Stay ConnectedFashion & Founders is a media platform exploring how fashion is actually built. Hosted by Victoria Smith, the show sits at the intersection of fashion, technology, and capital spotlighting the founders, investors, and operators shaping the industry’s next era.
Through long-form conversations, we go beyond trends to unpack fundraising, manufacturing, resale, AI, sustainability, career, and the evolving business of fashion. This is where fashion’s builders speak, share, and connect.
Copyright: © 2024 Interwoven Stories
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:
Podcast IG: @fashionandfounders
Podcast Website: fashionandfounders.com
Victoria TikTok: @vfsmith11
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Victoria Pickle Closet: @victorias
Podcast Substack: Fashion and Founders
Follow Threads of Tech:
Instagram: @threadsoftech
Job Board
LinkedIn: Threads of Tech
Substack: Threads of Tech
Follow Naama:
Instagram: @mieuxnaama
LinkedIn: Naama Paulemont
Follow Manya:
Instagram: @manyaownbusiness
LinkedIn: Manya Jain
Thanks for listening!
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.
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They’re hiring!
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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.
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Podcast Website: fashionandfounders.com
Victoria TikTok: @vfsmith11
Podcast LinkedIn: Fashion and Founders
Victoria Pickle Closet: @victorias
Podcast Substack: Fashion and Founders
Follow Mary Korlin Downs:
IG: @marykorlindowns
TikTok: @maykorlindowns
Substack: All Things Fashion Tech
LinkedIn: Mary Korlin-Downs
Follow Pink Antique:
IG: @pinkantique_
IG: @emilyanndeutsch
Thank you for listening!
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.
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Podcast IG: @fashionandfounders
Podcast Website: fashionandfounders.com
Victoria TikTok: @vfsmith11
Podcast LinkedIn: Fashion and Founders
Victoria Pickle Closet: @victorias
Podcast Substack: Fashion and Founders
Follow Beni:
IG: @join_beni
TikTok: @join_beni
Website: joinbeni.com
Follow Grandpa’s Shirts
IG: @grandpasshirts
LinkedIn: Grandpas Shirts
Thank you for listening!
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:
Podcast IG: @fashionandfounders
Podcast Website: fashionandfounders.com
Victoria TikTok: @vfsmith11
Podcast LinkedIn: Fashion and Founders
Victoria Pickle Closet: @victorias
Podcast Substack: Fashion and Founders
Follow Locker:
IG: @wantlocker
TikTok: @wantlocker
Website: wantlocker.com
Follow Kristine:
IG: @kristinelocker
TikTok: @kristinelocker
Thank you for listening!
Hello and welcome to the first episode of Season 3 of Fashion & Founders The Podcast, Conversations in Fashion Circularity, Tech, and Innovation!
Formerly Interwoven Stories, but all those episodes will still be available!
Intro in what's coming and some changes, I have lots of amazing episodes lined up! Conversations with founders and innovators working in different sectors of the fashion industry, offering an opportunity to get involved in this growing space. Hear directly from the people building the future of fashion about entrepreneurship, job opportunities, fashion tech, circularity, biomaterials, and more.
Follow Fashion & Founders
Podcast IG: @fashionandfounders
Podcast Website: fashionandfounders.com
Victoria TikTok: @vfsmith11
Victoria Pickle Closet: @victorias
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
Interwoven IG: @interwovenstories.pod
Victoria TikTok: @vfsmith11
Interwoven LinkedIn: Interwoven Stories
Victoria Pickle Closet: @victorias
Interwoven Substack: @interwovenstories
Follow Threads of Tech:
Instagram: @threadsoftech
Job Board
LinkedIn: Threads of Tech
Substack: Threads of Tech
Follow Naama:
Instagram: @mieuxnaama
LinkedIn: Naama Paulemont
Follow Manya:
Instagram: @manyaownbusiness
LinkedIn: Manya Jain
Listener Story:
Instagram: @too.many.jackets
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!
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.
An avid community gardener and activist, she’s contributed to U.N. Women USA NY during the chapter’s reign, and recently served as an advisory committee member for the 2023 U.N. Conscious Fashion Campaign & Lifestyle Network.
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:
Interwoven IG: @interwovenstories.pod
Victoria TikTok: @vfsmith11
Interwoven LinkedIn: Interwoven Stories
Victoria Pickle Closet: @victorias
Interwoven Substack: @interwovenstories
Follow Cascale:
Instagram: @cascale_org
LinkedIn: Cascale
Website: cascale.org
Follow Kaley:
Instagram: @kaleyroshitsh
LinkedIn: Kaley Roshitsh
Website: kaleyroshitsh.com
Listener Story:
Instagram: @sofia_bergstrom
Business: @stchsbys
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!
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
Interwoven IG: @interwovenstories.pod
Victoria TikTok: @vfsmith11
Interwoven LinkedIn: Interwoven Stories
Victoria Pickle Closet: @victorias
Interwoven Substack: @interwovenstories
Follow Remake:
Instagram: @remakeourworld
LinkedIn: remake.world
Website: remake.world
Ambassador Application: apply here!
Follow Emily:
Instagram: @emilymstochl
Website: emilystochl.com
Listener Story:
Multiple listener stories in this episode! From Remake’s Preloved Fashion Show at NYFW from Remake Ambassadors, the Circ x Mara Hoffman dress, and many more! Find the full stories on the Interwoven Instagram and Substack
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!
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
Interwoven IG: @interwovenstories.pod
Victoria TikTok: @vfsmith11
Interwoven LinkedIn: Interwoven Stories
Victoria Pickle Closet: @victorias
Follow Julia:
Julia IG: @julia_omara
Julia TikTok: @julia_omara
Julia LinkedIn: Julia O'Mara
Follow Pickle:
Pickle IG: @shoponpickle
Pickle X: @shoponpickle
Pickle TikTok: @shoponpickle
Pickle LinkedIn: Pickle
Listener Story:
Dani IG: @daniskov
Dani TikTok: @danigskov
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!
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