>>Hi guys, I'm Louise Rowe and I'm here talking
to fashion insiders as part of the Skype Conversations
series.
We're in very trendy Shoreditch home to London's
most edgy street styles and it's a fitting
place to talk about how cutting edge technology
has opened up the fashion industry.
Joining me on the sofa right now is José
Neves founder and CEO of global high end e-tailer
Far Fetch.
How are you doing today?
>>Very well, very well.
>>Good.
Thank you for joining us.
And it's not just you we have other people
joining us on Skype all around the world.
So from New York is Craig Arend on of fashions
first street style photographers and the founder
of website Altamira, Models Off Duty, Craig
how you doing?
>>Good, how are you?
>>Good thanks.
And we've got Lauren Sherman writer and editor
at large of Fashionista.com one of my favorite
websites, it is huge, we love it.
But that's not all, Lauren you are a legend,
you have written for Elle.com, on the Wall
Street Journal, the Style.com as well, huge,
huge website.
So thanks for joining us Lauren.
>>Thank you.
>>Last but not least, also in New York is
Edwin Mullon founder, CEO and creator of Fashion
GPS, one of the industry's most indispensable
technology systems to date.
Edwin thank you for being with us too.
>>Thank you.
>>So, lets kick it off with Lauren.
What has been the general impact of technology
on fashion?
Big question to open up with.
>>Yeah it's a really big question, I mean,
I think obviously it's changed everything.
But, I think the biggest thing is it's made
everyone in the industry more accountable.
Everything you do now can be tracked, everything
can be accelerated, so it's made people a
lot more accountable and it's made everything
move more quickly.
>>Super fast.
Before somethings even come on the runway
we've already seen it on Twitter and Instagram
backstage right?
And how do you think technology enables creative
opportunities?
>>Yeah I think that we are living in the era
of the entrepreneur and that is very, very
true in fashion.
Whether or not you are doing an e-commerce
start-up or a blog or your, you know, a personal
stylist it's allowed people to kind of build
their own audiences and create really cool,
interesting businesses that might not have
existed 10 years ago.
>>José I'd love to come to you on that note.
As the founder of an e-commerce company your
success clearly hinges on technology, could
you ever have predicted how successful that
would be?
>>I've always been an entrepreneur, and my
first business was actually when I was 19
years old, it was a technology business.
So I was a coder before I even understood
anything about fashion, and then I just stumbled
upon fashion by chance in 1996.
I moved to London , so I always had this,
you know, dual track of technology and fashion.
And it was really clear to me back in 2007
when I had the idea that the online channel
was going to be vital for, for retailers in
general and for independent fashion boutiques,
and all they needed was a platform and a company
that really loved them and understood them
and provided them the tools to.
>>The leg-up.
>>Yeah.
>>And Craig on to you, how has technology
helped to shape your career as a fashion photographer?
Because I love your story.
>>Originally I was inspired by the message
boards back in around 2004 and 5 at Fashionspot.com.
And my progress as a photographer is strictly
due to social media and the internet 100%.
I got my bookings and my booking value, I
would say at the beginning of my career mostly
from the blog.
>>And now Instagraming for New York Times,
doing alright.
>>Instagraming for the New York Times, adapting
to the rise of the power of mobile tablet
technology.
>>Yeah.
That's not so bad, you're doing alright Craig.
Edwin I'd love to ask you, how do you think
technology has made the fashion industry more
efficient?
>>I feel like we're just at the beginning.
But I feel when I think about this data, you
know, data is so important in what we are
doing and how we are tracking it.
So I feel like data is going to be a pretty
important part of how the fashion industry
is going to become more efficient.
>>I'm in absolute awe of all of you, the way
that you have predicted and also kind of jumped
off the cliff a little bit because nobody
can predict what is going to happen with technology.
Lauren back to you, technology and fashion,
you've written about it extensively, it's
a subject close to your heart, how do you
think it's changed in recent years with fashion
embracing the technology?
>>Well I think that José is a very special
case and that he does have both tracks and
I think that was the big issue for fashion
for a long time is that everyone was creative
and no one really wanted to understand the
technology, maybe they wanted to use it.
I'd say in the last 2 or 3 years there's been
a lot more investment in fashion start-ups
and therefore more technology people have
been more interested in it.
