and their inspiration comes from the downtown girls that are up all night but still look great in the morning. Focusing on minimalism, they’ve created skincare that’s easy enough to do at 4AM and actually works. You can find them on REVOLVE and urban outfitters and they just became part of Sephora’s 2025 accelerate class. Jade and her cofounder Sabrina were also named Forbes 30 under 30 class of 2025. Jade and her co-founder met at Georgetown and as a fellow alum it was very fun to connect with someone else in the beauty fashion space. She shares some really great knowledge on starting a business in your 20s and more so let’s get into it. Follow Fashion & Founders: Follow Jade: Follow 4AM: Follow Philippa Made: Thank you for listening! | |||
| 22 Dec 2024 | 35. Ergo: Pricing Analytics, Fashion Tech and AI, and Naming Your Price with Founder Claire Stepanek | 00:30:37 | |
Welcome back to Fashion and Founders the Podcast. My name is Victoria Smith and this week I am joined by Claire Stepanek, the founder and CEO of Ergo. Have you ever wondered how brands decide on the price of an item. Or why it seems like brands always have a 10% off sale? Maybe you would buy something if it was $25 instead of $28? Claire is building Ergo, a shopify tool that allows potential customers to make an offer of their best price when shopping. Providing brands with real time pricing analytics and empowering customers to have a voice in the shopping transaction. If youre used to sending an offer on second hand platforms like ebay or depop Ergo is bringing a version of this to everyday online shopping by allowing customers to tell brands their desired price. Claire went to MIT and worked at Goldman Sachs, Apple, and Doordash before starting Ergo in 2023. She has so much knowledge to share on fashion tech, fundraising, and more. Follow Fashion & Founders: Follow Ergo: Follow Larson: Thank you for listening! | |||
| 29 Dec 2024 | 36. Third: Everything Luxury Handbags, Mental Health & Finding Confidence as a Founder, and Building a Fashion Tech Company with founder Trinity Hislop | 00:40:03 | |
Welcome back to Fashion and founders the Podcast my name is Victoria Smith and this week I spoke with Trinity the founder of Third. Third is an AI-powered search, compare and discover platform for preloved luxury handbags, featuring the largest range of rare and hard-to-find pieces available at present. This episode is not just for the luxury handbags and vintage lovers, this is one of the first episodes in which a founder really talked about the mental health component of being an entrepreneur. She discusses obstacles, how she still priorities her mental health, building confidence, and more. Trinity shares about her journey building a fashion tech business, her experience in London, and more so let’s get into the episode Follow Fashion & Founders: Follow Third: Follow Valore: Thank you for listening! | |||
| 31 Dec 2024 | 2024 Fashion Founders Advice | 00:22:13 | |
A big thank you to all the guests who came onto the podcast this year. I learned so much from each conversation and feel so grateful for the opportunity to connect so many amazing people and share their stories. I put together a bonus episode with snippets of advice that founders shared from their experience. This ranges from fundraising, building a team, finding a co-founder the struggles of entrepreneurship. Mental health as a founder. What not to do tips on getting started, books and resources, finding your motivation. How to stay motivated and so much more. This includes 13 different episodes. And even if you've listened to all of these, trust me, I think I have listened to each at least 20 times through and I found this still such a great and powerful reminder. I love these different snippets, so let's get into it and let's hear from them. In this episode:
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| 05 Jan 2025 | 37. Future Reference: Digital Wardrobe, the Future of Resale, and Building a Fashion Tech Company from Google to Startup with Founder Claire Illmer | 00:38:52 | |
