Galway woman Ashley McDonnell is stepping into the future of fashion with her latest venture, Tech Powered Luxury. Victoria G. L. Brunton reports.
Irish powerhouse Ashley McDonnell has just announced her latest conquest: leading a class in one of France’s most prestigious institutions, HEC Paris business school.
Don’t worry, though, you don’t have to be enrolled to reap all the module’s benefits. McDonnell has furthered this conquest into the realm of podcasting, meaning that everyone and anyone can tune into conversations with industry leaders discussing their own experiences and insights on a weekly basis.
This series will allow listeners to learn and explore the synergies between two fascinating worlds: luxury and technology.
The who's who of digital fashion
Kicking things off with what McDonnell describes as "the best possible introduction to the digital world of fashion", the first episode’s guests are none other than Paula Sello and Alissa Aulbekova – co-founders of British digital couture brand, Auroboros.
Launching just over a year and a half ago, ahead of the NFT-boom, Auroboros redefined (and continues to redefine) the meaning of digital fashion in no small way. Quite literally the first of its kind, the label merges science and technology with physical couture as well as digital-only ready to wear.
So, how did this revolutionary, utopian project come to light? Co-founders Paula Sello and Alissa Aulbekova break down all things Auroboros; from their digital meet-cute to the meaning behind their business and even exclusively revealing their goals for the future, in episodeone of Tech Powered Luxury.
Having followed one another on Instagram for some time, the duo finally met in the place where all good relationships begin: the smoking area of a club.
Immediately drawn to one another in what they described as "a really beautiful symbiosis", the visionaries instantly began finishing each other’s sentences and plotting the creation of something totally new and exciting, something hopeful and utopian.
In short, they wanted to make up for what they viewed as currently lacking within the fashion industry as well as within their generation.
An extension of the co-founders' friendship, the brand’s intentions and philosophy were evident from its inception. Their serpentine logo, depicting a snake biting its own tale, is "an ancient alchemical symbol that represents reinvention, renewal and innovation - that’s the founding ethos of where we wanted to take the brand" says Sello – and take it, they did.
What does digital fashion mean?
Aulbekova states that "digital fashion is still fashion, maybe even more exciting than before". It allows the customer to "explore new identities and new styles digitally, almost at the speed of light".
Backing up this statement, Sello adds "these intangible assets have been around for decades", referring to our interaction with avatars in games and on social forums, she continues "tech is very cold and dystopian, for us it was about making technology emotive and more feminine, imaginative".
Auroboros is not about replacing fashion and technology as we know it, but is intended as a way of uplifting what the industries have become and providing that 21st century vision of where they need to go.
If you’re still doubting the legitimacy of a digital fashion piece, though, you’re not alone. Aulbekova says that "a lot of people don’t understand quite yet", going on to claim that these digital pieces are in fact on par with that of a physical couturier: "there are hours and hours of work where thousands of people come together to create the digital piece you’re seeing".
The future of digital fashion
In any case, with a host of awards from institutions like LVMH, Forbes, the Alexander McQueen Foundation and the V&A, the duo have been called "the future of fashion" by Farfetch and "one of the brands leading the charge" by Vogue. Not only that, but they have become the first digital fashion house to show at London Fashion Week.
All of that is to say, the fashionable founders don't need to explain their place in the industry – their success speaks for itself.
In terms of what is to come next for the brand, the pair discuss the label’s most recent collection; Mesmer as well as their Auroboros Academy educational initiative and their plans to launch Auroboros Studio at some point next year, promising listeners that it will provide "a chance to get involved with us from a very creative standpoint".
"The ecosystem is growing, we don’t know where the beginning or the end of it is right now - it’s an incredible abyss at the moment" Aulbekova says, "rather than creating a parallel of this world which isn’t the best or the prettiest right now, it’s about creating a more exciting, diverse and unique place for others to be happy to be part of."
An engaging and experiential experience
Wrapping up the interview, the duo reflect on their poor experiences of help and transparency while carving out their careers maintaining that they want to do the exact opposite by promoting inclusivity and welcoming new information in Auroboros.
"It’s a brand, it’s an identity and it’s an experience. We want people to be proud to be a part of it and to feel as though they can contribute to it" Sello says.
Making sustainability and digitisation desirable is no easy feat, and to do so in only a year and a half is no less than jaw-dropping,
Ashley McDonnell sums up the brand’s exponential success by saying: "not only have you made it desirable, but also really exciting, engaging and experiential", to which Aulbekova replied: "it does feel like a monumental journey of twenty years, but we’re only getting started".
If that doesn’t make you want to tune in, I don’t know what will.