But I think that it's taking quite some time
and most publishing houses and most ecommerce
sites are still not there in terms of really,
really going all for it.
It's companies that kind of start from the
ground up, Far Fetch, Another Kind is another
one, that seem to be the most successful on
both ends of the stick.
>>So Craig, back in 2007 you were one of the
first ever street style photographers and
it doesn't seem that long ago, but since then
it's just become a phenomenon.
Just standing outside Lincoln Centre at Fashion
Week just everyone seems to be a photographer
now thanks to the camera phone, how do you
stay ahead of the curve?
>>I stay ahead of the curve by recognising
that in the same way as Google and Ebay and
Style.com exploded onto the desktop scene
back in 2000 to 2003, so we are now in an
equal oppurtunity era of like the "application
era".
So I study sites like Mashbowl popular sites,
a favourite of mine is the singularity, and
I even spend time on the application store
on the iPhone finding out what the marketplace
is responding to by figuring out which apps
have been downloaded the most, which ones
are the top-grossing apps and by doing my
research that way.
>>That's some good tips there.
Edwin, you designed the Fashion GPS specifically
as a tool for the industry, and I mean it's
blown up, it does a lot of different things.
Could you explain to people what Fashion GPS
is all about?
>>So, originally the system is built to do
sample management.
So if you are a PR agency and you need to
send out samples to say the media, traditionally
our Fashion GPS would take about 40 minutes,
we are able to take that whole process down
to a couple of minutes, and I think where
I became passionate, because I was doing other
things apart from creating databases, I think
at the time I was creating video games as
well, I actually had my heart set on other
things.
There's a lot of manual, things are still
done on paper, I don't get why people spend
an hour to do something when technology can
actually simplify it.
Especially the interns, because you know fashion
closets you have these interns that spend
hours trying
>>You've changed their lives Edwin!
I think interns around the world will be grateful
to you.
And also there's another part of Fashion GPS
which is more to do with the editorial side,
say Fashion Week, scheduling, how did that
come about?
>>Yeah, just how could we make fashion shows
more efficient.
So we started working with IMG and Mercedes
Benz in 2010, if you kind of think about what
happens with just New York Fashion Week we
have streamlined the whole process by introducing
barcodes and a community GPS radar and it
hasn't stopped there, for me I'm really looking
at the industry worldwide, how can we help.
At the end of the day, when you really start
to think about the fashion industry, what
actually happens.
You know you've got the fashion side, the
fashion shows, the samples and then you've
got the cad-cam, the business side of the
industry, so what we are really looking to
do is to help the whole industry connect and
make things more efficient.
>>Okay.
Craig, Models Off Duty has now become a term
that's been coined, and obviously that's the
name of your blog and your website.
Have you seen models using technology "off
duty" and what do you tend to see them doing
because some of them are very, very savvy
now with social media?
>>I do meet a lot more models now who are
just savvy with Instagram, and they get selfies.
>>Oh yeah.
>> So they get likes that way, and you know
they shoot behind the scenes action that your
typical teenage girl wouldn't be able to see
in unless it was for their Tumblr posts or
their Instagram posts.
>>Yeah or teenage boy Craig.
And Lauren, do you think technology enables
high fashion to be more accessible?
>>Yeah, I think one thing that is really interesting,
I mean obviously the internet has made fashion
much more democratic and I think you know
teenagers and people just starting to become
interested in fashion are much more better
educated than they were 15 years ago.
But I also think that 3D technology is something
that the fashion industry is going to have
to think a lot about in the next 5 or 10 years.
I was at a FT summit in New York last January
and they talked quite a bit about how 3D technology
and counterfeiting.
So I think you know technology is really exciting
but it's also a little scary, so it can be
great for designers and it can be not so great
so it's going to be a really great next 5
years I think.
>>Definitely, I mean livestreaming too, Burberry
was one of the first brands to do do that
with their show and sites like Moda Operandi
anyone can now buy straight from the runway.
Who are the other market leaders in you opinion?
>>I love Moda Operandi I think it's really
interesting, obviously Jose has done some
really interesting stuff.
>>It's lucky you said that because he's right
here.
>>I'm talking to him about omni-channel, stuff
that I'm interested in what he's going to
do because I really think that the future
is shopping in, not only online but connected
to in real life as well.
