Anina Net 360Fashion Network Launch Products in Target Open House

San Francisco - Today is a momentous day. The model blogger is launching her products powered by 360Fashion Network in Target Open House. It's been a long road and hard work bringing #fashiontech to the forefront. When I started creating wearable tech, smart fashion, fashion tech, iot clothing, VR, AR, and producing my 360Fashion & Tech events - the fashion industry did not want to participate. They often said "who would download an app?" and "No one wants to ruin their image by selling online!" and "Virtual clothing? No one will try on digital shirts!" and the kicker: "I don't want technology in my accessories - I don't want to be tracked!"

Ummmm...do you carry your phone on you? You are already being tracked.

Times have changed since I started over 10 years ago building fashion tech solutions. Now, 3D Printing is becoming standard and trendy for it's look and feel for futuristic fashion lovers. Smart rings, smart watches, smart clothing is becoming more beautiful. Power is an issue and it's going into our handbags for sure.

So I am super proud to announce ALL our fashion technology products have been accepted into the Target Open House store and we are launching them today in a big event: http://futurejewelrysf.splashthat.com

Today we are on the front page of WWD and we have been picked up by YAHOO.

WWD: https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/target-shines-a-spotlight-on-fashion-tech-1202764219/

YAHOO: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/target-shines-spotlight-fashion-tech-165900434.html

 

What are we launching?

360Fashion Network Re charging wallets

360Fashion Network Smart Safety Ring

360Fashion Network iLLUMINATED JEWELRY with patented Ledpulse module

360Fash Tech "Totwoo Love" Kit

Stay Tuned! This is just the start #makersgonnamake #fashiontech #wearables #iot #smartfashion

My Journey from Fashion Model to Actress: Embracing the Thrill of Acting

As you know I have been a fashion model my whole life, but in 2020 I started to develop my acting career. I want to share with you the incredible journey I embarked on in 2020 – transitioning from a fashion model to a full-fledged actress. It's been an upward climb and an incredible learning curve with emotions, self-discovery, and memorable experiences that have forever added this trajectory to my career.

Embracing the Realness of Acting
To be honest, acting wasn't something I initially wanted to do. As a fashion model, the allure of the catwalk and the glamorous world of fashion seemed more rewarding. However, every time a movie camera was pointed at me, the cameramen would look through their lens, and their heads would popup and they would say, "You should be an actress!". I never understood why and even to this day, the only explanation I ever got was that there are these cross-hairs in the camera and if your face lines up with them, it means you are an actress.

Acting had always lingered in the background, with people asking me to be part of their films or play cameo roles of myself. I have had several documentaries made of me, including PBS which garnered the most views of any PBS show at the time. While I was occupied with television commercials and public speaking engagements in the tech industry, the world of acting kept whispering in my ear, nudging me to explore its depths.

The Turning Point: KG-145 and the President's Wife
Everything changed when I received a game-changing opportunity in 2020. I was offered the lead role in the movie "KG-145" as the President's wife, Lisette. At first, I was hesitant, unsure if acting could match the rewards I found in modeling. But something inside me pushed me to take the leap. Little did I know that this decision would be the turning point in my acting career.

The interesting thing about this opportunity lay not only in the role itself but also in the circumstances surrounding it. Several people that I knew would be in the movie, including my friend Simon, who was the person who recommended me for the role to the director. Being surrounded by my dear friends on set created a comfortable and supportive environment, helping me ease into the world of acting with less pressure. And let's not forget the incredible director whose passion for the film was contagious. We began shooting just as the pandemic struck, making travel challenging. However, my friend Simon, who also stared in the movie, came to my rescue, picking me up with his daughter, and together, we embarked on this exciting adventure.

Discovering the Love for Acting
As the shoot progressed, I found myself falling in love with the craft of acting. The authenticity and realness it demanded were unlike anything I had experienced before. Every scene became an opportunity to immerse myself in Grace's world, to feel her emotions, to truly become her. The rain, the dirt, the exhaustion – everything felt incredibly real. Acting became my gateway to living in the present moment, embracing the challenges, and unleashing my inner creativity. The lines however and remembering them, were my greatest challenge. I did not have any fear, only fear of forgetting my line!

