Decoded Fashion London Summit 2016

I’m back in the UK, and am delighted to have supported an event that I’ve been following since its creation in 2012: Decoded Fashion.

On my first summer in London directly after graduation, I discovered a fantastic side to the city that doubtlessly fuelled my career along with the passion I have for it. First Thursdays: or as I saw it back then, an opportunity to drink free wine in nice locations whilst practicing my mingling skills. Needless to say, the events themselves – often informal, tech-city style MeetUps – taught me a great deal about what I was actually interested in, along with what makes a good event.

One particularly fantastic MeetUp I attended that summer (2013) was one run by Decoded Fashion. The brand, previously run by the kick-ass Liz Bacelar and now owned and directed by Stylus, produce major international Fashion Technology conferences, but a few years ago were much more low-key. We met in a venue on brick lane and talked about the technology that was changing the London fashion scene at the time (I distinctly remember a presentation from Chirp.io), and I thought it was the coolest group of female bosses ever in one room.

Last week however, I was delighted to support pre-event and on-site at Decoded Fashion London Summit 2016, held at the familiar location of Kings Place, Kings Cross. Over two days (May 16 – 17), the 400-delegate strong conference provided and developed a fascinating conversation between start-ups, major fashion brands and technologists, through a shared discourse of the future of fashion through technology.

A particular highlight for me was the Mentorship Hub space (which I was managing on-site), within which delegates could schedule meetings with high-profile tech execs from a variety of successful brands. The generosity of knowledge along with the guidance shared was very inspiring, and this paired with the (insanely good) content on the main stage was an incredible combo.

I was also very pleased (!) to be invited to the Decoded Fashion Awards evening at LSO St Luke’s, which followed the event. It was a stunning evening with a three-course dinner along with some fantastic socialising. Follow the link below for information on all the categories and winners: http://blog.decodedfashion.com/stories/the-fashion-futures-award-winners-2016-0

Working with the Decoded team was an amazing experience. The girls are fantastic, and the content delivery and relevance of their work has absolutely blown me away. Many thanks to all involved, and I hope to work with you again very soon!

Highlights form Decoded London Summit 2016: https://www.flickr.com/photos/decodedfashion/sets/72157668445244731

I'm currently taking commissions as a Freelance Producer for any kind of international conference event. Please do let me know if you think I could help pre-show or on-site at your event: faith.robinson@hotmail.co.uk

Virtual Reality: engaging with a new medium

Regardless of how different the processes involved are, the impact that all kinds of emerging technologies are having on a number of sectors create similar kinds of disruption. 

I've recently been commissioned to carry out some extensive content research looking into the world of Virtual Reality - and have been fascinated by the parallels I've found between this industry and that of 3D printing. The supposed incoming revolution that Virtual Reality (VR) poses to an international array of individuals, companies and industries alike looks set to change the way the that people interact with one another - in what could be a very essential way. The immersive experience of being instantly taken to a virtual environment bridges geographical gaps the world over. For example - rather than traveling to another country for a meeting, conference or event, the introduction of VR allows users to very realistically 'feel' that experience - potentially from their own living room sofa or office desk.

The implications of this major shift in inter-human relations could be huge, and I'm excited to follow the development of this Digital Humanities issue. Like with all emerging tech, VR needs to become both relevant and affordable to a very large group of people before it becomes 'mainstream' - however, one crucial aspect of the tech is that the gaming industry stands as a perfect access point to it. Personal VR devices are already becoming popular for dedicated gaming enthusiasts, and as the price of the hardware drops over the coming months and years, who knows what applications Virtual Reality could introduce.

Check out 2017's inaugural London edition of The Virtual Reality Show: an event which I've been working on for the last few months in terms of content production, trend research and conference agenda curation.
http://www.virtualrealityshow.co.uk/