Not only is there a lot of great content but
when content and commerce work well together
that's just the most exciting thing.
>>Yeah.
Ok, Jose, retail, such a huge part of the
fashion industry.
How has technology changed retail?
>>It changed a lot, though actually 90% of
fashion sales still happen offline.
>>90%!
>>Yes.
Online is just 10% of the market.
>>Wow.
>>So I think actually what we are seeing is
just the tip of the iceberg.
>>Yeah, I had no idea it was so low.
>>It's really exciting because fashion is
the second largest ecommerce category and
I think there is going to be a myriad of new
business models, new ideas.
But fundamentally I think the merge of the
physical world with the digital world is the
next big thing.
>>Definitely.
You guys must be pretty kitted out, I've got
to ask which tech tools do you use in your
creative life?
Jose, start with you.
>>It's pretty predictable really, smart phone,
laptop, nothing too gadgety I'm afraid.
>>No UFO stuff no?
>>No.
>>I'm disappointed!
Somebody else give me something weird and
wonderful.
Lauren what do you use?
>>Does City Bike count?
>>Yeah.
>>Because it's a technology thing I'm a huge
proponent of City Bike.
I know in London you guys have, what do they
call them the Boris bikes or something?
>>Boris bikes.
You gotta love it.
>>You know obviously that's an in real life
thing but it's our bike technology and it's
changed the way I commute in the city, so
that's my favourite thing right now.
>>That's great.
Eddie, what were you saying?
You love the City Bikes?
>>I do, that's how I get around as well.
You know when you're like trying to catch
a cab and you can't get it and you know there's
the bike there, so it's easy to get and you
drop it off, so you know it's fantastic.
I love that.
I also luver Uber as well.
>>That's a brilliant one.
Craig, what do you love?
>>I'm a definite fan of Photoshop's application
that I use on my iPad.
So if I'm working under like a tight deadline
condition I have a camera cord that I can
connect directly to my camera, which is back
there, and it goes to my iPad and I can do
some photoshop work while I'm out.
Like during Fashion Week I can do work to
meet deadlines.
>>What's that one?
>>It's a Photoshop application.
>>It's that one like make beautify me or something
that just makes you flawless instantly for
those of us who can't properly use photoshop,
that's an amazing one.
I loved those answers that basically revolved
around bicycles.
I can understand bicycles.
Ok guys, quick fire round.
If you can answer each question in no more
than 5 words please.
Ok Jose, starting with you.
How will we be shopping in 2020?
>>Omni-channel is a bit of an industry buzzword.
Basically it's what's available somewhere
is available anywhere.
>>Ok, anywhere in the world.
>>Anywhere in the world.
>>Omni-channel . Alright, creatively which
tool could you not live without?
>>Drop box.
>>Ok, love it.
I know how to use that.
Ok, Craig over to you.
How will we be shopping in 2020?
>>Mobile tablet technology applications.
>>Creatively what tool could you not live
without?
>>Currently Instagram and Photoshop.
>>Ok, thank you Craig.
Eddie, how are we going to be shopping in
2020?
>>I feel there's going to be a lot that's
going to happen with, especially mobile and
also entertainment, for example you can be
watching a film or a tv you'll be able to
shop it and buy it.
I feel there's going to be a big shift in
that.
>>Ok, and which tool could you not live without?
>>The tool that I can not live without is
Skype, I use it all the time, I use it to
communicate with my developers, with my team,
I use it when I'm travelling abroad, it's
the best way for me to get in touch, you know
send files, yeah.
>>Thanks Eddie.
Last but not least Lauren, how will we be
shopping in 2020?
My answer is just for shoes, still shoes.
>>For lots of shoes, I'm just going to copy
Jose because he's the expert on this one and
say Omni-channel.
>>Ok, and creatively what tool could you not
live without?
>>Definitely my smart phone.
It's the center of my world.
>>Oo popular answer.
It was an absolute pleasure, we really appreciate
you time, your advice, it's been fascinating.
Thanks for joining us all around the world,
and to you guys at home there's more fashion
industry insights on the Skype Collaboration
project so go and take a look and get involved.
Thanks for joining us.
Bye.
Bye guys.
>>Bye, thank you.
