Fashion & Founders The Podcast

Victoria Smith
  • 4.7 (30)
  • Fashion & Beauty
  • Updated Weekly

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. 

  1. 6d ago

    How to Make Job Opportunities Come to You | Head of Brand Strategy at Quince

    How do you build a career where opportunities come to you instead of constantly applying for jobs? And how did Quince become a $10.1 billion company selling $50 cashmere sweaters? This week on Fashion and Founders, I'm joined by Dakota Kate Isaacs, Head of Brand Strategy and Narrative at Quince, to talk about building a career in fashion, taking risks, and the technology changing the fashion industry. Dakota has never applied for a job she's held. After completing 12 internships in college, she took a chance on a little-known beauty startup called Deciem, the parent company of The Ordinary, where she helped build the brand in the US. Today, she's shaping the narrative behind Quince, one of fashion's most talked-about companies. We get into the career moves that helped her get here, from building relationships and making yourself invaluable at work. Get an inside look at Quince's business model. Dakota breaks down how the company uses technology to rethink traditional retail, why luxury products cost what they do, how Quince approaches quality and manufacturing, and the debate around dupes, sustainability, and fast fashion. Whether you're looking to break into fashion, take the next step in your career, or build a breakthrough business, this episode is packed with lessons from someone who has helped shape two of the industry's most disruptive brands. This episode is brought to you by Swap Commerce. Learn more about Swap and join their private fashion community HERE.  Follow Fashion & Founders: Podcast IG: @fashionandfounders Podcast Substack: Fashion and Founders Podcast Website: fashionandfounders.com Podcast TikTok: @fashionandfounders Podcast YouTube: Fashion and Founders Podcast Links: Shop My Job Board opportunities in fashion, tech, and more. Follow Dakota: IG: @dakotakisaacs Substack HERE Follow Quince: IG: @onequince Shop HERE PremiumBeat Monetization ID: KFDNIZV8PLN5ZJZB Thanks for listening!

    How to Make Job Opportunities Come to You | Head of Brand Strategy at Quince

  2. Oct 12

    How Social Media has Changed Wedding Culture with Ring Concierge

    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 believes you should gain work experience before starting a company, what aspiring founders should learn while working for someone else, how she built Ring Concierge without an industry network, and what it takes to grow from founder to CEO. We talk engagement ring trends, the bridal economy, and how social media is changing the market. Plus, we talk hiring, leadership, outside investment, natural vs. lab-grown diamonds, the biggest misconceptions in the jewelry industry, and what today’s brides are actually looking for. This episode is brought to you by Roller Rabbit. Take 20% off your order of $150 with code VICTORIA20 at rollerrabbit.com  Follow Fashion & Founders: Podcast IG: @fashionandfounders Podcast Substack: Fashion and Founders Podcast Website: fashionandfounders.com Podcast TikTok: @fashionandfounders Podcast YouTube: Fashion and Founders Podcast Links: Shop My Job Board opportunities in fashion, tech, and more. Follow Ring Concierge: IG: @ringconcierge Shop HERE Follow Nicole Wegman: IG: @itsnicolewegman PremiumBeat Monetization ID: KFDNIZV8PLN5ZJZB Thanks for listening!

    How Social Media has Changed Wedding Culture with Ring Concierge

  3. Sep 28

    The Unspoken Rules of Working with Luxury Fashion Brands with Kate Bartlett

    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 a real business, what it actually takes to build relationships with fashion brands, and the behind-the-scenes realities of being a full-time creator. We talk about the TikTok that changed her career, gaining 100,000 followers overnight, getting signed by management, making money as a creator, and why reaching one million followers changed the way luxury brands viewed her. Kate also shares the unspoken rules of working with luxury fashion houses, how creators actually get invited to Fashion Week, and what brands are really looking for beyond follower count. We also get into the business side of influencing brand deal negotiations, exclusivity, whitelisting, production costs, working with photographers and glam teams, and why a 15-second sponsored video can take weeks of work behind the scenes. Plus, Kate talks about going back to school for her MBA at NYU, how she thinks about the future of her career beyond influencing, and her advice for anyone trying to build a career in fashion today. If you want to work in fashion, grow as a creator, work with luxury brands, or understand the business behind the influencer industry, this episode is for you. This episode is brought to you by Swap Commerce. Learn more about Swap and join their private fashion community HERE.  Follow Fashion & Founders: Podcast IG: @fashionandfounders Podcast Substack: Fashion and Founders Podcast Website: fashionandfounders.com Podcast TikTok: @fashionandfounders Podcast YouTube: Fashion and Founders Podcast Links: Shop My Job Board opportunities in fashion, tech, and more. Follow Kate Bartlett: IG: @katebartlett TikTok: @katebartlett Thanks for listening!

