Venturing into Fashion Tech
This podcast explores topics on fashion tech, entrepreneurship, and fashion business. Host Peter Jeun Ho Tsang looks at how technology is transforming the fashion industry by dissecting themes such as startup innovation, the evolution of fashion jobs and business culture, and the digitalisation of the fashion value chain. Joined by guest speakers from the fashion industry, startup world and wider business community, you’ll hear stories from founders, creatives, and executives to help shape your understanding of fashion tech. The show is recorded from Beyond Form, a fashion tech innovation platform that works with ambitious founders to build fashion tech sta...
Underrepresented: Arooj Aftab is Done with Diversity in the Fashion and Creative Industries
Authentic Representation & Cultural Storytelling in Fashion:
Cultural consultant Arooj Afta, a Vogue Business 100 Next Gen agitator, explores the fashion industry, emphasizing entrepreneurship that prioritizes representation and authentic storytelling. She highlights the resilience required to challenge norms and the power of community engagement in fostering inclusion. She champions “Culture over Colour,” and the need to move beyond surface-level diversity to truly reflect society in creative industries. Her values and vision have led her to host events at Bicester Village, bringing together like-minded people to strengthen their community bond. Arooj also provides guidance for emerging designers seeking to elev...
Underrepresented: ADHD is my Fashion Innovation Superpower with Melissa Chung
Founder of Krippit Paris, a 3D-printed fashion accessories startup, Melissa Chung shares her journey as an underrepresented founder turning a personal problem into a business innovation. She discusses entrepreneurship, the resilience required to thrive as a woman in the finance industry, and the importance of representation for female founders. As a Canadian immigrant in France, she has learned that innovation has no language barrier—great ideas transcend language. Melissa also emphasizes taking the “dis” out of disability, turning what can be seen as a disadvantage into a personal advantage. She highlights how community engagement, mentorship, and advocacy for ADHD and le...
Underrepresented: Breaking Free from Iran to Build New Fashion Worlds with Mersedeh Heydari
Founder of Heymers Academy and Moodi Studio, Mersedeh Heydari shares her entrepreneurial journey as an underrepresented founder merging architecture, fashion, and game design to create immersive creative experiences. She discusses the resilience required to navigate cultural and systemic barriers in Iran, and the importance of representation for emerging creative talent. She emphasizes that there is no perfect world, and that thriving under Iran’s strict social and cultural standards has not only tested her perseverance but also ignited her creativity, shaping the bold, boundary-pushing vision that defines her work today.
Building Creativity & Opportunity in Fashion- we learn ho...
Underrepresented: The Power of Saying “No”, My Shark Tank Experience with Sehrish Raza
Sehrish Raza, a female fashion founder from Pakistan, shares her journey as an underrepresented founder navigating entrepreneurship in South Asia. She discusses the resilience required to scale her business from 20,000 to 200,000 users. She shares her experience pitching on Shark Tank Pakistan, and having the wherewithal and self-confidence to choose herself over a bad deal. Through BizB, she empowers women entrepreneurs and fosters financial inclusion in the region.
Lessons in Resilience & Growth- What we learned:
Fundraising and investment realities – the unique hurdles women face when raising capital.Shark Tank insights – navigating high-pressure pitching with confidence.Confi...Underrepresented: British Fashion Needs Diversity and Representation to Thrive with Ahmet Emin Hondor
With nearly 15 years in the British fashion industry, Ahmet Emin Hondor shares his journey advocating for entrepreneurship and resilience among emerging designers with the British Fashion Council. He reflects on how representation and cultural identity have shaped his path, while also addressing the mental drain of navigating microaggressions masked as politeness as a Turkish man in London. For Ahmet, community engagement is crucial to driving meaningful inclusion in the British fashion industry. Beyond his work with the British Fashion Council, he organizes London's Gay Pride, championing diversity, mental well-being, and authentic storytelling. Through his efforts, he is helping to...
Underrepresented: Redefining African Fashion & Cultural Identity with Nuel Bans
Founder of Debonair Afrik, Nuel Bans discusses his journey as an underrepresented founder championing African fashion on the global stage. From launching a blog to landing a Vogue cover, Nuel shares the resilience required to transform passion into a multifaceted brand. He highlights the importance of entrepreneurship, the impact of representation in elevating African creatives, and the power of community in fostering collaboration, purpose, and authentic cultural storytelling. Nuel also opens up about the struggle of minority designers, including repeated exclusion from opportunities with LVMH, and how adversity has shaped his vision to expand into Paris and grow his...
