Fashion & Founders The Podcast
Fashion & 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.
Episodes
87 episodes
OOTD: Viral Fashion Content Strategy
In this episode, Victoria sits down with the team behind OOTD, one of the fastest-growing fashion media platforms capturing street style around the world. What began as candid outfit videos filmed on the streets of New York has quickly evolved ...
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39:43
Matilda Djerf: Behind the Brand
In this episode, Victoria sits down with Matilda Djerf, the founder of Djerf Avenue, to discuss how she built one of the most recognizable aesthetics in modern fashion. They talk about launching a brand with strong values, building community bo...
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32:38
NYFW isn't "dead," but it is too expensive
New York Fashion Week isn’t dead, but it is changing. In this solo NYFW recap, Victoria breaks down what felt different this season and how Fashion Week is getting too expensive. From major brands like Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs show...
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23:04
Ganni Chief Sustainability Officer Lauren Bartley
In this episode, Victoria sits down with Ganni’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Lauren Bartley. They discuss how the brand approaches sustainability and design, as they set trends rather than following them. Lauren unpacks Ganni's transparent ap...
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35:52
Copenhagen Fashion Week Trends and Takeaways
In this episode, Victoria recaps her experience attending Copenhagen Fashion Week from street style and behind-the-scenes access to the sustainability frameworks shaping the future of fashion. She breaks down what makes Copenhagen different fro...
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28:24
COVID Side Hustle to the Red Carpet: Undone by Kate
In this episode, Victoria sits down with Kate March, founder and designer of Undone by Kate. She shares how a pandemic project became a made-in-New-York bespoke, bridal, and special occasion brand. Kate shares her path from celebrity styling to...
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35:13
Marina Larroudé: Reinventing the Footwear Business Model
In this episode, Victoria sits down with Marina Larroude, founder of Larroudé, to unpack how she built one of fashion’s fastest-growing footwear brands by rewriting the rules. Marina shares her journey from interning at Condé Nast to leading fa...
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39:26
Rebecca Minkoff: Building a Household Name Fashion Label
In this episode, Victoria sits down with designer and founder Rebecca Minkoff to break down what it really takes to build a fashion brand and keep it alive through industry curveballs. Rebecca shares how an internship led to her first bre...
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37:16
Cynthia Rowley: How to Make it in Fashion in NYC
In this episode, Victoria sits down with Cynthia Rowley, CFDA award winning designer, to talk about building a fashion career the scrappy way. Cynthia shares how she got started making clothes, her accidental path to New York, and what it reall...
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41:58
Fashion Career Playbook
Fashion Career Playbook to break into fashion in 2026. How to break into the fashion industry in 2026. Part One out now on Substack.Link Here: https://fashionandfounders.substack.com/p/the-fashion-career-playbook-part
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6:46
Archival Vintage Fashion Reimagined by Isle of Monday
In this episode, Victoria sits down with Gabriella and Janelle, co-founders of Isle of Monday, to discuss how they’re making runway vintage and archival fashion accessible through their fashion tech rental platform. They share how backgrounds i...
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42:24
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Following Your Personal Mission: Influencer Social Responsibility with Alex Bushman
In this episode, Victoria sits down with Alex Bushman, founder of Influencer Social Responsibility (ISR), to talk about transforming the creator economy through meaningful social impact. Alex shares how a single cold DM to Danielle Bernstein le...
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34:32
Fashion Meets Tech to Empower the Underdogs: SSQRD founder Nabihah Ahmad
In this episode, Victoria sits down with Nabihah Ahmad, SSQRD to talk about building a fashion tech startup. Nabihah shares how she broke into the fashion industry and then the tech industry by teaching herself how to code. She dives into how s...
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40:36
How to Scale a Business without Chasing Hype with Eshita Kabra Founder of By Rotation
In this episode, Victoria sits down with Eshita Kabra, founder and CEO of By Rotation, the world’s largest peer-to-peer fashion rental platform. Eshita shares what it really takes to build a profitable, sustainable, community-driven fashion tec...