Hello and welcome back to Fashion and Founders The podcast. My name is Victoria Smith and this week I'm joined with Claire Illmer, the Co-Founder and CEO of Future Reference. Claire's experience before founding Future Reference includes working at Google for five years, at YouTube in search and discovery, and at ThredUp in search and discovery as well. She is now building a fashion tech company revolutionizing how we sell our clothes. Future Reference is a digital wardrobe and a cross listing platform. Their software allows you to digitize your wardrobe by just connecting your email as they pull your online receipts. Not only that, but they make the resale listings for you. So you just click on the product in your closet that you decide to sell and they cross list it to their partners like Depop, eBay, Poshmark, etc. They are solving a problem I think so many people have faced when trying to sell their clothes. Also right now, while you're looking at your wardrobe on Future Reference, you can go check out your wardrobe wrapped. So basically Spotify wrapped, but for the items in your closet. They have so many data points on your wardrobe from resale value, amount spent per item, color palette, and so much more. I am loving using future reference. I think it's just at the beginning of all the potential that they have and it is so exciting. I can't wait to see all of their success. I'll let Claire share more. So let's get into the episode. Follow Fashion & Founders: Follow Future Reference: Follow Birdy Bandanas: Thank you for listening! | |||
| 12 Jan 2025 | 38. Redyoos: Sustainable Jewelry Education & Recycling Your Jewelry into Clean Energy with Founder Cleo Escarez | 00:35:12 | |
Hello and welcome back to Fashion & Founders The Podcast. My name is Victoria Smith, and this week I’m joined with Cleo Escarez the founder of Redyoos. She has created a way for pre-loved jewelry to be recycled into clean energy solutions. You just order a free mail in kit, fill it up with your preloved jewelry, and Redyoos takes care of the rest. Jewelry that can be melted down can be recycled in solar panels and fashion jewelry that can’t be melted will be donated to their partner at Dress for Success. Think of Trashie or ThredUp but for your jewelry. Cleo shared some really interesting facts and data points about jewelry in this episode that I found super fascinating. As well as her journey to being an entrepreneur and how she started out as “entrepreneur curious.” Follow Fashion & Founders: Follow Redyoos: Follow Melez: Thank you for listening! | |||
| 19 Jan 2025 | 39. Is it Possible to Build a Fully Circular Fashion Brand? with Anne Warren Founder of Next Season | 00:38:55 | |
Hello and welcome back to Fashion & Founders The Podcast. My name is Victoria Smith and this week I was joined with Anne Warren, the founder of Next Season. Next Season turns old, damaged, unwanted sweaters into one-of-a-kind knitwear, reducing textile waste. Anne used to work in tech as a product manager with a background in mechanical engineering and always had an interest in fashion so during covid began experiment and asked herself, is it possible to create a completely circular fashion brand. Follow her journey on substack and learn about all things knitwear. One of my personal goals is to learn a new hobby in 2025 and I’m getting a lot of inspo from Anne. Follow Fashion & Founders: Follow Next Season: Follow Raphaella Santana: Thank you for listening! | |||
| 26 Jan 2025 | 40. ZERO: The Revolve for Sustainable Fashion from Friends to Founders with Ellie and Brigitte | 00:35:46 | |
Hello and welcome back to Fashion and Founders the podcast. My name is Victoria Smith and this week I'm joined with Ellie and Brigitte, the founders of Zero. I think of Zero as the Revolve for sustainable fashion where you can discover some of the coolest brands that you'll actually want to wear that you haven't already seen played out everywhere and also a way to explore your own personal style. I think what they are building is insanely cool and they have great advice to share from their experiences about building a business in fashion and sustainability with a mission. We talk about how they built out an advisory board, lessons from fundraising, and leaning on a network of other founders, all while still being friends. They met at USC and took what they learned and applied to a business that could create an impact. I learned a lot in this episode, and we also laughed a lot - do not miss the ending when they talk about their hot takes. Let get into the episode! Follow Fashion & Founders: Follow Zero: Follow Olivia Latinovich: Thank you for listening! | |||
| 02 Feb 2025 | 41. Gab Waller: Revolutionizing Fashion with Sourced By, AI-Powered Fashion Sourcing Platform | 00:36:16 | |
