Speakers

Susanne Vegter

Founder of STUDIOVEGTER Fashion & Design Recruitment Agency.

STUDIOVEGTER connects professionals, international companies and educational institutes in Fashion & Design industries. Susanne's experience as a fashion designer for various brands and retailers adds to her skills as a connector in creative industries.

In her role as Intermediator, she successfully connects businesses with creative talent for 15+ years. Specialized in recruiting & consulting for global brands and retailers in all areas of fashion & design. She enables fashion and design companies to reach the next business level by providing talent, networking opportunities and knowledge by creating and initiating new business concepts, sourcing and spotlighting talent. Furthermore she provides guest lectures at symposia and several international Design & Fashion Academies & Universities. Studiovegter is also initiator of new collaborations, partnerships and cross-over connections, with the purpose of diminishing the gap between innovation & the established system.

www.studiovegter.com

Sonnet Stanfill

Curator of Fashion at the V&A

Sonnet Stanfill is Senior Curator of Fashion in the Department of Furniture, Textiles and Fashion at the V&A, where she has worked since 1999. Her research focuses on 20th and 21st century fashion production and consumption and her exhibitions include Ossie Clark (2003), New York Fashion Now (2007) and co-curation of Ballgowns: British Glamour Since 1950 (2012), with accompanying publications. She curated the major exhibition, The Glamour of Italian Fashion (2014) which toured to four venues in North America from 2015-17. Sonnet holds an MA in the history of dress from the Courtauld Institute of Art, and is Chair of its alumni board. In 2017 Sonnet joined the Advisory Board of the Musée Yves Saint Laurent, Paris and Marrakech. She was appointed as the 2019 Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Trust V&A Visiting Scholar at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Marco Rendina

European Fashion Heritage Association

Marco has been working for two decades with museums, archives and libraries across Europe, supporting them in their digital transformation, advocating for open access, gaining extensive experience in Digital Libraries design and implementation and fostering innovation in the cultural heritage sector in Europe. Since 2015 he is the Managing Director of the European Fashion Heritage Association.
He is also a member of the Board of Directors in various international cultural heritage organisations and networks, like the Jewish Heritage Network and the EUscreen Foundation. In 2018 he has been elected Chair of the Europeana Aggregators Forum, and he has been appointed by the European Commission as member of the Digital Cultural Heritage and Europeana (DCHE) expert group.

Roger Gerards

Director Master Tailor Institute Amsterdam

Roger Gerards is director of the Master Tailor Institute (Meesteropleiding Coupeur) in Amsterdam; a foundation dedicated to re-establishing and renewing high-quality tailoring – based on the quality of the makers and focused on the process of making –  in the Netherlands. After his studies in Cultural and Social Anthropology at Radboud University in Nijmegen and Fashion Design at ArtEZ in Arnhem, he held various positions in the fashion and interior industry. From 2006-2016, Gerards was Creative Director of Vlisco Netherlands B.V. in Helmond. He played a crucial role in redefining and repositioning Vlisco by highlighting the meaning of the design, the unique production process and the consumers’ experience. In 2015, he became Creative Director at BN Walls for two years, before starting at the Master Tailor Institute in 2017. Gerards held several positions in fashion education (for example, as Head of Fashion & Textile at the Royal Academy of Art, and as chair of a European network of Textile Design educational institutes). His leadership is driven by the importance of inspiration, “the story behind what we see”, and understanding the cultural and societal value of everything we do.

Patricia Lerat

Former director Première Classe trade show

After more than 25 years in the fashion industry, Patricia Lerat is the recognized French coach and consultant in the development of today's talent.
An expert in development and communication strategy for brands, the former director of the Première Classe trade show, founded the agency PLC Consulting Paris in 2008.  She sets up several tailor-made "intelligent events" such as B2B showrooms on the Parisian square to accompany young designers and ensure their promotion internationally, such as "designers apartment", a support program created for the FHCM, La Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode.
She is an expert at the Défi, the committee for the Development and Promotion of Clothing since 2011 and intervenes in schools such as L'IFM, ENSAD/ ENAMOMA, La CASA 93 as a mentor for future entrepreneurs.

Its credo: "be yourself and your project will be yours".