A Poster-Worthy Achievement
My journey took an extraordinary turn when "KG-145" was selected to be showcased at the illustrious Cannes Film Festival in France this year. To my amazement, I discovered that I was featured front and center on the film's poster. Two days before I had been scrolling through movie posters on Netflix thinking, "I wonder if I will ever be featured in a movie poster..." I was jumping up and down for joy when the director sent me the poster with me on it. I was rendered speechless. It was an honor and a thrill beyond words. Dreams really do come true!

The Love Affair with Acting Continues
Today, I love acting. I have taken classes online, and I am proud to say that I've found something others say I'm good at. I have even received standing ovations on set when I finish my scene. Sometimes I wonder if they are just saying it, or if it's really true - I can't judge, I only can do my best. I have much to learn in terms of techniques and I'm really grateful to be among other more experienced actors and teachers to point the way. The journey has taught me invaluable lessons about perseverance, self-belief, and the joy that comes from pursuing your passion. Yes, movie-making is a lengthy and intricate process, but the love I have for it fuels my spirit. Being featured in "KG-145" has only deepened my commitment to this craft and fueled my desire to take on more diverse roles. I can't wait for the day when the film is available for all of you to enjoy, sharing this incredible adventure with my dear friends, both old and new.

So, there you have it – my personal journey from fashion model to actress, my transformation in the fascinating world of acting in China. It has been an extraordinary ride, filled with challenges, triumphs, and unforgettable moments. Through it all, I've discovered the exhilaration and fulfillment that acting brings to my life. The path to success in the film industry is paved with dedication and resilience, but the rewards are immeasurable. Thank you to all my friends around the world who cheer me on my incredible life adventure. I can't wait to share more stories and experiences with you in the future. Sometimes you just gotta blog!

The American Meme Movie Review

San Francisco, CA - The American Meme': Inside Paris Hilton and Hailey Bieber's Social-Media Addiction. The new Netflix documentary 'The American Meme' examines our social media obsession through the eyes of its popular “influencers. #blessed #grateful Movie is by Bert Marcus.

 

"It's like being introduced to a new drug, but this new drug has only been available for a year, and we don't know the effects of it," says Stephen Dorff who is known as "the Brittney Spears video".

 

In 2004 when I launched Anina.net at the Art 'Posthume movement, in an exhibition called "A New Kind of Supermodel", I predicted the rise of the social media models and how in the future models would use social media to promote brands. In my mind, I used it at the time becoming the first model blogger on google, to boost myself into the spotlight of mainstream media and news. I myself aligned my brand with Nokia and harnessed their PR power to land full-page spreads in magazines and online platforms for our many cooperations.

 

However, I like this second generation of online stars, disappeared for a while from the limelight due to the burnout from constant content creation - and unlike them - the China firewall. I stopped blogging and switched to wechat and weibo Chinese social media when I went behind China's great firewall. With the birth of VPN's and my recent move back to the USA to launch my company's products, I have found my new voice and way to use social media to place into the world what I wish to leave behind in my internet archive legacy. You can follow me on Instagram here, Facebook here, and twitter here.

 

I watched the movie and found some interesting points:

Paris Hilton

1. Paris Hilton is the one who leads the online influencer internet revolution.

It is pretty amazing how they document how Paris Hilton leads the influencer revolution of the internet to self-made online celebrities. She was the first one to become a brand, to create products, become an actress, turn into a DJ, create a virtual avatar in VR, and continuously re-invent herself and up the game.

 

"I wake up in the morning and check all my social media. I love my fans just as much as they love me. My fans are like my family. I'm on a plane 256 days in a year...but my fans I can truly be myself. They genuinely love me. They say that watching me go through so much makes them stronger and helps them go on," says Paris Hilton #thelittlehiltons #Mom

 

Josh Ostrovsky

2. The Fat Jewish credits Paris Hilton for the age of influencers. He believes it is going to crash, however. He created a rose wine branded product because he is really good at marketing so that he would have something remain when the bubble implodes.

"If it makes sense, I don't want to be there." says Josh Ostrovsky aka the Fat Jewish, "What I do is cultural commentary. It's a new kind of art form."

 

Khaled

3. DJ Khaled saw social media fame coming before anyone did.

"I'm building a brand. It's just something natural that comes out of me. You are looking at 25 years of blood, sweat, and tears in the making. I just had a vision of being one of the biggest music moguls in the world," says Khaled.

 

Brittany Furlan

4. Brittany Furlan found an outlet for her acting on Vine.

"I had all this content and I would just vomit it out on social media. When you do well and a crowd cheers and they love you, it's the best feeling in the world."