Underrepresented: Dorcas Payne on how to make Fashion Operations and Supply Chains Sexy
Dorcas Payne, a creative business consultant, shares her insights on building successful businesses in niche fashion markets. She emphasizes the critical role of operations and supply chain management in creative entrepreneurship, and the resilience needed to scale. For her, it’s crucial for emerging fashion talent to continuously listen to the feedback loop and use data to grow. Dorcas is on a mission to make supply chains sexy again, showing how strategic operations, thoughtful execution, and community-driven collaboration are just as exciting and essential as the designs on the runway.
The Backbone of Creative Business- in thi...
Underrepresented: Navigating Business in the United States as a Pasifika with Jessica Chin Foo
From Tahiti to the global stage, Jessica Vaitiare Chin Foo shares her journey navigating entrepreneurship in the United States. She highlights how her French Polynesian heritage shapes her approach to business, the resilience required to overcome systemic challenges, and the importance of representation for diverse founders in creative industries. Jessica also emphasizes the importance of leading with heart, role of communities and networking in creating opportunities. Her ultimate goal is to empower other underrepresented entrepreneurs.
The Heart of Inclusive Entrepreneurship - in this episode we talk about:
• Cultural identity fueling innovation- helping startups thrive
• Why netw...
VC Series: My Top 5 Insights from Conversations with an Investor
Peter Jeun Ho Tsang unpacks his top 5 key takeaways from the VC Series in conversation with Rohan Bansal. He unpacks:
No set path into fashion and retail tech venture capital – success requires building relevant experience and perspective rather than specific qualifications.The power of networks and relationships, crucial for both founders and investors to opening doors for funding and partnerships.Creating a winning pitch deck is essential when investors spend just three minutes reviewing it – clearly answer "why now" and "why you".Despite $3 billion in equity financing in 2024, there's a surprising lack of specialized fashion tech VC funds and...VC Series: Why So Few Fashion & Retail Tech Funds? with Rohan Bansal
Lack of Fashion & Retail Tech Funds:
The fashion tech sector raised nearly $3 billion in 2024, yet there's a surprising lack of specialised VC funds focusing on this growing market despite proven exits and significant market potential. In this final guest episode with Rohan Bansal, he chats with Peter on what some of the blind spots are for many investors.
The Struggle with Specialised VC Funds:
• Generalist VCs lack specialised expertise in fashion industry dynamics and operations.
• Traditional investors struggle to build the right networks for strong deal flow and exit...
VC Series: Crafting the Perfect Investor Pitch Deck with Rohan Bansal
The Perfect Investor Pitch Deck:
The perfect investor pitch deck combines storytelling, market understanding, and founder credibility to stand out in the competitive venture capital landscape. Venture capitalists typically spend just over three minutes reviewing each deck, with only 1% securing funding. In this episode Peter and Rohan breakdown what makes a great deck and the red flags that investors see.
Tips & Tricks Explored in this Episode:
• Storytelling is crucial as humans connect with narratives and founders must demonstrate how their experience is relevant to the problem they're solving.
• Mark...
VC Series: The Difference Between Early and Growth Stage Fashion Tech Startups w/ Rohan Bansal
The Lifecycle of Fashion Tech Startups:
This episode with guest speaker Rohan Bansal, he discussed with Beyond Form CEO Peter Jeun Ho Tsang the differences between early stage and growth stage companies and what it takes to secure funding at each level.
Early-stage v.s. Growth Stage Fashion Tech:
• The lifecycle: Pre-seed rounds typically fund companies with just an idea, while seed rounds support those with early traction and some revenue.
• Series A represents a critical graduation point where investor expectations significantly change and growth stage companies need...
VC Series: How I Broke into VC Fashion & Retail Tech Investing with Rohan Bansal
Rohan's journey into the VC industry:
Rohan Bansal shares his journey into the venture capital world, sharing how his nomadic childhood across eight countries equipped him with the global perspective crucial for successful investing in fashion and retail tech.