Wing (Dyana) So

Wing (Dyana) So recently graduated with her MA in History from the Erasmus Mundus joint-degree program, Global Markets, Local Creativities, where she is the incoming President of its alumni association. At EUR, she took the 'Heritage & Fashion' course, where she and her peers worked in teams to produce (and later publish) a case study framing an engagement challenge faced by the European Fashion Heritage Association. With a research specialization in creative industries and business history, Wing completed her thesis on the rise and fall of legendary creative consultancy, Naked Communications, as part of her ongoing interests in urban project-based ecologies, communications strategies, and digital humanities. She has a BA in Visual Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, and currently freelances as a micro-brand strategist for small businesses and a local history museum seeking to adapt digitally.

Carla Francesca Gatt

Senior Case Writer at RSM

Carla Francesca Gatt works as a Senior Case Writer at the Case Development Centre, which forms part of the Rotterdam School of Management. She is originally from Malta. Carla holds a master’s degree in English in Modern and Contemporary Literature and Literary Theory from the University of Malta (2006/2007) and a master’s degree in History in Race and Resistance from the University of Leeds (2012/2013). Her work experience varies from teaching Business English conversation classes to working as a journalist for The Malta Independent and the Times of Malta. She spent a 1-year stint at the Foreign Office in Malta, where she worked as a policy officer at the migration desk. This led her to volunteer for an NGO that offers legal consultation to migrants, refugees, and members of the LGBTQI community. She has also written content and articles for various companies and agencies, mainly about cybersecurity, gaming, and drones.

Bianca Demkin

Bianca began her studies in the South of France with a preparation year in Applied Arts, then moved to Strasbourg to start a BTS in Fashion Design before pursuing with a bachelor's degree in Fashion Infography which was a work-study program that allowed her to benefit from a Stylist Assistant experience within a company during one year.
She is currently living in Paris where she moved 3 years ago when looking for a Master degree in Fashion and Sustainability.
Hence Bianca joined the EnaMoMa cursus curated jointly by the EnsAD, the Paris-Dauphine University and the Mines Paritech engineering school.
Bianca graduated in last September with the presentation of her diploma project “Denimistry” on which she worked for almost a year and which is about transforming discarded jeans into new innovative materials for fashion.

Maria Afanasieva

Maria works as a brand strategist and art director and specialises in heritage and luxury branding. She performed a number of creative projects working with clients from the US, UK, Canada, France, Spain, Ireland and Russia. In 2019 Maria launched Dignify – a project dedicated to uncovering the behind-the-scenes of luxury creation by talking to the founders of major creative agencies in Europe. She’s now working on the brand strategy for Soumkine – a Parisian brand that manufactures premium stationery items using traditional bookbinding technique and authentic machinery from the 19th and 20th centuries. Maria also performs her own artistic projects using a penname Mafiarty and follows the principle of breathing fresh air in history through art, business and science. You can find more information on her personal website mafiarty.com.

Daphne Geveke (EUR)

From an early age onwards Daphne was very involved with the climate. What started with a membership at WWF’s children organization grew into organizing fundraisers and presenting on climate change at the age of 12. During her Bachelors in Business she interned for MNE Hugo Boss in New York and started her own sustainability initiative at their USA Headquarters, leaving the place a little more green. Her final thesis concerned a case study on MUD Jeans circular denim brand and she conducted an in depth supply chain analysis. After successfully completing her Bachelors she continued her studies at Erasmus University specializing in the Cultural and Creative industries, with a strong focus on Fashion, sustainability and, as of recently, gender inequality. Her Pre-master thesis explored the relation between women and transparency in global fashion brands and was nominated for best thesis of the year. Currently she is in her Masters, works as student assistant for the university and is developing a startup battling textile waste.

Denis Darpy (PSL)

Denis Darpy is Professor of management and marketing at Université Paris-Dauphine-PSL. He is now President of Université Française d'Egypte. 
He developed his academic career over the last 20 years, after 10 years in professional international marketing job positions in the microcomputer industry (Microsoft, Lotus Development, Tektronix). His research interests are Consumer Behavior, Brand Management, and Luxury Management. He developed connections with emerging Chinese luxury and fashion brands over the past 10 years. He has founded the master in luxury management of Université Paris-Dauphine, in partnership with leading luxury brands. He has been also responsible for several programs of the university in partnership with Chinese universities. In addition, he has founded in 2018 the first international management master multi-campus (Europe-Asia-Africa). He has been Dean of the Graduate School in Organization Sciences of Dauphine PSL from 2016 through 2020. He is also member of the steering committee of Enamoma – Paris Fashion School by PSL. 

