last month’s
EVENTS
Event Image via Style Coalition
Each month we get the
opportunity to attend some of the most
exciting, innovative events in our industry.
July was no exception, centering around
product demos and networking events, along
with an inspired exchange of expertise
between fashion tech professionals. Check out
our highlights from the key events of the
month.
On July 12th Fosterly teamed up
with Lisa Morales-Hellebo of Shopsy to host
their first ever Fashion Tech Study Hall at the
AOL/Huffington Post office in Manhattan.
e goal for this day-long event was to offer a
collaborative environment for industry
professionals and fresh faced startups to meet,
discuss and tackle the most prominent issues
in fashion tech.
As the event was limited to fiy
attendees, it made for an almost intimate
experience of connecting and sharing
expertise with people from all walks of life,
including fashion, tech, marketing, and
editorial.
Coming away from the Study
Hall, we felt encouraged by the strong
community bonds that were formed. Content
strategists met with startups, community
managers with editorial leads, developers
with brands; we saw pretty much every
combination you could imagine. People went
into the event wanting to hear solutions but
oen found that they themselves could
provide insight for others.
Marking the midpoint of the
month on July 16th, Style Coalition
celebrated its five year anniversary by hosting
a Fashion 2.0 + Open Mic meetup.
Entrepreneurs and innovators met to watch
ten startups present their companies and gain
instant feedback from an expert panel made
up of Sim Blaustein of Bertelsmann Digital
Media Investments, Murat Aktihanoglu of ER
Accelerator, and Lauren Indvik from
Mashable.
roughout the night, startups
stepped up one by one to the mic to pitch
their company concepts. e team from
Ahalogy & Krupp Group talked about
creating greater ROI from Pinterest, while
Brayola is trying to solve the age-old problem
of fit when it comes to finding new bras. Rank
& Style showed the audience how its platform
takes the work out of finding the best items in
any given category. Reprisal has worked to
create a database to blacklist fraudulent
merchants and hopes to eventually develop an
API. StyleShoots presented an innovative
photo station that streamlines the process of
taking pictures of goods and uploading them
to web. TrendsGirl talked about providing
affordable solutions to style through a
monthly accessories subscription box service
and VeriFund offered a new crowdfunding
platform for designers to help them figure out
what to produce and what is trending for the
next season. WiShi spoke to the audience
about its virtual wardrobe platform that
allows anyone to become a stylist and offer
suggestions to enhance your wardrobe.
Finally, team ZAOZAO spoke about their
creation of a crowdfunding platform for
Asian inspired one of a kind creations.
e take home message from the
experts for the night was to be bold, confident
and at the ready when pitching your
company. Having run through the demo time
quicker than expected, the floor was opened
up to anyone in the audience wanting to give
a quick micropitch. It was exciting to see
people gather their confidence and stand up
to quickly run through their company’s
description.
// 22