What you'll hear about VC investing:
• Living in different countries provided Rohan with unique insights into market idiosyncrasies and consumer behaviours.
• VC roles are highly competitive: over 450 applications for each associate position and 40% of new VC hires in 2024 came from startup or tech backgrounds.
• Key technologies transforming fashion retail i...
2024 Fashion Tech Year in Review: Gen AI & design, Bankruptcies, Hyper-Personalised Shopping & more with Yoobin Jung
As we close out 2024, this year's final episode is joined by Yoobin Jung, a VC at Plug and Play, where she along with our host Peter break down the fashion tech booms and busts that happened throughout the year. They discuss:
• AI's transformative impact on fashion design: Generative design tools are accelerating prototyping and reshaping brand identities, but raise ethical concerns about potentially replacing junior designers.
• The sustainability challenge: AI could help align production with demand, potentially addressing the persistent issue of overproduction in the fashion industry.
• Luxury brands and AI adoption: High-end fashio...
Build It Series Recap: My Top 5 Fashion Tech Takeaways with Peter Jeun Ho Tsang
We wrap up our 'Build It' podcast series with a reflective finale. Host Peter Jeun Ho Tsang tell us his top 5 key takeaways from navigating business growth, how to get through challenging times as a fashion tech startup, through to tech and humans coming together. This episode highlights the passionate voices featured throughout the series and how the call for a strategic collaboration between brands, investors, and innovators to not only sustain emerging technologies but to also foster their growth.
Connect with Peter on LinkedIn.
--------
The show is recorded from Beyond Form, a f...
Build It Series: AI Mirrors Transforming Fashion Retail with Raza's Afsal Koya
Setting Up a Fashion Store in the 90s:
Today's episode we're with Afsal Koya, CEO of Raza Clothing which is a fashion store and label in the USA that uses AIMIRR's virtual try-on technology. Afsal's transformation from a computer scientist to a streetwear brand founder is an unusual one. We hear his journey that started in a small Ohio store back in 1992, Afsal shares how he navigated the evolving landscape of fashion trends to launch his own brand, emphasising the importance of learning and teamwork in driving retail innovation.
AIMIRR and Virtual Try-On:<...
Build It Series: Harnessing Truthful Data & AI in Fashion Fit Tech with Katy Schildmeyer
Fashion's Fit Dilemma:
Today's episode features fashion garment technologist and fit expert Katy Schildmeyer. As online shopping increases, the challenge of ensuring accurate garment fit remains ever-present. Katy and Peter Jeun Ho discuss the pressing need for enhanced fashion education, particularly in the communication of fit and the creation of garments that cater to all body types, including the aging population. They reflect on the historical transformation from shopping experiences of the 90s, to the rising return rates in online retail today which can be more than 30% for some fashion brands.
Ensuring Data...
Build It Series: Embracing Failure in Fashion with Beatrice Newman
What Failing in Fashion Looks Like:
We welcome back Beatrice Newman, Head of Education at Beyond Form, where we discuss what it means to fail in fashion, what failure looks like, lessons that can be learned, and why it's still a taboo subject. Beatrice shares her personal failures whilst building her brand, Korlekie, from mis-understanding the customer to financing a commercial collection.
Lessons Learned Whilst Failing:
From funding challenges to the art of effective go-to-market strategies, we dive into the realities, challenges, and fails that fashion startups often face. Reflecting on...
Build It Series: Pivoting in Fashion Business with Beatrice Newman
MODE Pivots into Beyond Form Education:
Beatrice Newman, the creative force behind online fashion education platform Mode, chats in this episode what it means to pivot a fashion business. Exclusively on today's episode she reveals the launch of Beyond Form Education, a groundbreaking initiative bridging the gap between academia and the fashion industry.
Data-Driven Pivoting in the Fashion Industry:
We discuss how data-driven decisions and user feedback are revolutionising fashion education in a post-pandemic world. As the desire for in-person experiences resurges, Peter and Beatrice share insights on creating a global...