Hello and welcome back to Fashion and Founders The Podcast, this week I'm joined with Gab Waller, founder of Gab Waller Dot Com and Sourced By. Gab is a fashion sourcer, her team finds sold out pieces for clients and makes the impossible happen. She is now building a fashion tech business, SourcedBy, an AI powered search tool with StockX founding engineer, Scott Davis, as CTO. She has so much insight to share from founding a business, working in fashion, moving to the U. S., getting investment, finding engineers for her fashion tech business, life advice and so much more. You can also find out more about what Gab is doing through her monthly Vogue column, The Hot List, where she shares top trending pieces that she is sourcing. I am so excited to dive deep into the fashion tech company she is building and what she thinks the future of fashion holds. Follow Fashion & Founders: Podcast IG: @fashionandfounders Podcast Substack: Fashion and Founders Podcast Website: fashionandfounders.com Victoria TikTok: @vfsmith11 Podcast LinkedIn: Fashion and Founders Podcast YouTube: Fashion and Founders Victoria Pickle Closet: @victorias Locker Links: Locker Follow Gab Waller: IG:gabwaller IG: gabwallerdotcom IG: @sourcedby Follow Celestial Vintage: IG: @celestialvvintage Website: https://www.celestial-vintage.com/ Thank you for listening! | |||
| 16 Feb 2025 | 42. EDGE NYFW: Fashion Tech Takeaways | 00:52:37 | |
In this episode you will hear behind the scenes from the panelists at EDGE NYFW. I hosted a pop up podcast studio for Fashion & Founders at EDGE and interviewed the panelists to recap the panels they were on and share some behind the scenes! Thank you to the hosts Manya co-founder of Threads of Tech, Mary Korlin-Downs founder of All Things Fashion Tech, and Colette Johnson founder of In Haus. Guests include: Breaking into Fashion Tech:
Innovating with Brands:
Extending Lifecycles:
Personalized Shopping:
Follow Fashion & Founders: Podcast IG: @fashionandfounders Podcast Substack: Fashion and Founders Podcast Website: fashionandfounders.com Victoria TikTok: @vfsmith11 Podcast LinkedIn: Fashion and Founders Podcast YouTube: Fashion and Founders Victoria Pickle Closet: @victorias Locker Links: Locker Follow Threads of Tech: IG: @threadsoftech Substack: Threads of Tech Follow All Things Fashion Tech: Substack: ATFT Follow In Haus: LinkedIn: Colette Johnson Thank you for listening! | |||
| 23 Feb 2025 | 43. The Big Silly Trivia Game with Host Natalie Shine on Following Your Passions, Brand Building, & Global Girlhood Domination | 00:43:29 | |
Hello and welcome back to Fashion Founders the Podcast. My name is Victoria Smith and this week I'm joined with Natalie Shine, the host of the Big Silly Trivia Game. If you don't know what the Big Silly Trivia Game is, you are missing out. It is a 30 minute Wednesday night trivia for the girls all about pop culture. Natalie is the host, and she is incredible at it. The prizes are amazing, the questions are so fun, the vibes are high, and you're just guaranteed a midweek pick me up. In this episode, you will hear the origin story of the Big Silly Trivia Game and get a bit of the behind the scenes of how the creative strategy and storytelling works that weaves through every single episode. There's a lot to unpack from the perfectly curated themes, the incredibly strong community that has come out of this, and fun things happening in the future for the Big Silly Trivia Game. The conversation ranges from fun and games, quite literally, to returning to yourself and making the younger version of you proud and doing the things that really truly make you happy. I was laughing a lot in this episode. Natalie is hilarious and definitely wait until the end for a very funny hot take. Follow Fashion & Founders: Podcast IG: @fashionandfounders Podcast Substack: Fashion and Founders Podcast Website: fashionandfounders.com Victoria TikTok: @vfsmith11 Podcast LinkedIn: Fashion and Founders Podcast YouTube: Fashion and Founders Victoria Pickle Closet: @victorias Locker Links: Locker Follow The Big Silly Trivia Game: Follow Natalie: IG: natgawd Follow Spicy Dan: IG: shopspicydan Thank you for listening! | |||
| 02 Mar 2025 | 44. Cherry Pick: Building The Entire Internet of Vintage Fashion with Founder Delaney Delponti | 00:46:55 | |
