The ASBCI will call on the fashion industry to work together to find collective solutions to its most pressing challenges at the Fashion Re:set Summit on 11 October 2022 in York. Structured around four key themes – ESG, sourcing, digital transformation, and staff wellbeing and talent management – and delivered through a combination of presentations and panel discussions, the event format has been designed to encourage debate and foster collaboration at all levels between ASBCI members and the wider industry.
With four themes, 15+ experts, and three panel discussions and audience Q&A sessions, the ASBCI’s Fashion Re:set Summit 2022 is the place to join the debate about the future of the fashion industry, find partners, and work together to create a sustainable and profitable way forward for the sector.
The summit will be opened by a keynote presentation on the current state of the industry from fashion technology storyteller and analyst Ben Hanson, editor in chief of The Interline, the fashion technology news publication and community dedicated to fashion and retail technology.
Ben will be followed by an exploration of ESG in the fashion industry, with a panel discussion featuring contributors from industry and academia. Moderator Suzanne Ellingham from fashion trade show organiser Hyve Events will be joined by Anne Peirson-Smith, Professor of Fashion, School of Design, Northumbria University, Stella Claxton, lecturer and senior research fellow at Nottingham Trent University, Peter Hughes, head of sustainability business development at Eurofins | BLC, and Bureau Veritas softlines technical Consultant Helen Colebourn.
The sourcing segment will be opened by Angela Gaskell, group sourcing, sustainability and fit director from N Brown. Angela will then join the sourcing discussion panel, which includes Kate Hills, founder of Make it British, Jenny Holloway, CEO of Fashion Enter, Phil Oakley from Kornit Digital, and Suzanne Ellingham, sourcing director of Hyve Events, to discuss how the industry can overcome the sourcing challenges of the last few years and the opportunities of new technologies, near-shoring, made-on-demand, and personalisation.
Jason Wang, chief operating officer for Alvanon, will address the summit by video from the US in the digital transformation session, talking about the digital fit ecosystem and the roadmap to a sustainable and profitable future. Other key speakers in this session include Morgan Lopes digital marketing director from French luxury retailer Printemps, which has just opened its first metaverse store, Stephen Taylor from IBM Consulting, and Michael Lock, VP of software sales at Lectra.
Will Verdon, head of product development at Lyle & Scott, will discuss sustainability and digital technologies with Nigel Read from DeSL, and Sue Mardon, head of technical at Alison Hayes, will do a joint presentation with Optitex.
The speakers will then join discussion moderator Ton Wiedenhoff from Alvanon to debate the challenges, opportunities, benefits, and potential pitfalls of digital transformation and take questions from the audience.
The summit will close on a topic that has been catapulted into the limelight by Covid – employee wellbeing and its link with talent management and the skills shortage. Sean Liddell from Mindful Training is among the speakers, and he will look at how employers and employees can reduce stress, anxiety, and poor wellbeing and create new, sustainable opportunities to become more resilient and empowered.