Build It Series: Modernising Fashion Factories with Shahkam Industries' Shahid Butt
Inheriting a traditional fashion factory in Pakistan:
Raised amidst the rich tapestry of a family-owned garment production business, Shahid Butt now helms his father's empire Shahkam Industries in Lahore, Pakistan. This episode offers a unique perspective on the balancing act between maintaining cultural heritage and embracing the cutting-edge transformations shaping the garment industry today. Shahid challenges preconceived notions of Pakistani manufacturers and invites listeners to reconsider the opportunities in partnering with local manufacturers.
Digitising a factory:
Shahid discussed with Peter the complexities of managing a vertically integrated knitwear operation, a challenge...
Build It Series: Achieving the Perfect Fashion Fit with AIMIRR's Pritesh Kanani
From Mumbai to Microsoft to Body Sizing:
Today's episode feature's Pritesh Kanani, founder & CEO of AIMIRR. From his early days in Mumbai to steering technological advancements at Microsoft, we hear Pritesh's journey to developing virtual try-on solution. Initially kickstarted by his mother's wish to see his future wife in a wedding dress remotely, the solution came to life that is now deployed by fashion retailers online and offline around the world.
Patenting the AI-Powered Body Scanning Software:
Pritesh reveals the intricacies of the U.S. patenting process and how their patented...
Build It Series: Pitching My Fashion Tech Idea to Old Men in Grey Suits with Launderd's Chelsea
Launderd's Fundraising Journey:
12 months on since we heard how Chelsea Van De Kamp, founder of Launderd, planned to launch her fashion repair and restoration platform, she's now back on the show but this time with all guns blazing as she begins her fundraising journey.
Chelsea shares why fundraising now is the right time for the company and her strategies for using storytelling to captivate investors. Her candid reflections on Launderd's progress offer a compelling look into the evolving landscape for women in entrepreneurship.
Hear Chelsea's original fundraising pitch to investors.
...
Build it Series: I Got Scammed Trying to Finance My Fashion Tech Startup!
The Financial Scam:
Have you ever found yourself tangled in a financial scam, when all you were trying to do was fuel your entrepreneurial dreams? Brian Yurachek, the founder and CEO of New York Culture Club, reveals his own unfortunate experience with an advance fee scam during his quest for a business loan to finance his fashion tech startup. We unravel the emotional turmoil that Brian endured and the resilience he had to muster up to get through it, a cautionary tale underscoring how startups, particularly those without substantial credit histories, are vulnerable to scams.
<...
Build It Series: From Wall Street to Fashion IoT with NYCC's Brian Yurachek
From Wall Street to Fashion Tech:
What happens when a Wall Street finance pro decides to revolutionise the fashion industry? Join us as we chat with Brian Yurachek, the CEO of New York Culture Club, who ditched the stock exchange for the fashion industry. His journey is not just a career pivot, but a demonstration of how most entrepreneurs find their internal power of creativity and courage to step outside their comfort zone and build something they're passionate about. In this case for Brian fashion IoT. We talk practical strategies for navigating startup challenges, emphasising the...
Build It Series: Supercharging a Knitwear Production Empire Using Data with AM Group's Ahmed Altaf
Producing Knitwear in Karachi:
Today's episode takes us to knitwear manufacturing straight from Karachi with Ahmed Altaf, CEO of AM Group, who shares his invaluable journey from academics to leading a family-run knitwear facility. Gain insights into what life is like in Pakistan's largest city and learn why Pakistan is a critical player in the global apparel market. Ahmed debunks common myths about working with knitwear manufacturers and highlights the benefits of a vertically integrated factory setup.
Transforming Outdated Processes:
The adoption of the WiMetrix system, sparked by the challenges of...
Build It Series: I'm Data-Optimising Fashion Manufacturing For Good with WiMetrix's Abdul Moiz Sajjad
We're back with a brand new series 'Build It', digging deep into how fashion tech startups are building their companies from the ground up.
Join Peter as he sits down with Abdul Moiz Sajjad, CEO of WeMetrix, to explore how data can change the way fashion factories can be infinitely more efficient. Abdul shares invaluable insights into how AI solutions like his are reshaping one of Pakistan's most vital economic sectors, textiles and garments, which contributes a massive 59.5% to the nation's exports.
In this episode, we learn the inefficiencies plaguing the fashion supply chains and...