Mariangela Lavanga (EUR)

Mariangela Lavanga is a Senior Assistant Professor in Cultural Economics at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. She is the Academic Coordinator of the Master in Cultural Economics and Entrepreneurship, Co-founder and coordinator of the Minor Fashion Industry, and Co-lead, project manager, researcher and lecturer in the Erasmus+ project RE-FRAME FASHION. Mariangela combines insights from cultural economics and economic geography; from addressing the role of cultural industries in sustainable urban development to zooming in on fashion and design industries. In particular, she looks at the fashion industry as a creative industry to: a) understand locational choices, local and global networks and labour market of entrepreneurs, b)  unravel processes of value-creation, in particular linked to sustainability and circular economy, c) delve into the role of intermediaries, temporary clusters and face-to-face interaction in the markets for creative goods and services. The results of many of the projects she contributes to are used in policy making strategies by local governments, national governments or stakeholders across Europe. Mariangela has an extensive teaching and supervision portfolio (+/- 40 courses taught;  +/- 8 new or restructured courses; +/- 80 Master and Bachelor theses supervised) and is a pioneer in innovative education, especially linked to sustainability, circular economy, fashion and design, and direct involvement of stakeholders in class. In parallel, she is a sought-after speaker and expert in many events outside academia. Recently, she co-founded Culture.Fashion, an open, value-driven network in the field of fashion and textile supported by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW).

Magdalena Popowska (GUT)

Researcher and lecturer of Organization Science and Entrepreneurship at the Faculty of Management and Economics of Gdansk University of Technology. For many years in charge of internationalization processes, between 2008-2016 as a Vice-Dean for International and Public Affairs, and today as a Dean’s Proxy for International Cooperation. Visiting scholar at many European universities: Neoma Business School, University of Florence, Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences, La Rochelle Business School. Today, her research is mainly focused on corporate social responsibility, sustainable development, and entrepreneurship education. Participating in several EU projects (TEMPUS, INTERREG, Erasmus+) and leader of an Intensive Programme (summer school) within LLP.

Joanna Staniszewska

Joanna Staniszewska is a marketing and HR expert and adviser with over twenty years of experience. She specializes in the field of communication, HR, business education, leadership, cultural diversity, and mentoring. She is a founder and CEO of You’ll marketing and consulting agency, operating on international markets and promoting new media communication. Joanna successfully managed international and Polish brands such as Diverse, GOLDWELL, KMS California, and many more for years. She is also very active in social networks and associations supporting entrepreneurs- she was a member of Mentors’ Forum Foundation, Network of Entrepreneurial Women, Cherie Blair Foundation Programs (UK), Girls Go Startup, Escuela de Organizacion Industrial (Spain) and Entrepreneurship Women’s Foundation (Nigeria). Joanna is engaged in introducing new brands to the market, building a brand image for new companies, re-branding for the existing ones, and promotional strategies build on culture. She is committed to fulfilling the mission of You'll's team – to support customers’ development through practical linking of business objectives with human values and purpose to use this combination to work for the company's profit and the common good.

Luciano Segreto

Luciano Segreto is Full Professor of Economic History at Department of Economics and Management of the University of Florence, he’s also a Permanent Visiting Professor at Technical University of Gdansk since 2015, and Adjunct Professor of Corporate Governance at the Bocconi University of Milan since 2011.

His main interests are the history of family capitalism, international affairs, banking history and corporate governance in a historical perspective. He is involved in international research programs that deal with the trade of commodities in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He is a member of the editorial board of "Revista de Historia Industrial y Empresarial", "Passato e Presenre", "Studi Storici", “Revista de Historia Industrial e impresarial”, and "Polish Polish Science Review". He is a peer reviewer of “Business History”, “Business History Review”, “Economic History” and of numerous Italian contemporary history journals.