 

Emily Ratajakowski

5. Emily Ratajakowski found that she could boost her modelling career because of her instagram follower count.

"At first it was just a job for me, and then it exploded online. It's really empowering, when I look back at models and actresses from long ago, everything was filtered through the media. And now I have a direct connection to 15Million people. The control that a woman can have on her own image...It's what 4th wave feminism is about accessibility to technology."

 

Hailey Baldwin

6. Hailey Baldwin became a model because of her ability to connect brands to an audience.

"When is enough enough? I don't want to watch kids lighting themselves on fire. That's just crazy. What if you woke up tomorrow and you were a nobody, you had no followers and had nothing. Can you go back to being yourself?"

 

The Flipside of The American Meme

As The American Meme movie moves forward, the stars start to experience the pitfalls of fame. Paris Hilton's video of her having sex with her ex-boyfriend surfaces on the internet and remains a searchable term on porn sites to this day. Everyone was making fun of it on TV, she was hounded by the press, and she did not leave her hour for months because she was so embarrassed. She felt like every single person had watched it and was talking about her behind her back. "It felt like I had been raped," says Paris, "I literally wanted to die at one point. I didn't want to be known as that."

When Twitter shut down Vine, it screwed Brittany Furlan all the way back to ground zero where she has had to start over. Brittany, in searching for roles outside of her own videos on Vine, finds herself unable to be cast for roles because she is seen only as her online persona as "the Vine girl". Before shutting down, Brittany got to experience what it was like when younger demographic came on to Vine, and started to send her hate tweets saying that she was a racist. The tastes changed she found herself at odds with her decreasing audience.

 

"Don't ever forget that Kim Kardashian was Paris Hilton's intern. I think it's pretty clear, who invented the entire game. Who navigated us into the new world." says Josh Ostrovsky aka the Fat Jewish.

 

Conclusion

The American Meme lets the viewers come to their own conclusion about the different perspectives: building a brand, monetizing, but no way out. I think that all brands have this lifecycle.

 

slutwhisperer

"What he does, has no reflection on his personal nature. He's like an actor. If there's an actor who portrays a character, it's not reflective of the person portraying the character," says the mother of slutwhisperer.

 

I can't really agree with this statement. We are responsible for what we put out into the world and what remains until the electricity goes out is the internet archive. The comments from the slutwhisperer, his style of photography, and his persona have a dated timeline until the #metoo movement changes the culture of the world to no longer tolerate his style of media - or until his liver gives out. He said in the film that he'd been coughing up blood and he could not remember coming home, what happened at the club, and was still drunk in the morning.

 

The Fat Jewish

The Fat Jewish got nailed by media for plagiarism so badly that his deals started to fall through with Comedy Central, shows The American Meme Movie. Why did the world come down on the Josh Ostrovsky, was because he was the best at stealing other people's comedy. "I was the first to do it. People found out you could make money off of it, and now lots of kids do it." he says, "The whole thing had been brewing for a while and the movement needed a face, and they put the face on me."

 

DJ Khaled

DJ Khaled has now put his son on Instagram in order to keep his profile up and as he says, "Keep hustling." The question that was poised by people leads us to wonder as his son grows up and everyone continues to reminisce about his baby Instagram posts, will it have a damaging effect on him as he matures and enters into young adulthood? "When is it enough?" asks a female television host.

 

What I Found Real

I appreciate how transparent the characters in this documentary film were about the pitfalls and the high moments. They found their humanity again after going through the cycle of face tune and photoshop.

 

Take Away

The American Meme movie summarizes the influencer's experiences with the takeaway as you cannot be thin-skinned. The internet can be a cruel place and everyone only gets their Andy Warhol 15 minutes of fame. When it's done it's done, says The American Meme Movie.

...Unless you are Paris Hilton, who continues to reinvent herself over and over by building her online megalopolis of 19 different product lines. dog clothes, hair car, makeup, handbags, lingerie, fragrances, clothing that just keeps growing.

KARL LAGERFELD Died today in Paris

Paris, France - KARL Lagerfeld, the myth, the icon has passed away this morning in Paris. As one of the most energetic and creative talents the world of fashion has ever seen, he will be sorely missed.