Hello and welcome back to Fashion and Founders, the podcast. My name is Victoria Smith, and this week I'm joined with Delaney Delponti, founder of Cherry Pick. Cherry Pick is going to be your one stop shop for everything vintage, combining your most loved online thrift and vintage sites into one place. In this episode Delaney not only gives us a bit of a sneak peek into what cherry pick will be, but she also shares some invaluable and really honest advice about being an entrepreneur from all the questions she had starting out, all the things she didn't know and had to figure out herself for the first time. Showcasing how much she's learned and sharing this knowledge for other people. If you listened to the episode with Brigitte and Ellie, the founders of Zero, they referenced Delaney as being somebody that they go to when they have founder questions and need advice. This community is so strong and supportive, full of amazing young female founders, and I just feel so grateful to be a part of it. This episode with Delaney is so information and knowledge rich and she really breaks things down in a way that anyone can understand because she's been in that position before too. So if you are someone interested in not just fashion tech, but really anything business or entrepreneurship, there is something for you to take away from this episode from time management, hiring, finding mentors, networking, and an insane, insane story about fundraising as well. Follow Fashion & Founders: Podcast IG: @fashionandfounders Podcast Substack: Fashion and Founders Podcast Website: fashionandfounders.com Victoria TikTok: @vfsmith11 Podcast LinkedIn: Fashion and Founders Podcast YouTube: Fashion and Founders Victoria Pickle Closet: @victorias Locker Links: Locker Follow Cherry Pick: Ig: @cherrypickdotcom Sign up for the waitlist: https://cherry-pick.com/ Follow Delaney Delponti: Ig: delaney_delponti Follow Oh What a Match!: IG: @oh_what_a_match Matchbook Guide: https://owam.substack.com/ Shop: https://ohwhatamatch.com Thank you for listening! | |||
| 16 Mar 2025 | 45. Starting a Business with Your Best Friend in Your Twenties with Co-Founders of No Standing NYC Sari & Helena | 00:32:24 | |
Hello and welcome back to Fashion Founders the Podcast. My name is Victoria Smith and this week I am joined with Helena and Sari, the co-founders of No Standing NYC. No Standing is a luxury vintage and secondhand store with curated pieces at an accessible price. You can find their stunning store in the heart of Soho and browse some amazing vintage selections curated from around the world. With pieces you may have seen on Alix Earle, Your Rich BFF, and other celebrities. Sari and Helena have a lot of fun stories of building a business in your 20s with your best friend. From cornering Daniel Bernstein of WeWoreWhat in the bathroom, giving out free product to the girls of the bachelor, and visiting vintage warehouses in Europe. Whether you're interested in learning more about entrepreneurship or curating vintage pieces from around the world, listen to this episode. If you’re the type of person that every time you hang out with that one friend you you’re like we need to start a business together… let this episode be your inspiration to do it. Featured in Vogue article, “Why Instagram vintage sellers made the jump to physical stores.” Follow Fashion & Founders: Podcast IG: @fashionandfounders Podcast Substack: Fashion and Founders Podcast Website: fashionandfounders.com Victoria TikTok: @vfsmith11 Podcast LinkedIn: Fashion and Founders Podcast YouTube: Fashion and Founders Victoria Pickle Closet: @victorias Locker Links: Locker Follow No Standing NYC: Ig: @no.standing.nyc Follow Klein Designs!: IG: @shopkleindesigns Thank you for listening! | |||
| 23 Mar 2025 | 46. Investor to Co-Founder: The New Era of Brand Loyalty with CAKE Founder Estelle Palandjian | 00:49:23 | |
Hello and welcome back to Fashion and Founders the Podcast. My name is Victoria Smith, and this week I'm joined with Estelle, the co-founder of Cake. Estelle went from being an investor at a VC investing in Cake to joining as a co-founder. So not only do we get her perspective as a founder, but also as an investor and specifically her take on fashion tech and the appetite that the industry has to be investing in these companies - and what about Cake made it stand out. Cake is member based shopping that rewards the customers with perks, gifts, events, dinners, and more. For example a female founder panel with a couple Cake brands Like Marina Larroude and Chelsea Parke. So with your membership you get access to cake cards, which are basically gift cards to these brands adding up to thousands of dollars in rewards. Right now it is invite only but I have a special link for podcast listeners. Follow Fashion & Founders: Podcast IG: @fashionandfounders Podcast Substack: Fashion and Founders Podcast Website: fashionandfounders.com Victoria TikTok: @vfsmith11 Podcast LinkedIn: Fashion and Founders Podcast YouTube: Fashion and Founders Victoria Pickle Closet: @victorias Locker Links: Locker Follow CAKE: IG: @cake.members Follow Sunday Attire & Hannah: IG: @shopsundayattire IG: @hannah.detwiler Thank you for listening! | |||
