FSW Conversations – Détails, épisodes et analyse

In this third installment of FSW Conversations en Été, Bryce and Jessica speak with Laura Lanteri, a strategist, creative director, and filmmaker with nearly 20 years of experience in fashion, luxury, and tech. She talks in depth about her latest project, a documentary exploring beauty, capitalism, and freedom of expression in America, using film to challenge and reshape harmful narratives in fashion and culture.

In this episode, Suad Fakih, a luxury data and insights expert and writer of the popular Substack Suad's Gems chats with Bryce and Jessica about what luxury brands are up against in today's uncertain economic landscape. This enlightening and deep-ranging conversation touches upon key issues luxury brand decision-makers face every day in navigating the financial challenges of stagnating consumer purchasing, tariffs, and overall global uncertainty. Suad outlines practical approaches brands can take, along with concrete examples of luxury brands with standout strategies.

In this episode, Jessica hears from Philipp Labkovskiy, Global E-Commerce Director at ECCO, the Danish footwear & accessories brand. With responsibility for the omnichannel transformation of ECCO customer journeys, Philipp has a wealth of fashion e-commerce knowledge to share. 

Since the pandemic, customers have come to expect more from e-commerce businesses and are demanding higher standards across product choice, payment and delivery. 

Philipp also shares his insights into building a vertically integrated e-commerce business and offers advice on making data-driven decisions, using AI to personalise customer experiences and addressing cultural nuances in e-commerce. 

Central to Philipp’s advice is the importance of preparing your business for the omnichannel future of e-commerce, in which your storytelling, brand narrative and customer touchpoints must seamlessly integrate both online and in-person to deliver best-in-class experiences for customers.

We would love to hear your thoughts on the episode: email jessica@fashionstrategyweekly.com. 

To discuss the episode with fellow subscribers and access bonus episodes, visit fashionstrategyweekly.com

FSW conversations is edited & produced by Fallow, Field & Mason in 2025.

In this episode, Jessica speaks with Marco Ruffa, former Chief Marketing Officer at PINKO, the Italian womenswear brand, who shares his lessons and insights into luxury fashion marketing. 

With Statista reporting the global value of AI usage in marketing is set to reach $36 billion by the end of 2024, it’s crucial for luxury sector marketers to understand its capabilities and limitations. 

During his tenure at PINKO, Marco successfully combined the traditional Chief Marketing Officer and Digital Transformation Director roles and transformed the brand’s digital strategy. This included the introduction of NFTs to build an engaged community. 

Marco shares with Jessica his insights into using data and AI tools to understand customer demographics and personalise communications along with the need to balance brand authenticity with technology inputs. Marco also shares his views on how AI should be used to complement human creativity, not replace it. 

We would love to hear your thoughts on the episode: email jessica@fashionstrategyweekly.com. 

To discuss the episode with fellow subscribers and access bonus episodes, visit fashionstrategyweekly.com.

FSW conversations is edited & produced by Fallow, Field & Mason in 2025.

Hello, and welcome to FSW Conversations, brought to you by Fashion Strategy Weekly, hosted by me, Jessica Quillin.  And me, Bryce Quillin, co founders of FSW, as well as It's a Working Title, the luxury strategy agency.  FSW Conversations brings together fashion and luxury leaders, creatives, and bankers to discuss practical, strategic, and research based insights to help you, our listeners, keep on top of our fast moving sector. 

We'd love to hear from you. Feel free to contact us via the show notes. Plus, click follow in your podcast app to be the first to hear our latest bi monthly episodes. So now, on to Season 2.     

In this edition of FSW Conversations, we chat with Richard Kuchinsky, Principal and Owner of The Directive Collective, a full-service design footwear design consultancy.

With over 20 years of experience in the footwear industry, he has driven the creative design and development process for a range of clients focused on design DNA and strategy. Richard is a Boston Qualifying marathoner and is very active within the running community. 

In this episode, Richard dives into the art and science of footwear design and why “super shoes” may be worth the hype. He also discusses how his experiences creating running shoes inspired him to become a runner and why the running community is such an untapped opportunity for brands.

Thanks for reading FSW. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.

In this edition of FSW Conversations, our co-publisher Jessica Quillin speaks with Caroline Priebe, founder of Driftless Goods and the Center for the Advancement of Garment Making.

A longtime sustainability advisor, consultant, and designer with deep experience in the fashion industry, Caroline has spent her career using systems thinking to design pioneering apparel, supply chains, and business models. She founded her outdoor-wear brand Driftless Goods in early 2023, as an online store, gallery and brand for “people who like exceptionally nice things and would prefer not to wrap themselves in plastic.”

Thanks for reading FSW. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.

In Episode 9 of FSW Conversations, Jessica Quillin speaks with Kate Pankoke, the designer and owner of luxury bridal, evening wear, and accessories line Elaya Vaughn.

A Project Runway All-Star and award-winning designer, Kate’s designs for Elaya Vaughn are frequently worn by major celebrities and featured at red-carpet events and galas, including the Oscars. A Florida native, Kate currently resides in Buenos Aires with her husband and two young daughters.

In this episode, Kate discusses her career in fashion and how her life has changed since appearing on Project Runway. She explains how she got started in fashion and came to discover her aesthetic. Kate also reflects on the joys of motherhood and seeing her daughters discover their style. Ultimately, she offers realistic insights for designers, particularly those early in their careers.

Thanks for reading FSW. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.

In this eighth installment of FSW Conversations, FSW co-publisher Jessica Quillin speaks with Vera Giusti, who is co-creative director of Italian heritage shoe brand Attilio Giusti Leombruni, better known as AGL, along with her sisters Sara and Marianna.

Founded in 1958 by Vera’s grandfather, Piero Giusti, AGL is part of a small coterie of Italian-native luxury shoe brands that have been creating beautiful shoes for generations. Since taking charge of AGL, Vera and her sisters have reinvented their grandfather’s brand with a core focus on female-focused creativity and quality craftsmanship.

In this interview, Vera reflects on her grandfather’s legacy and how she and her sisters have worked to modernize the brand while staying true to its roots. She also discusses why running a female-centric business is critical to both creating and delivering the right products for its core consumers and also to the future of luxury itself.

Thanks for reading FSW. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.

In this seventh installment of FSW Conversations, FSW co-publisher Jessica Quillin talks with Gill Linton, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Byronesque, an editorial-based e-commerce brand that specializes in contemporary-vintage clothes and subculture.

Originally from London, Gill divides her time between Paris and New York, collaborating with brands, designers, consultants, editors, and stylists, and also reissues vintage brands, preserving and modernizing creative brand histories.

During this conversation, Gill discusses the value of original fashion stories and the challenges of curating vintage fashion for a modern consumer. She contextualizes her vision in forming Byronesque as in essence a “middle finger [to] the mediocrity” of mainstream fashion.

In the end, Gill also dives into her inspiration behind the name of her company and explains why Lord Byron was the ultimate punk.

Thanks for reading FSW. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.