As a reinventor, Karl LAGERFELD was always trying new things. I remember when he spoke at Le Web in Paris with Loic Le Meur. He enthusiastically talked about how he was embracing digital: sketching on his iPad, engaging with social media, bringing digital printing to his brand. 

One of the the most famous German designers, Karl Lagerfeld lead the fashion industry into its current state. At the tail end of his life he has seen the era of sustainability come in and technology. He will be sorely missed.

“I love it when the product I create saves me. I’ve been on location shooting for three days with my friend @helenaivancic and by the third day all our phones were running out of #battery. Here, I really am charging my mobile with my Gun Metal Grey #w

via Instagram http://bit.ly/2SNCycJ

This world where we need to present our best face and execute without any hiccups-is an illusion. Important is that we do everything in our power to give the best and respond to situations with a understand, and fix it fast mentality. Communication needs

via Instagram http://bit.ly/2I1umS9

A kiss to the @dldconference Thank you for your kind invitation to #dld19 @czernysteffi @hubert_burda_media 💫 “The highlights of the conference were the speeches on Trust @rachelbotsman and @margotedelman. The idea that it’s a confidence in a brand

via Instagram http://bit.ly/2WpRb5d

Burningman Fashion is Actually Couture Fashion Tech

 

San Francisco, CA - Most people say that there’s no real fashion in San Francisco. However, I disagree. I have been participating in some “Prepare for the Playa” popup stores where the top festival fashion brands Sell to the Burningman crowd. 

What I have come to notice is that these brands are very high quality and their clothing is made to withstand the 5 days of intense fun on the Playa in a big way, making them very high quality. Festival goers have no patience when paying top dollar for a unique brand for it to fall apart. 

I noticed that the beautiful coats, the apocalyptic A-line outfits, the sparkling flip sequence are all made to not leave a trace after the Burningman principals. 

Many of the costumes are so well thought out and unique that one could consider them couture in the sense that they are custom made designs and one of a kind pieces. 

There seems to be two styles:

Hippy fringe items after Mad Max meets Peru, and techno light up wear that meets the dreams of anyone right out of BladeRunner.

there are also the Steampunkers and the Cirque de Soleil fire twirling entertainers, but they will be outnumbered this year with the iRobot concept that is the theme.

its why our chokers and bracelets are selling so well. They fit into every design style. They fit women and men and they light up the night.

this August 11th marks the final big sale we are participating in with Beyond the Fence, a curated popup store lead by Tamo for the last 12 years. If you are in San Francisco don’t miss it. You will find the coolest underground high quality brands. 

Mine of them being 360Fashion Network x Ledpulse Chokers and Bracelets!

http://www.360fashion.tv/illuminatedjewelry

San Francisco- Today I got to preview the movie “I feel Pretty” with Amy Schumer. Even though we took a vote and most people gave it a 4.5 I think it’s a great movie and I watched parts of it twice. First, it’s a fashion film and I really enjoyed to see Amy transform into a super fashionable person who made the best of her appearance despite not being a Twiggie fashion model thin. I think this film is a great example for women in the plus size category to dress. She wore high waisted pencil skirts in bright blue, and short mini skirts in pink and her evening party dresses flattered her body well. I think it’s a go to film for positive body image and for looking at what fashion can do for plus size women. 

Of course the ending was a bit lame with the whole “that’s me...and that’s me...” revelation, but everything up to that was really light and funny. I would not have made the boyfriend choice she made but then that again comes down to self esteem and what you think you are worth and what you want. 

Another two surprises were Naomi Campbell who had a cameo/role to play...not sure of her acting skills. Yet the really outstanding role besides Amy, goes to the CEO of the company with the tiney voice who’s always trying to prove to her grandmother that she’s doing a good job. I liked this character because it portrayed a new kind of woman ceo: one that is tuff and leads but is smart and chooses Amy for her dedication and go get it attitude plus love of her brand, even if she doesn’t fit to the typical stereotype model receptionist face of the brand. I like the way she also intelligently respects and asks Amy’s character for her opinion on their Target diffusion line and advances Amy’s character.

This is a great film for those days when as a women entrepreneur you feel beaten to the ground. It shows that by developing your self confidence and relentless attitude with bold unappologetic abandon, you can forge ahead no matter what and go get your dreams.

As I am also collaborating with Target,

https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/target-shines-a-spotlight-on-fashion-tech-1202764219/

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/target-shines-spotlight-fashion-tech-165900434.html

with my products currently on display at Target Open House San Francisco, CA, I was glad to see the brand associated with this positive body image and woman self confidence film.

