Ireland has a long and strong tradition in the fashion and craft industry. Household names such as John Rocha, Philip Tracey, Paul Costelloe and Orla Kiely have helped make Ireland shine on a global stage as a centre of fashion & design. More recently, designers like Simone Rocha, JW Anderson, Sorcha O Raghallaigh and Una Burke have been making headlines worldwide as they dress everyone from Lady Gaga to Alexa Chung to Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games movies!
This November 4th-6th the Web Summit in Dublin will host a number of top C-level execs from global fashion tech and ecommerce companies. Below are my pick of the speakers covering this space that you shouldn’t miss!
Michelle Peluso – Gilt Group
The CEO of Gilt Group, the New York based member-only flash sales e-tailer, famously doesn’t have an office, and was named by Fast Company as one of the ‘100 Most Creative People in Business’ in 2013. She also serves on the Board of Directors for NIKE, Inc.
*Did you know…* Gilt Group has two centres in Ireland – their European HQ & Software Development centre in Dublin, and their International Customer Support and Financial Shared Services Centre in Limerick.
Chris Morton – Lyst
Lyst, headquartered in London, is a fashion shopping site partnered with thousands of the world’s leading boutiques and stores, so users can shop all their favourite brands in one place online. Chris, founder & CEO, is regularly quoted in the press re fashion and ecommerce, and previously was an investor at Balderton Capital.
Jess Lee – Polyvore
Jess went from being a complete Polyvore addict, to being CEO, after writing a mail to the founders with some praise, complaints and products suggestions! Polyvore is a community powered social commerce website where members create digital collages.
Michelle Sadlier – Hunter Boot
Irish lady Michelle is the Global Social Media Manager at Hunter Boot in London. Michelle previously had a similar role at Net-A-Porter so is well versed in the power of social media and the importance of online brand presence in the fashion sector. Hunter Boot made its debut at London Fashion Week earlier this year.
While you’re in Ireland, why not meet with the IDA Ireland team to learn more about the tech landscape in Ireland, and to see how your company could use Ireland as a hub to grow your business from. Have a look at this post about what to do while in Dublin! Our team will be at the Web Summit everyday, and networking after hours in the city so just send us a tweet @IDAEmergeBiz to meet up. Or click below if you want to grab a coffee - we'll be serving breakfast every morning near the venue!
Niamh Breslin – High Growth Companies Europe @NiamhyB