    The Unspoken Rules of Working with Luxury Fashion Brands with Kate Bartlett

  4. Sep 21

    How to Rebrand, Build Confidence, and Start that Business with Cass Dimicco

    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, building confidence, and betting on yourself. Her company recently went through a big pivot too. Cass shares why the brand ultimately stopped selling the jewelry it became known for. We talk about knowing when to pivot, finding and building relationships with manufacturers, pricing luxury products, why your brand doesn't need to be for everyone, and how Aureum is intentionally separating itself from the traditional “influencer brand” model. Cass also shares how she thinks about creator gifting, what actually gets her attention when hiring, why women should have more audacity when charging for their work, and how she turned her relationship with ShopMy into an opportunity to become an investor. If you're building a fashion brand, growing as a creator, or figuring out when it's time to bet on yourself, this episode is full of tangible advice you can actually use. This episode is brought to you by Swap Commerce. Learn more about Swap and join their private fashion community ⁠⁠HERE.⁠⁠ Follow Fashion & Founders: Podcast IG: @fashionandfounders Podcast Substack: Fashion and Founders Podcast Website: fashionandfounders.com Podcast TikTok: @fashionandfounders Podcast YouTube: Fashion and Founders Podcast Links: Shop My Job Board opportunities in fashion, tech, and more. Follow Cass Dimicco: IG: @cassdimicco Substack HERE Follow Aureum: IG: @aureum.collective Shop HERE Thanks for listening!

    How to Rebrand, Build Confidence, and Start that Business with Cass Dimicco

  5. Sep 14

    Who Will Win Fashion Tech?

    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 means, how AI could change the way we shop online, and why the next generation of e-commerce may look far more personalized than the traditional dot com experience. Juan shares lessons from helping scale Swap: how the company landed its earliest customers, why community has become one of its most effective growth strategies, what makes a fashion tech startup attractive to investors, and why founders need to ask whether they're building a true company or simply a feature. Whether you are a founder, investor, marketer, or simply interested in fashion tech there is something to takeaway from this episode.  Follow Fashion & Founders: Podcast IG: @fashionandfounders Podcast Substack: Fashion and Founders Podcast Website: fashionandfounders.com Podcast TikTok: @fashionandfounders Podcast YouTube: Fashion and Founders Podcast Links: Shop My Job Board opportunities in fashion, tech, and more. Follow Swap Commerce: IG: @swap.commerce Website HERE Thanks for listening!

    Who Will Win Fashion Tech?

  6. Aug 31

    How to Turn a Personal Brand Into a Real Business with Alexis Barber

    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 believes content creation is a skill, not a career and how creators can use content as a distribution channel for something much bigger. We discuss the shift from the “relatability economy” to the “credibility economy,” influencer vs. thought leader, finding your zone of genius, building multiple revenue streams, and why long-form content can be more valuable than going viral. Alexis also shares what working at YouTube taught her about the creator business, her first $30K brand deal, and how she’s approaching her next level with a focus on excellence and authority. If you're building a personal brand, growing as a creator, or trying to turn your expertise and audience into a sustainable business, this episode is for you. Follow Fashion & Founders: Podcast IG: @fashionandfounders Podcast Substack: Fashion and Founders Podcast Website: fashionandfounders.com Podcast TikTok: @fashionandfounders Podcast YouTube: Fashion and Founders Podcast Links: Shop My Job Board opportunities in fashion, tech, and more. Follow Alexis Barber: IG: @alexisbarber TikTok: @alexisbarber_ Youtube: @alexis_barber Follow Too Smart for This: IG: @toosmartforthiss Book HERE Substack HERE Thanks for listening!

    How to Turn a Personal Brand Into a Real Business with Alexis Barber

  7. Aug 17

    Inside Copenhagen Fashion Week: Invites, PR, Events

    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 events and how to make the most of them.  Ganni Founder Podcast Ganni Chief Sustainability Officer Podcast Follow Fashion & Founders: Podcast IG: @fashionandfounders Podcast Substack: Fashion and Founders Podcast Website: fashionandfounders.com Podcast TikTok: @fashionandfounders Podcast YouTube: Fashion and Founders Podcast Links: Shop My Job Board opportunities in fashion, tech, and more. Thanks for listening!

  8. Aug 10

    How Ganni Became a Global Brand

    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 Reffstrup, built GANNI. He also reflects on the rise of the “GANNI Girl,” taking on outside investment, expanding internationally, and what happens when a brand becomes bigger than its founders. The conversation explores why GANNI has never called itself a sustainable fashion brand, the business decisions behind its responsibility strategy, and why the company once walked away from bestselling products because of their environmental impact. Nicolaj also shares what he looks for when investing in founders, where he sees opportunity in materials and AI, and why he believes the future could become increasingly difficult for mid-market fashion brands. Nicolaj answers audience questions on what he would do if he were starting his career again today, his advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, and what actually makes someone stand out when applying to work at GANNI. Follow Fashion & Founders: Podcast IG: @fashionandfounders Podcast Substack: Fashion and Founders Podcast Website: fashionandfounders.com Podcast TikTok: @fashionandfounders Podcast YouTube: Fashion and Founders Podcast Links: Shop My Job Board opportunities in fashion, tech, and more. Follow Ganni: IG: @ganni Website HERE The Ganni Playbook HERE Rent the Runway: Use code: RTRXVSMITH50 and get 50% off your first month! Glamsquad: Code: FASHIONANDFOUNDERS for $20 off Thanks for listening!

    How Ganni Became a Global Brand
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4.7
out of 5
30 Ratings

About

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. 

Information

  • Creator
    Victoria Smith
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    108
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Fashion & Founders The Podcast
  • Show Website
    Fashion & Founders The Podcast

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