Home Podcasts Fashion & Founders The Podcast
Fashion & Founders The Podcast

Fashion & Founders The Podcast

Victoria Smith 94 Episodes Oct 12, 2026

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

How Social Media has Changed Wedding Culture with Ring Concierge
How Social Media has Changed Wedding Culture with Ring Concierge Oct 12, 2026 3399 How to start a jewelry business. Engagement ring trends. Lab-grown vs. natural diamonds. Acquired Style Wedding.Ring Concierge founder Nicole Wegman joins Fashion and Founders to talk about scaling to a $100 Million Business. Nicole shares advice for anyone who wants to become an entrepreneur, leave corporate and work for themselves, or eventually start their own brand. She explains why she believ
The Unspoken Rules of Working with Luxury Fashion Brands with Kate Bartlett
The Unspoken Rules of Working with Luxury Fashion Brands with Kate Bartlett Sep 28, 2026 3760 How to work with luxury fashion brands. How to get invited to fashion week. Top 1% of fashion creators. Kate Bartlett has built one of the most recognizable careers in fashion content going from an FIT student posting day-in-the-life videos to working with some of the biggest luxury brands in the world. In this episode of Fashion and Founders, Kate breaks down how she turned content creation into
How to Rebrand, Build Confidence, and Start that Business with Cass Dimicco
How to Rebrand, Build Confidence, and Start that Business with Cass Dimicco Sep 21, 2026 3388 September Reset Guide. Fall Reset. How to become a founder. Why Aureum stopped selling jewelry. Cass Dimicco joins Victoria Smith, host Fashion and Founders to break down how she went from fashion buyer to creator to founder of Aureum. Cass gives listeners a “founder playbook,” even if you’re not about to start a company this is a great September reset guide. We go into changing your habits, build
Who Will Win Fashion Tech?
Who Will Win Fashion Tech? Sep 14, 2026 2915 What does the future of fashion tech actually look like and which companies will survive it? What is fashion tech? How to work in fashion tech? What companies get investment?This week, Victoria sits down with Juan Pellerano, Chief Marketing Officer at Swap Commerce, a fast-growing fashion tech company that raised a $100 million Series C in 2026. Juan breaks down what agentic commerce actually mean
How to Turn a Personal Brand Into a Real Business with Alexis Barber
How to Turn a Personal Brand Into a Real Business with Alexis Barber Aug 31, 2026 3364 How to build a personal brand, make money as a content creator, and turn an online audience into a real business. In this episode of Fashion and Founders, host Victoria Smith is joined by Alexis Barber. Alexis is the founder and host of Too Smart For This and has built a portfolio career spanning content, consulting, speaking, entrepreneurship, and publishing. In this episode, she shares why she b
Inside Copenhagen Fashion Week: Invites, PR, Events
Inside Copenhagen Fashion Week: Invites, PR, Events Aug 17, 2026 1781 How to get invited to fashion week, what I wish I knew before attending my first fashion week, who gets invited to fashion shows?Inside Copenhagen Fashion Week SS27. What makes Copenhagen Fashion Week different and why it’s one of my favorites. We go over the Live Podcast with Ganni and how the brand engages in fashion tech and innovation. Plus tips I’ve learned about getting invited to fashion ev
How Ganni Became a Global Brand
How Ganni Became a Global Brand Aug 10, 2026 2046 How did Ganni become a global name? Is Ganni a sustainable fashion brand? What innovation is needed for fashion brands?Recorded live at Copenhagen Fashion Week at 1Hotel Copenhagen, Victoria sits down with GANNI co-founder Nicolaj Reffstrup  to talk about building one of fashion’s most recognizable global brands. Nicolaj shares how his background in tech shaped the way he and his wife, Ditte Reffs
How Fashion is Forecasted with WGSN Head of Consumer Forecasting
How Fashion is Forecasted with WGSN Head of Consumer Forecasting Jul 26, 2026 3394 What is trend forecasting? How are fashion trends predicted? How do brands predict what consumers will want years before it happens? In this episode, we go inside WGSN, one of the world's leading trend forecasting companies, to explore how fashion and consumer trends are forecasted and what founders, marketers, and creatives should be paying attention to now. Cassandra Napoli is the Head of C
Luxury Business Secrets with LVMH Chairwoman
Luxury Business Secrets with LVMH Chairwoman Jul 19, 2026 3483 What business school won’t teach you about luxury. How do you work in luxury fashion? This is inside LVMH's playbook. This week, I'm joined by Pauline Brown, former Chairwoman of LVMH North America, Harvard Business School professor, and author of Aesthetic Intelligence. Pauline shares the lessons she learned leading some of the world's most iconic luxury brands. We cover a lot, fro
Hervé Léger Creative Director Michelle Ochs: How She's Bringing the Brand Into a New Era
Hervé Léger Creative Director Michelle Ochs: How She's Bringing the Brand Into a New Era Jul 12, 2026 3086 What does a creative director in fashion do? How do I get a job in fashion? What is fashion school actually like? Hear from Michelle Ochs, the Creative Director at Hervé Léger. In this episode, we talk about what it really takes to build a career in fashion from landing an internship at Marc Jacobs before even starting Parsons to navigating the job market during the 2008 financial crisis. After co
Morgan Riddle and Cherry Beagles: The Female Fan Economy and 400 Club
Morgan Riddle and Cherry Beagles: The Female Fan Economy and 400 Club Jun 28, 2026 3547 This week on Fashion and Founders, I'm joined by Morgan Riddle and Cherry Beagles, co-founders of The 400 Club, a community redefining sports through the lens of fashion, culture, and female fandom.Morgan Riddle was called “The Most Famous Woman in Mens Tennis” by the New York Times and now she is moving her focus to female fans in all of sports. Cherry Beagles founded The 400 Club in 2024, a
Make a Career out of Taste with VP of Partnerships at ShopMy
Make a Career out of Taste with VP of Partnerships at ShopMy Jun 21, 2026 3427 This week on Fashion and Founders Podcast, I’m joined by Caley-Rae Pavillard, VP of Partnerships & Business Development at ShopMy. If you've spent any time around creators lately, you've probably heard the same thing: "Get on ShopMy." But why has it become such a powerful platform for creators, brands, and tastemakers?In this episode, we discuss why creators are becoming th

Recommended