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49:37
The Parts of Entrepreneurship No One Talks About with Abby Price Founder of Abbode
In this episode of Fashion and Founders, Abby Price the founder of Abbode shares her founding story. From starting a business right after graduating from Parsons to scaling into a seven figure business. Abby shares the honest reality of being a...
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Season 6
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Episode 68
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41:19
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Styled Sara: How to Break into the Fashion Industry
On this episode of Fashion and Founders, Victoria is joined by Sara Walker who you’ve probably seen on Instagram as @styledsara. Sara talks about how she broke into the fashion industry, the first steps she took, and landing a job at Revolve. S...
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Season 6
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Episode 67
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42:30
Fashion Tech Weeks: Takeaways from NYC, SF, LA
This week on Fashion and Founders the Podcast, Victoria shares a solo episode with takeaways from major fashion and fashion tech events from the past month. From New York Fashion Week, Climate Week, San Francisco Tech Week, and LA Tech Week. Sh...
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Season 5
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Episode 66
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17:57
How to Start and Scale a Fashion Brand with ALIGNE CEO Ginny Seymour
In this episode of Fashion & Founders Victoria Smith sits down with Ginny Seymour, CEO and re-founder of Aligne. Founded in East London and freshly expanded to New York, Ginny rebuilt ALIGNE as a design-led, DTC-first womenswear brand. Just...
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Season 5
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Episode 65
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37:16
Daydreaming Fashion’s Future: Why Fashion Needs Tech with Founder Lisa Green
This week on Fashion and Founders the Podcast, host Victoria Smith is joined with Lisa Green, co-founder Chief Brands Officer of Daydream. Daydream is the AI-powered fashion tech platform fixing broken search and personalization in shopping. We...
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Season 5
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Episode 64
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43:12
The RealReal: Innovation, Fashion, and Career Insights from Rachel Glicksberg
In this episode of Fashion and Founders, Victoria Smith sits down with Rachel Glicksberg, Women’s Fashion & New Initiatives Lead at The RealReal. Rachel shares The RealReal’s designer collaborations and upcycling initiatives, the ris...
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Season 5
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Episode 63
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42:59
Pia Mance Founder of Heaven Mayhem on Building a $10 Million Dollar Brand
Season 5 of Fashion Founders the Podcast, opens with Pia Mance, founder of Heaven Mayhem. Pia started with $900 dollars hand making jewelry on her bedroom floor and in just three years built a $10 million dollar business, recently featured on V...
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Season 5
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Episode 62
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37:25
Influencer Marketing Masterclass: Partnerships, Events, & Strategy with Nicole Reisman of Dolce Vita
On this episode of Fashion Founders, Victoria Smith interviews Nicole Reisman, Director of Influencer Marketing & Events at Dolce Vita, for a deep dive into the world of influencer marketing and brand partnerships. Nicole shares pr...
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Season 4
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Episode 61
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56:17
The Clueless Closet App with 10 Million Users: Whering with Founder Bianca Rangecroft
Hello and welcome back to Fashion Founders The Podcast, my name is Victoria Smith and this week I'm joined with Bianca Rangecroft the founder of Whering. Whering is a UK based but globally used digital wardrobe app that is making it easier than...
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Season 4
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Episode 60
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40:18
How to Build Partnerships in Fashion Tech: Optimizing your Digital Wardrobe with Tote and Future Reference Founders
Hello and welcome back to Fashion Founders The Podcast, my name is Victoria Smith, and this week I'm joined with Kathleen Sheppard, the founder of Tote, and Claire Ilmer, the founder of Future Reference. In this episode, we explore their recent...
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Season 4
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Episode 59
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31:37
How to Leverage Social Media to Build your Business with Nik Pollina
Hello and welcome back to Fashion and Founders The Podcast, my name is Victoria Smith and this week I'm joined by Nik Pollina. Nik used to work at Google and transitioned from tech into fashion after getting laid off. She talks about her journe...
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Season 4
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Episode 58
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32:34
