Next Wave Fashion Tech – Sustainability & Smart Textiles (Panel + Giveaway)
The fashion industry is one of the world’s most polluting. Reportedly topped only by oil, the fashion industry is contributing to major environmental destruction – mainly because consumers insist on buying so many clothes at such cheap prices. Alternatives do exist. The solution lies in buying less and choosing better quality items that are made as ethically as possible.
Some of the most exciting developments in fashion aren’t happening on the runway — they’re happening in the lab. Bacteria-produced dyes, lab-grown leather, kelp-based textiles, chemistry-driven recycling and self-heating fabrics are only some of the new discoveries that are cropping up.
In order to raise awareness about some of the challenges of fashion industry, as well as possible solutions, Women of Wearables are bringing together six female founders who will share their entrepreneurial stories and views on all things fashion tech, sustainability, smart textiles and everything in between!
Rana Nakhal Solset is the founder and CEO of EMEL+ARIS. From her teenage years, she was fascinated with magazines, supermodels and fashion and fabrics. Ever since she went to university, the idea of technology in fashion was interesting to her. With her love and appreciation of fashion, design and fabrics she have created the perfect coat that heats and embodies all her passions.
Marta Waydel is a social entrepreneur, researcher and Influencer in the field of Fashion Tech and Sustainability. She is a Co-Founder of iKLEID – an experience platform that not only is trying to solve the problem of fashion overconsumption but also aim to activate new concepts and abilities to experiment how to better use clothes. Her main area of interests and research include Fashion Tech, IoT, Smart Textiles, Circular Economy and Consumer Behaviour.
Hasna Kourda is the co-founder and CEO of Save Your Wardrobe. She always had a strong interest in fashion both the design and the business aspects and grew up with the entrepreneurial mindset. Hasna worked in retail for a luxury brand where she found out that most of her clients didn’t know or forgot what they had in their wardrobe, or didn’t know how to style a particular item so they stop wearing it. She saw the opportunity to find a more efficient way to make the most of one’s wardrobe and that’s how the idea of Save Your Wardrobe was born.
Ashley Knowles is Technical Director at Butterfly Twists. Butterfly Twists is a UK based shoe brand which specialises in affordable, comfortable flat shoes for all occasions. It launched in 2009 with the infamous folding ballerina shoe and last year sold over half a million pairs of shoes. Their shoes are lightweight and versatile and their point of difference is the ‘Twist Tech’ technology in each and every shoe – a memory foam insole that delivers great comfort and cushioning under foot.
As an ‘Identity Developer ‘Janne Baetsen is renowned for introducing a more human approach towards branding, design and technology. She has created MINDFASHION.today: a growing multi-disciplinary Plug-In [Re] Framework for Fashion, connecting minds in – among others – Design, Psychology, Cultural Economics, Technology and Branding, challenging conventions about the way we think, behave and communicate as well as today’s definition of progress.
Joanna Dai is the founder and CEO of womenswear fashion brand, Dai. Dai is performance wear for women who mean business, balancing eco-certified technical fabrics with elegant tailoring. The brand advocates for sustainability and social impact that empowers women. Joanna is a US expat based in London, and was previously an investment banker for 8 years at a global financial services firm in New York and London.
Moderated by – Marija Butkovic, founder and CEO of Women of Wearables
Agenda
6.00 – 6.30 – Registration and networking
6.30 – 6.35 – Women of Wearables – 5 minute presentation
6.35 – 8.00 – Panel discussion + Q&A
8.00 – 9.00 – Food, refreshments and networking
Join them for an inspirational and educational evening with six incredible influencers and companies who are all very vocal when it comes to supporting sustainable fashion and latest breakthroughs in the world of fashion technology. They welcome all genders!