Hello tech stylistas, and welcome to the Digital Fashion Unlocked Podcast with your host me, Julia Pepper.

This is a podcast about digital fashion, which we define as any innovation that affects the retail fashion and apparel industry – from both traditional business models as well as from startups/corporations that are looking to disrupt the market. In season one of DFU, I speak with guests who come from prominent companies to startup entrepreneurs and freelance journalists to learn more about what they do and what they're interested in. Each episode will focus on a particular topic, with a goal of bringing together those interested in that subject matter - bringing the community together.

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Learn more about Julia Pepper here.

Episode 1 - Listen here

Zofia Zwieglinska is an international fashion reporter covering the intersection of technology and sustainability at Glossy, a business publication exploring the intersection of fashion and tech. Starting from its origins in the world of gaming, this episode is a deep dive into how digital fashion emerged as a viable consumer good and commercial venture, the differences between digital-native fashion ventures and the traditional process, and the steps digital fashion still has to take before making the leap from niche gaming audiences to mass adoption. 

Interested in reading more of Zofia’s deep dives on fashion and tech? Follow her on Twitter @_Stylion_

Episode 2 - Listen here

Afsha Iragorri is a technical designer who has previously worked for top brands including Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. Now, she’s an independent 3D designer with Browzwear who has shown work at Digital Fashion Week, and advises other businesses and fashion houses on how to update their processes and workflows using 3D technologies. In this episode, we dive into her journey as a technical designer and entrepreneur, and how blockchain tools are changing her creative and business approach through digital fashion design. Check out her work here. 

Episode 3 - Listen here

Simone Berry, one of Vogue Business’s top Web3 Innovators, is a co-founder of the People of Crypto lab actively working to increase representation in the space and ensure diverse voices and creative entrepreneurs have the resources they need to make the most of blockchain technology. She also has over a decade of experience working in the fashion industry and directing design at leading consumer fashion brands. In this episode, we dive into Simone’s experience with People of Crypto Labs’ community design, her approach to making Web3 language and technology accessible to a broad audience, and how she evaluates the diversity claims of other projects. 

Follow People of Crypto Lab here. 

Episode 4 - Listen here

Kerry Murphy is the co-founder and CEO at the Fabricant, the world’s first completely digital fashion house on the FLOW Blockchain. In this episode, we dive into the Fabricant’s approach to designing its royalty structure and pricing, managing creatives in a decentralized fashion house, and Kerry’s predictions for the future of the industry. 

Follow the Fabricant on Twitter. 

Episode 5 - Listen Here

Over the past two years every major fashion brand has done a digital fashion drop, from Gucci’s NFTs to Balenciaga’s foray into Fortnite. Yet, in spite of this “mainstream adoption,” many consumers and creators disregard digital clothes, perceiving them as counter to the values of their traditional counterparts. With her new digital fashion platform DRAUP,  Daniella Loftus is endeavoring to change these conceptions. Proving that despite digital fashion’s scalable, automated and accessible nature it can still possess the craft and covetable nature of its physical counterparts.  With a steadfast mission to optimize the value of digital fashion for both consumers and creators, Loftus shares exclusive insights on key industry terminologies, the future of this burgeoning industry, and its impact on widespread adoption-- from the consumer to the creator.

Episode 6 - Listen here

It’s no surprise that the competition for customer engagement and loyalty among fashion and luxury brands has become more fraught than ever in today’s consumer landscape, resulting in the rise of an emerging strategy to capture and hold attention: experiential retail, enabled by developing immersive technology such as virtual and augmented reality, as well as ever-improving 3D images and worlds. In this episode, we dive into the experiential retail opportunity from a design perspective with John Cates, the 3D design lead at Obsess, a fast-growing startup that designs 3D virtual retail experiences for top luxury and fashion brands including Ralph Lauren, Coach, and more. Listen in for John’s take on how immersive tech is changing core eCommerce design principles, how the traditional retail design process has been translated to the digital realm, and the difference between different types of immersive eCommerce experiences.