The Girls Are Taking Over: The Rise of Fashion Tech
I can’t be the only one lately who is noticing all the amazing fashion and tech crossovers in the startup world. Here at It Girl Archive, we love celebrating the rise of new tech businesses, especially if they are women-owned and operated!
The crossover of fashion and tech is especially inspiring because we are seeing the feminization of an overwhelmingly male-dominated sphere. By pushing the boundaries of creativity in tech, we are getting amazing new tools to help people everywhere feel more empowered and express themselves through fashion. That is a mission I can get behind 110%. I think we can attribute this fun industry crossover to the spotlight on luxury fashion within the last few years, and Gen Z’s attempt to focus on developing personal style and reducing hyperconsumerism. A lot of new startups have a special focus on sustainability as well which is always exciting to see!
Phia
We are starting off strong with fashion startup Phia. Founded by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, Phia is centered around promoting sustainable fashion. Kianni and Gates were roommates at Stanford University when they decided to launch their startup, and with a growing team of interns, they are expected to make waves in the fashion tech world. I have been following Phia for a few months at this point, and I was very excited to see their platform in beta testing. Phia is an AI shopping assistant for luxury fashion shoppers. The tool is available as a free Google Chrome extension that you can add to your browser. When you are shopping for luxury items, Phia populates options on other websites that are pre-loved or secondhand. I admire their dedication to sustainability and encouraging fashion lovers to shop vintage! Be sure to follow them @phiaco on Instagram and TikTok to stay updated with what they have going on.
Styl
Dubbed the “Tinder for Clothes,” Styl is an app that allows users to get personalized clothing recommendations at the swipe of a finger. The app utilizes an algorithm that recommends brands and clothing options based on how you swipe on different clothes (swipe left to discard a clothing item, swipe right to see items similar to that item). Users can filter by price, color, style, and brand to refine their recommendations, and if you love and item, you can save it to your in-app closet! You can also browse the closets of your favorite fashion influencers, in-house stylists, and see what is popular among different colleges. My favorite feature is the 1-click checkout. This feature allows you to add items from multiple brands to your cart and order them all at once, saving you the time and effort of looking for different items and placing separate orders. I’m excited for Styl to roll out their video content feature and add the ability to add friends to your closet and ask them to vote on different items. I really think this app is ingenuis, and if you think so too, you should give Styl a follow on Instagram to get updates on new features as they roll out!
Photos from the Styl App
data but make it fashion
I wanted to save the best for last and talk briefly about our queen of fashion data and trend reporting Miss Madé Lapuerta. If we want to talk about women of color who are making waves, Lapuerta is really up there on my list. As a computer scientist who studied at Harvard who now runs @databutmakeitfashion, she has amassed over 350k followers over the last 4 years. Lapuerta has gotten her data processing down to a science (no pun intended) by using AI and sentiment analyses to figure out why something might be trending. For more information about her process of crunching the numbers behind fashion, you can read any and all editions of her book The Little Book of Big Fashion Data. Lapuerta is a very significant reminder of what is possible if you look beyond the confines of a degree. As a scientist myself who doesn’t traditionally study fashion, I love the STEM and fashion crossover that she exemplifies— something that I implement on a daily basis as I write my fashion and lifestyle articles after getting out of my Organic Chemistry lab early or between lab meetings for my neuroscience meetings. If you’d like to learn more about @databutmakeitfashion, you should follow her on Instagram and Tiktok!
Final Thoughts
In summary, girlhood has taken over, and the crossover between fashion and tech is more popular than ever. Did we miss any cool entrepreneurs who are toeing the line between artistic expression and technology? We’re nosy, so please follow us and let us know @itgirlarchive_ on Instagram. We’d love to hear your thoughts!