2014 Schedule
Interactive: March 7–11  •  Film: March 7–15  •  Music: March 11–16

Rejecting Mandated Fashion Trends of Mass Culture

#sxsw #fastfash

The fashion industry can give thanks to the recent leaps and bounds of technology and production for making fast fashion possible. But while fast fashion brings fast commerce, it’s come at a cost to individual style and quality (not to mention social and environmental costs). Because the signatures of personal style – clothing, home goods and the like – are now made in mass, it’s become virtually impossible for consumers to express their individuality among a sea of clones. Has the homogenization of fashion reached a tipping point? Are consumers no longer willing to compromise quality of product or individual style for a cheaper cost? This panel will address how forward-thinking retailers and new online players like Redbubble, Scoutmob and Fab.com are changing the game of fast fashion and mass consumerism, giving independent designers a platform to reach people on a global scale while putting the power of choice and individualism in the hands of both creator and consumer.

Presenters

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John Frechette

Owner

MADE

John Frechette is the owner of MADE, a brick and mortar family of shops in Wyoming. Working with 130+ artists MADE focuses on handmade functional art.

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Martin Hosking

Redbubble

Martin Hosking is Founder and CEO at Redbubble, an online marketplace helping over 250,000 artists reach over 10 million sets of admiring eyeballs each month. A creative writer and art lover at heart, he started the company in 2006 with the vision of creating a global platform for artists and designers to sell their work more easily and more often.

Prior to Redbubble, Martin cut his teeth in the heady days of the 90's internet startup world, leading the product development and technology teams at Looksmart. He went on to teach Entrepreneurial Finance at Melbourne Business School and has since been recognised as one of Australia's top web entrepreneurs.

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Michael Tavani

Co-Founder

Scoutmob

Michael is Scoutmob co-founder and head of product. Scoutmob is a venture-backed & nationally recognized local mobile company that was named one of the top apps in all categories by Wired and Mashable and one of the country's most promising companies by Forbes.Michael was awarded 2010 Mobile Marketer of the Year by the Tech Marketing Awards and Top Up-and-Coming Entrepreneur at TiECON Southeast 2013 and is a frequent speaker on startups. Prior to Scoutmob, Michael co-founded SkyBlox, a local Wi-Fi marketing company that became the first company to ever raise financing via Twitter. SkyBlox was named to Network World's list of 2009 mobile/wireless companies to watch. He previously worked in professional sports marketing for the Atlanta Hawks, Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA) and Major League Soccer (MLS). In 2002, he started Tavani Soccer, with his father and brother, a successful youth soccer camp company that has hosted thousands of campers and still runs today.

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Shannon Whitehead

Sustainable Apparel Consultant

Sustainable Apparel Consulting

Shannon Whitehead is a sustainable apparel consultant, columnist for the Ethical Fashion Forum and board member of Fashion Revolution Day USA. In 2010, she co-founded {r}evolution apparel, a sustainable clothing company for female travelers and minimalists that was featured in The New York Times, Forbes.com, TheWallStreetJournal.com and Yahoo! News. Shannon has appeared as a speaker at the World Education Congress, ECO Fashion Week, The Bainbridge Graduate Institute, and as a guest lecturer at San Francisco’s Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. Learn more about her work at www.shannonwhitehead.com

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Interactive sponsors

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