| 30 Mar 2025 | 47. PR Masterclass: How to Be Your Own PR Agent and Write a Standout Pitch with Emily Blair Media | 00:49:03 | |
Learn how to win the PR game from Emily Blair Marcus the founder of Emily Blair Media. Hello and welcome back to Fashion Founders, the podcast. My name is Victoria Smith, and this week I'm joined with Emily Blair Marcus, the founder of Emily Blair Media, a PR firm with offices in LA, New York and London. She is the PR powerhouse behind this new era of celebrities. She's worked with Morgan Riddle, Harry Jowsey, Sabrina the Tube girl, Ekin Su from Love Island, Pookie and Jett, Boys Lie, Sofia Franklin and so many more. Learn about her strategy, growing a business internationally, and amazing tips on how to write a winning pitch, how to actually get a journalist attention, and how to be your own PR agent. Follow Fashion & Founders: Podcast IG: @fashionandfounders Podcast Substack: Fashion and Founders Podcast Website: fashionandfounders.com Victoria TikTok: @vfsmith11 Podcast LinkedIn: Fashion and Founders Podcast YouTube: Fashion and Founders Victoria Pickle Closet: @victorias Locker Links: Locker Follow Emily Blair Media: IG: @emilyblairmarcus IG: @emilyblairmedia Follow Koster Kulture!: IG: @kosterkulture Thank you for listening! | |||
| 06 Apr 2025 | 48. StylewithSoco: From Bloomingdales to Full Time Content Creator and Tips on Working in Fashion in NYC | 00:57:43 | |
Hello and welcome back to Fashion and Founders The Podcast, my name is Victoria Smith and this week I’m joined with Sophie Cohen aka Style with Soco! If you don’t already know, Sophie, you might recognize some of her iconic pink or vintage looks she wears around New York City. She’s already had a incredible career in the fashion industry and shares really great advice whether you’re a college student, post grad, or looking to make a pivot in your career. She used to work corporate at Bloomingdale’s and we talk about that time as well as her transition into working for herself full time. Something I love about this episode is that her advice spans from tips on landing your dream job to tips on starting a business and growing it too. Hear the behind the scenes from amazing moments to scrappy stories hustling in NYC. Follow Fashion & Founders: Podcast IG: @fashionandfounders Podcast Substack: Fashion and Founders Podcast Website: fashionandfounders.com Victoria TikTok: @vfsmith11 Podcast LinkedIn: Fashion and Founders Podcast YouTube: Fashion and Founders Victoria Pickle Closet: @victorias Locker Links: Locker Follow Style with Soco: Ig: stylewithsoco TikTok: @stylewithsoco Series: @meetyouinfive Follow Sara Nicole Vintage: IG: @saranicolevintage Thank you for listening! | |||
| 20 Apr 2025 | 49. The Future of AI in Fashion: Personalization, Emerging Designers, and Fashion Tech with Arête Co-Founder Kotryna Jukneviciute | 00:47:25 | |
Hello and welcome back to Fashion and Founders The Podcast, my name is Victoria Smith, and this week I'm joined with Kotryna, the co-founder of Arete. Arete is an AI powered marketplace for emerging designers built to create connection between shoppers and designers and allow you to play and discover with the clothing. They are quickly growing as they recently opened their store in soho this April and launched a partnership with Pickle. The Arete app is super fun to use and navigate - with videos from designers, moldboard feature, and social sharing. Let’s here from Kotryna! Follow Fashion & Founders: Podcast IG: @fashionandfounders Podcast Substack: Fashion and Founders Podcast Website: fashionandfounders.com Victoria TikTok: @vfsmith11 Podcast LinkedIn: Fashion and Founders Podcast YouTube: Fashion and Founders Podcast Links: Shop My Victoria Pickle Closet: @victorias Locker Links: Locker Follow Arête: IG: @aretestudios_____ Download the App Visit Arete at 147 Grand St, New York, NY 10013! Follow Cherry Knots: IG: @cherryknotsnyc Use code FASHIONFOUNDERS10 for 10% off through May 1st! Thank you for listening! | |||