A 6.8 - 7 movie in my rating. A 9.8 for fashion in a Zoolander kind of way!

Sha2017 - Entering the Hacker Zone

I was invited to be a part of a Hacker Camp called SHA2017 which happens only every 4 years in Holland. I was invited to be a part of the Belgium Embassy / Hardware Hacking area by Mitch Altman.  I met Mitch in his trip to Beijing setting up the iCenter hacker space at Tsinghua University and we got a fashion tech ardruino class going. 

Mitch invited me to come and teach about etextiles and do workshops with the #LEDRibbon. He said that I should branch out into the maker scène. Indeed, it was the best experience ever and I met a community of people really open and highly intelligent! I could talk to anyone about technology.

The thing I also really enjoyed is how very experienced engineers also took the time in their day to come to my workshop to pimp their tshirt, and also see what I was doing and offer more advice, help, and teach me. I got real knowledge and I got solid foundation in some key areas such as PCB design.

I can't say the camping part was successful, as I got hypothermia on the first day and suffered from a terrible cold for the full 5 days, but the knowledge and exchange with people was with the suffering.

 Everywhere I went people I met enjoyed my perspective on security, fashion, and technology. We brainstormed about how to create encrypted jewelry, secure communications, and my most recent topic: hacking cars.

on the flash talks my friend encouraged me to get up on stage and give a speech about fashion tech. 

You can watch my flas talk here but bear in mind it was on a camping and I was really sick! FAs Forward the video to -13:45 sec Watch here.

 

I have become the ambassador to the "Hero Film Festival", the only film festival in China dedicated to film around the genre of Hero's. Hero's in every day life and throughout history have inspired us and give us hope in difficult situations. If you have a film script or are an executive producer of Heroic themed films, please contact me. The committee is dedicated to produce 160 films this next year and promote China-Foreign film cooperations. #herofilmfestival #China #film #movies #movieproduction #filmmaking #filmmaker #filmfestival #script #moviescript #hero #heroine

As I have many friends who are in the film industry I look forward to connect you to this organization. Send me an email with your proposal and I will be happy to connect you!

 

I'm so thrilled! First time I have been featured on Intel iQ!!! Read the full article here: https://iq.intel.com/top-model-turned-fashion-tech-pioneer-inspires-new-makers/

 

Several people on Facebook have been asking me if I am changing careers because I am being featured in more movies of late. "More" being the 4 that I have participated in small roles but secondary lead roles. I have also been in more videos and documentaries and TV commercials.

The funny thing is with all of these, is that I just play myself on TV. Every role I have gotten is actually me and something that has happened or is happening in my life. So it is very easy to say the lines and call up the emotions.

The answer would be, no I am not changing careers- I have a full time job being the CEO of 360Fashion Network and I don't have time to go on castings every day. But at the same time, I have been a fashion model my whole life until now, and if there is time and I can fit it in- it's a nice break from the pressure of raising a company. At the same time my goal has always been to make tech cool and to attract more women to a technology career. The modelling and acting keeps my feet on the ground and makes my life fun and glamour Lis.

Now the main difference is that I'm making products with partners and brands, so I get to be my own model in the product photos or the video which is really for me the combination of what I stand for and want to promote, and what I love! 

With all the Uber talk and women rising to important positions, I think there's nothing wrong with wearing many hats and doing many different things according to your skill set. Often times if I leave things into the hands of people I don't know, it's not done the way I want. So I put on the hat of producer, or model, or actor, and CEO. That's what really being CEO of a startup is in my book: it's the person who is willing to roll up their sleeves and dig the ditch if no one else can or is willing to do it. It's the person who is able to get the job done, and done well. It's the person who doesn't let the ship sink while watching the problems happen. It's the do whatever it takes to float and then, eventually to get that albatross into the sky to soar like an eagle.

I organized the second 360Fashion & Tech Forum meet-up and it was a success. We showcased the Azreal YM smart glove and we talked about the state of fashion tech. I really enjoyed to see the designers speak openly about their design concept and the engineers answer highly complex technical questions from our sophisticated audience.

you can read the full breakdown on the blog of 360Fashion Network.

PRESS: Page Online Sneak Peek at Qi Suit Powered by Intel Curie

 

Qi SUIT PRESS TEASER from 360Fashion on Vimeo.