Applied Series Recap: My Top 5 Fashion Tech Takeaways with Peter Jeun Ho Tsang
Wrap Up with 5 Key Fashion Tech Takeaways
We wrap up our 'Applied' podcast series with a reflective finale. Host Peter Jeun Ho Tsang tell us his top 5 key takeaways from navigating business growth, how to get through challenging times as a fashion tech startup, through to tech and humans coming together. This episode highlights the passionate voices featured throughout the series and how the call for a strategic collaboration between brands, investors, and innovators to not only sustain emerging technologies but to also foster their growth. This episode isn't just a summary; it's a map charting...
Applied Series: It is Possible to Turn Waste into Fabric with AltMat's Shikha Shah
Why Agricultural Waste?
Shikha Shah, with her rare blend of scientific expertise and compassionate leadership, tells us her transition from consultancy to building biorefineries to turn plant waste into textiles usable for the fashion and beyond. Coming to the realisation that if there's enough food in the world, then there's also enough waste in the world that can be reusable in some way. For Shikha after several years of research cracked the scientific formula that enables plant matter to be broken down and then transformed into fibre like structures.
Biorefineries, Material Innovations, and P...
Applied Series: The (Im)Possible Formula of On-Demand Fashion With Dr. Kitty Yeung
Incubating Inside Microsoft's Garage
When host, Peter Jeun Ho Tsang, first met Dr. Kitty Yeung she was a quantum physicist by day and a fashion technologist by night. Kitty's fashion tech journey was structured via a global Microsoft hackathon where she and a group of intrapreneurial colleagues decided to take on the mammoth task of solving fashion's overproduction problem by developing a software enabling on-demand production with a minimum order quantity of 1 unit. But is that even possible?
From On-Demand Production to 3D Assets
Having moved on from the Microsoft project...
Applied Series: Unlocking Efficiency with Digital Pattern Precision with N-Hega's Eliane Yeung
AI & Pattern Cutting
Whilst the art of fashion pattern cutting is still rooted in flat drawings done by hand, artificial intelligence is bringing the practice into contemporary design and produce development processes. N-Hega is a company that taps into AI to help brands to achieve results such as lay planning optimisation, waste reduction, and bringing the physical into the digital. In this conversation, host Peter Jeun Ho Tsang, speaks to Marketing & Product Development Director of N-hega on why digital pattern cutting is an important part of the fashion supply chain.
Digitising Pattern Cutting
Applied Series: Fashion Stores of the Future with Fit:Match, Cappasity & ShowcaseX
Building Tech Better Retail Experiences
Joining Von N. Ruzive and Peter Jeun Ho Tsang, co-authors of Fashion Tech Applied, are Hillary Littleton, Head of Marketing at FIT:MATCH, Elina Minina, CBDO at Cappasity, and Charles Wilders, CEO at Showcase X, to discuss how retail experiences are being augmented by technologies. The panel unpacks how tech like 3D modeling, AI, and augmented reality are reconfiguring the online and offline retail experiences. From creating your digital twin to find that impeccably fitting garment, to the role of AR holograms in building consumer trust, and why it's a combination of...
Applied Series: Creating Digital Storytelling Magic for Luxury Fashion with Holition's CEO Jonathan Chippindale
Turning Ideas into Fashion Storytelling Diamonds
Jonathan Chippindale made his luxury marketing name in the world of fine jewellery at De Beers prior to launching his creative tech studio, Holition. The magnetic pull of Jonathan's "Willy Wonka-esque" genius, has allowed him to tap into the transformative power of digital storytelling in the luxury space. His philosophy of 'human connections first, technology second' champions Holition's digital campaigns that tug at the heartstrings. In this episode, host Peter Jeun Ho Tsang delves into how Jonathan creates these beautiful fashion campaigns for some of the world's biggest brands.
Applied Series: Engineering Circular Fashion by Disassembling Products with Resortecs' Cédric Vanhoeck
From Engineering to Fashion
Imagine a world where your clothes are as easy to recycle as paper and plastic. That's the vision Cedric Vanhoeck, founder and CEO of Resortecs, is turning into reality, and in this latest episode, host Peter Jeun Ho Tsang and Cédric discuss how Cedric's original career path of engineering led him to sorting out one of the fashion industry's biggest problems: products designed and destined for the landfill.
Dismantling Products Stitch by Stitch
Resortecs' proprietary technologies, Smart Stitch and Smart Disassembly, are the linchpins in making gar...
