California Apparel News

Pierre-Nicolas Hurstel, the founder of the fashion-sustainability event called ReMode,announced an additional list of speakers participating in his inaugural event scheduled for Nov. 13–14 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Working toward a more sustainable industry, the event will focus on four pillars of sustainability: ReMake, ReThink, ReInvest and ReMarket, which will help businesses become more environmentally conscientious.

By bringing together leaders from different areas of the industry, the ReMode founder wants to show that regardless of a company’s role in fashion, it can make a large impact in transforming how apparel is made, sold and bought.

The latest names added to the list of speakers have brought the roster to more than 100 representatives from fashion-industry retailers, sustainability leaders, heritage brands and new startups.

“What I like about the names we’ve added is not only the diversity across the spectrum of the value chain but also the category. Our ambition is to be the number-one conference in the U.S. for the new fashion business, which is sustainable,” Hurstel said. “With 100 speakers, we are probably the biggest lineup right now that is gathered for 2018 in the United States to discuss what this business is becoming.”

The conference will include fashion experts from different backgrounds including celebrities who lead fashion brands, investors, manufacturers, wholesalers, direct-to-consumer lines and retailers.

Recent additions to the speaker list include Rosario Dawson, actor and co-founder of Studio One Eighty Nine; Fung Capital partnerJanie Yu; Amber Valletta, actor and co-founder of the online store Master & Muse; Fashion Revolution founder Orsola de Castro; HanesBrands Chief Global Design Officer/Activewear Ned Monroe; Genius Group founderAdriano Goldschmied; vice president of operations and sustainability for Reformation Kathleen Talbot; and Heidi Zak, the co-founder and co-chief executive of the San Francisco–based undergarment company ThirdLove.

“We believe that the brands participating in this inaugural event are at the forefront of innovation in the industry,” Zak said. “There is more change coming out of new entrances to markets that are doing things differently and forcing change from some of the bigger incumbents as well, which is an interesting part of it.”

With these industry changes from new brands founded with a mission to create better clothing-manufacturing practices, there has also been a shift toward a willingness by brands to become more transparent. “It’s fascinating to meet these people and see how motivated they are to share,” Hurstel said. “They’re not hiding behind closed doors. They love to jump on stage and tell everyone how they succeed. It’s a huge shift in the culture toward being transparent and open to sharing.”