Set in the Sunken Room of Spring Studios, NYFW: The Talks presented by Visa, is back for AW 2020, focusing on the intersection between sports, fashion and women empowerment.
Moderator and CMO of Endeavor, Bo Saint John introduced the three speakers for Visa’s Designed to Compete event: NFL Giant’s running back Saquon Barkley, professional surfer Carissa Moore and womenswear designer Cynthia Rowley.
The room was treated to a charismatic discussion regarding the intersection between fashion and sports. Much of the conversation centered on how men can help empower women in both of these rapidly changing industries. Cynthia Rowley shared a personal anecdote regarding transitioning from flashy dresses to wetsuits after she learned how to surf and what she’s doing to inspire more women to enter the fashion industry.
“I enjoyed the challenge of doing something radically different. Personally, it makes me excited to learn the functionality and the technical specs of sportswear and how we can use fashion t create more experiences for women as well as build that curiosity in our audience” said Rowley.
As the floor was opened up to audience questions, a new father stood up and asked the panelists for advice on being a new father. Saquon Barkley’s advice, “let her find her own passion and nurture it.”
The next event back at NYFW: The Talks was Visa Everywhere Initiative: Fashion Edition. According to Visa, the Everywhere Initiative is the global innovation program aggregating, amplifying and accelerating startups integration and collaboration across the organization and their clients. The program tasks startups to solve commerce and payment challenges of tomorrow, further enhance their own product propositions and provide visionary solutions for Visa’s vast network of partners.
As Visa’s signature innovation competition titled She’s Next, five female entrepreneurs from across the world came to pitch their startups for a chance to win $25,000 as well as a lucrative Visa partnership.
Ingrid Vanderveldt, Founder and Chairmen of EBW 2020, MintHER and Vandervelt Global Investments emceed the competition introducing Grace Bar of Obsess, Natasha Franck of Eon, Gulnaz Khusainova of Easysize, Sira Coba of Shazura and Liat Zakay of Donde Search.
Additionally, the judges for the competition were: Kim Kadlec, Senior VP of Global Marketing at Visa, Mary Ann Reilly, Senior Vice President, Head of North American Marketing at Visa, Iman Oubou, Founder and CEO of Swaay Media, and Lindsey Taylor Wood CEO of Helm.
Each competitor had five minutes to present their startup and how their company can provide value to visa and the E-Fashion industry. While the judges deliberated, the room was treated to a compelling keynote speech by Dr. Jen Welter, the first female coach in the NFL who shared her story of what it was like being a woman in such a male dominated industry.
Upon the judges return, they crowned Eon by Natasha Franck as the winner. The company focuses on “re-commerce” and the circular economy that’s a hot topic in the fashion industry today. The judges expressed their reasoning stating, “Eon represents something that is trying to solve a real problem in the industry. We feel as though the founder has a clear vision for what the company could become and how the platform could be leverage through Visa.
NYFW: The Talks are presented by Visa in partnership with IMG.
