Tech Powered Luxury Ashley McDonnell

Rachel Maguire is an Irish fashion designer and founder of independent fashion brand Rashhiiid, whose designs have been worn by global stars including Doja Cat, Ariana Grande, Megan Fox, Rosalía and many more.
Rachel is a digital-first designer who’s viral faux fur hats, coats and accessories have put Irish design on the global map. Rachel was the first designer ever from the Grafton Academy of Fashion Design to create both of her collections completely out of recycled materials and today is working with the highest quality faux fur available to create luxury collections without an ethical compromise.In this episode recorded during Paris Fashion Week in March 2024, we talk about how fashion saved Rachel's life, the biggest investment she's made so far in building her business, how she created those viral celebrity moments and what’s next for Rachel and Rashhiiid.Follow Rashhiiid on Instagram and discover her latest collections on her website.

Smita Lasrado is an Indian born and raised former international model and co-founder of creative and talent agency Feat Artists.
With a roster of clients that include Dior, Chanel, Jimmy Choo and Vogue, Smita is putting India and Indians on the fashion map: from collaborating with Dior on their pre-fall 2023 show which took place in Mumbai on March 31, 2023, to bringing India's top models to runways in Paris, Milan and beyond.In this episode of Tech Powered Luxury, Smita shares how she was scouted as a model and ended up traveling the world with IMG, to going back to her geographical and professional roots by co-founding Feat Agency in Mumbai.

During the FuturePlus event in Paris on February 22nd 2024 brought to you by MAD Global in parntership with Tech Powered Luxury, host Ashley McDonnell sits down with a panel of four founders within the intersection of fashion, art and culture on the blockchain for a discussion on how technology is disrupting the meaning of expression, community, investment and even the perception of value. “Fashion, Art, and Culture on the Blockchain” is our topic of discussion and the four panelists are people who represent four very different corners of these worlds, which makes for an interesting discussion.
With us on the panel we have:Ashley McDonnell, host of Tech Powered Luxury and moderator of the discussion
Jean-Michel Pailhon, Co-Founder, Grail CapitalStephanie Abrishamchi, Co-Founder, PJPP
Ismail Tazi, CEO/Co-Founder, CPG + Trame
Daniella Loftus, Founder and CEO, Draup
Jean-Michel Pailhon is Co-founder and Chief Investment Officer at Grail Capital, which exists to make it easy, profitable, and safe for investors to collect digital art. Formerly at Ledger; co-founder of the NFT Factory Paris and France Fintech, Jean-Michel previously worked in financial services and capital markets at the NYSE and Euronext.
Stephanie Abrishamchi, the co-owner of Private Jet Pyjama Party, also known as PJPP, a digital membership club bringing a global community together through experiences and a shared passion for the finer things in life. Stephanie has a background in luxury brand expansion focused on the Middle East and is also the founder and CEO of her wellness brand, InBloom Drops.
Ismail Tazi, formerly a member and now the CEO of Crypto Packaged Goods (or CPG) which is a series of collectible NFTs facilitating access to networking and mentorship at the intersection of crypto and consumer while supporting nonprofits. Ismail is also the co-founder of TRAME, a collaborative studio and curated gallery to discover and collect limited-edition design and art with digital provenance.
Daniella Loftus, also known as Dani, she is a digital fashion founder, influencer & investor with a background in mainstream tech. Dani started writing about digital fashion in 2020, pioneering the space of a digital fashion content creator (make sure to check out her Instagram account at “this outfit does not exist”) and soon after became a founding member of RED DAO. Dani’s digital fashion brand Draup believes that code is couture and requires craft and storytelling.
Fun fact: Dani was the first person to ever sell a digital piece of fashion at Christie's.
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This episode of Tech Powered Luxury is brough to you in partnership with FuturePlus by MAD Global.

This season has seen us dive into all elements and topics that are important in the world of luxury and tech today, across many different product categories: hair care, fashion, beauty, interiors, henna, knitwear, and new technological developments that impact these categories; from AI that can eliminate sizing inconsistencies within fashion to blockchain technologies combined with insurance for luxury goods to the role of social media in the luxury industry from the perspective of Instagram’s Head of Creators and a leading luxury creator.I’m often asked “how can I learn more about luxury and technology?”, from different types of people from all over the world, but in general almost everyone fits into 2 categories. The first category is pretty straightforward, people with little to no experience in this space, often students, who dream of landing a role at the crossroads of luxury and tech. The second category is moreso people who are either working in luxury OR tech already, and they know that understanding the other side will massively help them grow the business that they either own or contribute to.
To be honest, there isn’t a one-shot online course or certificate that exists today that covers the crossovers of luxury and technology, which is why this podcast exists! For almost 8 years I have been teaching courses about luxury and tech, starting with very focused topics that only looked at certain components, and now as my own experience has developed, I can touch on broader themes and of course, bring in experts from all over the world to learn directly from them. So here, with this podcast, Tech Powered Luxury gives you a free online resource to learn about everything that happens within this space.Thank you for listening in to 3 seasons of Tech Powered Luxury, there's a lot more to come!
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Celia B is the ultimate fashion all-rounder. Growing up in a small town in Spain, she pursued a degree in communications, gained experience within agencies, and eventually became a jewelry designer and finally, a fashion designer, a creative director and a tastemaker.

Celia B has managed to catapult her colourful fashion house into that much-coveted space of being an independent designer with full creative control, whilst building an engaged global community and her own in-house team across continents.

With a long list of celebrity fans and a primarily direct-to-consumer business, Celia takes us behind the scenes of her fashion brand, sharing how she went from working in advertising to running her international fashion label between Spain and Shanghai: Celia B.


Tech Powered Luxury is proudly sponsored by FarmHouse Fresh.

David Klingbeil is building the ultimate data platform for luxury houses around the globe with his latest venture Submarine.ai. His 5 years experience at Google turning data into stories for major brands, a streak of serial entrepreneurship, giving 1000s of hours of lectures over the last decade on innovation and luxury means the NYU Adjunct Professor gives us a masterclass on all things tech and luxury in this week’s episode of Tech Powered Luxury.


Tech Powered Luxury is proudly sponsored by FarmHouse Fresh.