Berlin, Germany - PRESS: Page-Online.de have given everyone a sneak peek at our upcoming launch with ROMASTER: The Qi Suit made with the 360Fash Tech "Gesture" Kit. 

The Qi Suit was a particularly challenging creation because of the obstacles we needed to overcome in order to create this incredibly tailored suit by Master Li - the Golden Scissors award winning tailor who recently died, with my work with him as his last great living legacy on this earth. Although I could not speak a single word with Master Li, we had another way to communicate that transcended language: we had the language of innovation. 

The main obstacle to this project was TIME. We only had 45 Days to complete this project and then launch it at Intel Developer Conference in Shenzhen May 13th, 2016. The second most prominent obstacle was CULTURE & LANGUAGE. The third most difficult obstacle was TECHNOLOGY.

TIME

With only 45 days to complete the project for the Intel Developer Conference 2016, we worked 45 days straight with very long hours up to 2:00AM the next day. We had to figure out the parts, order the parts, test the parts, and then build the LED patterns. Lack of sleep is not a good thing for a team because it leads to short tempers and not clear thinking. Some days we just had to roll up our sleeves and drink a lot of black tea.

CULTURE & LANGUAGE

With the whole team of 10 people speaking Chinese, I found myself challenged with only translation to help me explain and communicate how to execute the project. We had to revert to a lot of diagrams, and twice I had to pull in my friends who just for their kindness came in and solved the problems late at night. Also in using online project management software, the fashion team had no VPN's and were not able to follow the project in a "modern" way. The engineering team often did not get the whole specifications translated and thus we had mistakes that we had to re-do and would lose time. In these situations it is extremely important to be professional and to put your nose to the grindstone and not give up. To be flexible and willing to give up something but also to go back and re-do, including things that may have been lost in translation. #NeverNeverNeverGiveUp

TECHNOLOGY

Currently there are a lot of LEDs out there and we had to make quick decisions on what type we were going to sew into the suit. We made several tests and in the end forgot about LED Strips because it would be prone to fail on the weakest points: the soldering joints at the end of the strips. Flexible LED boards that we cut were too hard and would be extremely uncomfortable for the wearer. The final test, and ultimate choice were the LEDs in shapes on boards. This allowed us to create a poetic pattern, but had big enough holes on the back for us to solder them together with insulated thread.

Stay tuned for more of this epic story and the launch!

Berlin, Germany - Fashion Tech Berlin - Premium 2016

Berlin, Germany - #FashionTechBerlin Was a great experience and I am really grateful to be included and have had the chance for Michal Starost to join us and showcase his #RoboticDress along with showcasing RFactory Motion Dress, and LIBET LED Bags. The exhibition was really beautifully put together by #Elektrocuture and Lisa Lang, and we met so many new talents through the exhibition. www.360fash.com

I also got to know new people in person, whom I had only met through twitter or seen online. One of those people was Muchetta from FashNerd.com and the other was Amanda Cosco from Electric Runway. Both outstanding women with a clear vision of the future. 

At #FashionTechBerlin Anina Net of @360fashion is Empowering Traditional Designers w/ 360FashTech Kit! #RobotDress pic.twitter.com/gdUWyTgxCn

— FashNerd (@FashNerd) June 29, 2016

It was a great experience to be on the OTHER side of an event instead of organizing it - which Re:publica and Premium did an outstanding job at getting us all there, set up, and speaking. They were really flexible about presentations too. Coming from China there was no way to send all the videos with the great firewall blocking the uploads. 

The exhibition attracted a lot of diverse people: from students, to journalists, to fashion brands - each one was really interesting to talk to and hear their feedback on our LED Ribbon and our 360Fash Tech "Robotic Dress" Kit. The exchange of information, the thoughts of the future, were all diverse. Some designers said they didn't want everything connected in the future, and that some things should remain "offline". Others expressed their interest in stepping a toe into fashion tech but didn't know where to start. Many were really wide-eye'd at what is possible and super keen to come with us on envisioning the future.