Applied Series: What It Means to be the World's #1 Fashion School with John Lau at London College of Fashion
Becoming Dean of Academic Strategy at London College of Fashion
The North West of England is not necessarily associated with fashion, but the small town where John Lau grew up is where it all began. From reading his first copies of Vogue, to working in America and China in John's early fashion career, to now becoming the Dean of Academic Strategy at London College of Fashion, John shares how he uses all of these experiences to shape the future of fashion education.
Embedding Tech & Innovation into Fashion Education
John offers us a...
Applied Series: My Virtual Fashion Stores Increase Consumer Engagement 10x with Emperia's CEO Olga Dogadkina
Building Virtual Fashion Stores
The promise of an £80K deal that would never have happened until Olga met her technical co-founder on LinkedIn. Emperia was born. Specialists in building virtual stores for fashion brands, Olga and Peter dig deep into the retail, marketing, and creative strategies necessary to bring virtual spaces to life that resonate with a new generation of shoppers. Olga tells us firsthand how Emperia is not just adapting to the digital age but actively shaping its future, especially with the dawn of the Apple Vision Pro and Emperia's newly released 'creator toolkit'.
Applied Series: Why It's So Hard to Solve Fashion's Fit Problem with 3DLOOK's Vadim Rogovskiy
Fashion's Big Fit Problem
This episode features Vadim Rogovskiy, CEO of 3DLOOK, in which he takes us through how he discovered that fashion is the industry with the biggest pain to get body measurements and fit right. Starting from a tech perspective, in which he confesses is not necessarily the best process for starting a business, Vadim takes listeners though why fashion brands are struggling with fit.
AI Powered Body Measurements
3DLOOK's patented AI technology has the potential to reduce consumers buying ill-fitting clothes and its innovative approach can streamline the c...
Applied Series: Recycling Fashion's Waste with Refact's Pauline Guesné
Turning Textile Waste into Recycled Fibres:
Pauline Guesné, co-founder of Refact, once a corporate consultant now turned entrepreneur shares her story of a little French girl dreaming big. Those dreams developed into the desire to do something for the world and in this case fashion, having been shocked by the industry's wasteful nature. Pauline and her team have invented a novel process that utilises a combination of mechanical and chemical recycling processes to break down used garments into reusable fibres. Pauline shares in this episode how that magic happens and the drastic shift it could enact f...
Applied Series: The Future of Fashion Design & Product Development with T-Fashion & Aware
Human Creativity & Technology
Joining Von N. Ruzive and Peter Jeun Ho Tsang, co-authors of Fashion Tech Applied, are Yigit Alp Elmas CEO of T-Fashion and Koen Warmerdam co-founder of Aware, to discuss how tech is impacting the creation of fashion products. The conversation unpacks how human creativity is still a vital part of the design process and tech will not replace humans, but rather how the individuals with the tech skills will be the ones thriving. We confront the industry's resistance to new technologies and emphasise the importance of shifting mindsets to adopt these innovations that p...
Applied Series: Designing Retail Stores without Queues with MishiPay's CEO Mustafa Khanwala
The Beginning: Queue-less Payment Systems
The Beginning of the MishiPay story starts with our very own host's retail experiment, The Dandy Lab, in central London. The two kickstart Mustafa Khanawala's entrepreneurial journey in designing the store without queues and from here the fledgling scan-and-go technology becomes a full payment solution deployed at retail stores like Flying Tiger UK, Muji, and more. The episode explores the difficult first years getting over the hurdle of small pilots to full nationwide integrations and MishiPay securing their series B fundraising round.
Redesigning the In-store Experience
...
Applied Series: Immersive Tech's Fashion Moment with Matthew Drinkwater & Fashion Innovation Agency
One of the OGs of London's Fashion Tech Scene
Matthew Drinkwater, the force behind the Fashion Innovation Agency, part of London College of Fashion, is arguably one of the OGs that set the London fashion tech scene in motion over a decade ago. In this interview with host Peter Jeun Ho Tsang, Matthew shares his journey to building the agency from scratch drawing his part experiences in retail and working with brands in Japan. Starting with fashion wearables and eventually pivoting to immersive tech, we hear how Matthew used his learnings to now by working the...