The Fashion Fusion contest was launched and the finalists have been chosen #FashionFusion is a great platform where we will see what kind of innovation comes out of it? Lead by Lisa Lang and there are designers in residence, the quality will be very hard to beat in turning those ideas into realities. #congratulations

 

Frankfurt Style Awards Sponsorship 360Fash Tech Kits 2016

Frankfurt, Germany - SEPTEMBER 23RD - In my mission to empower fashion designers with good technology, I've decided to sponsor the Frankfurt Style Awards with our 360Fash Tech "Solar Bag" Kit and LED Ribbons. I love that the solar panels are flexible crystalline and 22.9% efficient - the highest efficiency that I have seen in the world. I really want to see what a fashion designer can create with this kit that charges a phone.

The Frankfurt Style Awards are unique because they bring together over 500 schools across Germany to showcase their vision of the future:

"The TOP60 fashion designer of tomorrow are presenting their unique designs in an world premiere. This year the partner country China is in our spotlight. Join us when we clear the stage for the FRANKfurtstyleaward 2016, showcasing a glamorous fashion show and Gala in the Alte Oper in Frankfurt on September 23rd , with a jubilant award ceremony, Chinese show acts, an amazing vocal artist, after show party und many more cultural highlights!"

If you are in Frankfurt and attending the Gala event, we will have a creative space where you can see several of the products made with our technology and meet our local team from International Designers Network.

Part of why I was really interested in this sponsorship with the Frankfurt Style Awards is because our team could reach out to 500 schools and show them how our kits can be used as a tool to teach their students integration and design with wearable computing. With minimal knowledge the fashion teachers can bring electronics into their classrooms with step by step instructions and support. It's really important that the next generation designers have the skills needed to approach the hyper-connected world we are moving into.

In the period from 26 August to 19 September all fashion enthusiasts may enjoy voting on line. On the Facebook page of Frankfurt Style Award you can click through the gallery of finalists and vote by a "Like" for his favorites. The three designs with the most "likes" are nominated for the Public Choice Award. Then on the evening gala on 23 September at the Alte Oper Frankfurt the audience will applaud the winner Frankfurt Style Award and he/she will receive a 360Fash Tech Prize!

After that, and with their new solar powered designs, the new creations will be showcased in the Shanghai during Shanghai Fashion Week 2016.

PRESS: Queen of Raw about Anina Net

New York, NY - Thrilled to be the topic of conversation on Queen of Raw! They really summed it up what I have been explaining in my many speeches and events. I really do believe that we need to get technology in the hands of creatives, and overcome obstacles to making it accessible. This will allow the masters of lifestyle (fashion brands) to start to bring technology into our everyday lives.

It's what I am working to bring together with hardware, e-textiles, and fashion over at our 360Fash Tech Lab in Bejiing, China these past 7 months creating our solutions. When I"m prototyping, I really would like to snap together pieces to try how things work, and I would like to be able to quickly get the hardware to do what I want using Visual Programming.

Read the interview here: https://www.queenofraw.com/the-raw-insider/5-reasons-anina-net-is-fashion-tech-today/

Read more about 360Fash Tech Kits here: https://www.queenofraw.com/the-raw-insider/power-your-fashion-without-coding/

Anina Net to speak at Fashion Fusion Conference Seoul, Korea October 8th

October 8, 2016 Anina Net will be speaking at Fashion Futures #FF2016 in Soeul, Korea.

What am I going to talk about?

Well, of course I would like to talk about our 360Fash Tech Kits and showcase some of the fashion designers who have been using our kits to create smart fashion and smart accessories that use IOT to connect and react to the world using wearable computing. Everything is built into one kit, a fashion tech maker kit, or fashion maker kit. 

The other thing I would like to share is all the other fashion tech labs in the world and what they are doing. With Lisa Lang in Berlin, to Anouk Wipprecht at Codame, to The Craft cropping up, Amanda Cosco with her Electric Runway,  and more!

I want to talk about the challenges of creating a fashion tech competition, workshop and lab.

I"m going to showcase for the first time the Qi Suit by ROMASTER.

I hope to arrange some meetings in advance. There is a fashion tech accelerator in Seoul, Korea, and I hope more fashion tech companies will contact me or research and development organizations. There's so much coming out of Korea in terms of 3D Design and e-textile development that I have been reading about lately.

Really looking forward to going to the future!

Looking Back at the First Fashion Tech Blogging Conference in Paris 2005

Looking back over the years, I"m thinking back to the launch of 360Fashion Network and how I worked with Loic LeMeur who was with Six Apart at the time, Xavier des Horts from Nokia, and how it has lead me to where I am today of producing some of the biggest fashion technology events in the world. 

Breezing back through google and remembering also the bloggers that I started such as Diane Pernet, Imran Amed, Erin Fetherston, and more, I knew at the time that blogging would evolve into the standard of the web because it empowered people to have their own voice.

Loic LeMeur's blogpost about the first fashion blogging conference in Paris, France 2005.

Here is the list of the first fashion bloggers on the radar in Paris, France 2005.

Some promotion of the first fashion blogger conference and launch of 360Fashion Network.

At the time, I asked all my friends to start blogging: one photographer (Sonny Vandevelde), one journalist (Diane Pernet), one business person (Imran Amed), one model (Anina Net), one hairstylist (Patrice Delaroche), and more....and they agreed simply to help me as I had this plan to use my name and image to influence women to enter into the world of technology and get fashion tech going with more brands using technology (which they didn't want to at the time such as Marco Laconte points out at my event in New York at the time!).

 

For the event I had 3 areas: one area that was an installation where I explained in a physical format what is a blog. I had each person in the 360Fashion Network choose 10 photos, a quote, and a physical object to support the explanation--plus I had printed out the blogs so that people could actually SEE what was a blog.

 

Then I had a great interactive cocktail area where I had a huge metal net on the wall where I asked people to take photos, have them printed out wirelessly, and then write a physical blog post on a card that looked like the inside of a blog, and pin it to the net wall (effectively making a physical blog post).

By the end of the conference, the wall was full of photos and physical objects, and blog posts. It was a fun exercise to help people understand what was a blog.

 

(I wish I could find that photo of the panel discussion)

After the cocktail and the exhibition we started the conference and had over 50 people join us from both tech and fashion. You may recognise some of the regular suspects but it was fun to have the 360Fashion bloggers share their experience and explain why they were blogging, and what they thought of it/how it was helping them connect to the world. The other interesting fact you may like to know is that they were all blogging from their mobile phones--which I had to configure at the time from scratch every time they went to a new country, and it took me 2 hours to get the smtp server info from the operators (who instead wanted to sell me a mms package, but I had to insist to give me the gateway so that I could send photos, text and video directly to the Six Apart Typepad blogs). At the time, Nokia were the first ever to be able to LifeBlog.

At the time, I didn't realize that I would be creating the blueprint for my 700 square meter exhibitions I do in China with 110,000 people, or fashion and wearable tech runway shows with exhibitions and 500+ C-Level attendees at the IBM-360Fashion & Tech "Startup Runway & Innovation Awards". Yet looking back as I see my wikipedia page, I see that this was indeed the beginning of the fashion tech movement that I've been in for 8 years and that it was always a love of mine to use Art and Media to explain technology. What a super fun trip down flickr's memory lane. Funny how it was on October 3rd, and my events are all on the 3rd of the month...Please have a look at the first fashion tech blogging conference photos here:

 

 

Barcelona, Spain -- Mobile World Congress was a huge event for the technology industry--and now fashion thanks to Kim Arazi from N3 and 360Fashion Network. Off the plane I was so exhausted from the 18 hours of travel and then straight to work for getting the last items for the exhibition. Kim and I ran around the city looking for clear boxes to put all the great wearable tech inside to keep them secure and safe. We finally found them with white pebbles to make them look elegant.

Sometimes as leader you have to just roll up your sleeves and dig in to take the opportunity in the hand. It's exhausting when there's not enough time, budget, and manpower. Yet opportunity only knocks when you are ready to leap in and go to the next level. You can choose to stay where you are and wait for everything to be right--maybe that's just for the very well established and famous. For me, I'm still building brick by brick, territory by territory, millimeter by millimeter the 360Fashion Network to be the leading fashion and technology event producers in the world. To make our events strong we have to jump at the main opportunities. That means no sleep sometimes. That means pushing beyond human capacity. That takes super model strength. 

I have to admit though that this trip I was pushed to the limits and beyond. To the point of hallucination and lack of sleep...yet it's bearing fruit.

Now if only LUFTHANSA WOULD FIND MY LUGGAGE! That's the only thing I have to say: LUFTHANSA SUCKS! Terrible service, terrible flight, and they cannot find my luggage. Lufthansa, you are no KLM, no DELTA, no VIRGIN ATLANTIC. You need to locate my luggage instead of saying "we have no information" and "we have no feedback from Barcelona and Frankfurt". I have very valuable things in my luggage that you cant replace. Step up your efforts LUFTHANSA!