In partnership with

☀️ GM Digital Fashion Tech Insiders 😏

🚀 NYFW isn’t just the physical runway—it’s New York Fashion TECH Week. Tech and AI are redefining fashion, brands are scaling phygital experiences, and 🪩 The Digital Runway is stepping into a bigger role as a Digital Fashion Week media partner.

🎟️ Giving away 3 tickets to Digital Fashion Week NYC! Want in? Keep reading.

📌 Inside This Week’s Issue:
🪩 Runway Radar  → AI’s takeover in Beauty & Couture 🦾
📲 The Weekly Swipe → Louis Vuitton x F1, Dior Shake Ups & More 🔥
💅🏻 Janey’s AI Edit → The AI Battle: DeepSeek vs. ChatGPT—Who wins? 🏆
🎙️ Behind the Screens → Digital Fashion Week & Ray-Ban Meta glasses 👓
✍ The Runway Diaries  → Lunar New Year, NYFW & Exclusive Giveaways 🪩
🗓️ NYFW Fashion Tech Event List + Ticket Giveaway→ 🎟️ Subscriber Exclusive

📮 New here? Don’t miss out—Subscribe or explore the archives.

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👑 AI Beauty Pageants—The Future or a Hyper-Perfection Trap?

🗞️ TLDR: The ‘Miss AI’ beauty pageant is reshaping beauty as 1,500 AI influencers compete for the proverbial crown (is it digital? 👀).

L’Oréal, Dior, and Balmain are already using AI models—will human models become obsolete, or is this just the start of hybrid AI-human influencers?

💡 Industry Power Moves:

• 🤝 AI Disrupts Influencers → Brands own AI models, cutting reliance on human talent. Expect AI creator agencies to emerge.

• 💰 AI Saves $$, but…→ Can AI replace real human connection and trust?

• 🌎 Diversity & Inclusion → Will AI redefine beauty or reinforce existing biases?

🔗 Read more on Vogue Business

🎥 Watch The Digital Runway Podcast featuring AI Fashion Designer Wildy Rodriguez for more on diversity in AI Fashion.

👀 Viktor & Rolf’s AI Doll—Creepy or Genius?

🗞️ TLDR: Viktor & Rolf used AI for their entire couture collection, from fabric selection to silhouette variations, even narrating the show with an AI voice.

Is AI couture revolutionizing design or just a luxury house flexing tech for virality?

💡 Luxury AI Strategy:

• 🤖 AI as a Tool → AI can help designers with ideation, silhouettes, and fabric, but couture thrives on craftsmanship. Expect AI to be integrated quietly (or loudly like this)—supporting, not replacing, designers.

• 🖌️ The Scarcity Dilemma → AI could either democratize couture (a nightmare for luxury) or be used to create hyper-limited digital + physical fashion.

• 🔥 Luxury’s Next Play? AI-powered, hyper-personalized couture for VIPs. Customization at scale? 👀

🔗 Read more on L’OFFICIEL

📌 Need a brand strategy for AI Fashion? Book a Power Hour 

🕹️ Alo Yoga’s Metaverse Play: Virtual Wellness Meets Retail

🗞️ TLDR: Alo Yoga is doubling down on digital retail with a refreshed Roblox wellness sanctuary, featuring meditation rooms, workouts, and interactive product drops.

Originally launched in 2022, the experience has more than 117 million visits.

💡 Why This Matters for Brands:

• 🛍️ Metaverse Retail = Future Commerce → Gen Z/Alpha are already spending & shopping in virtual worlds. Is your brand there yet?

• 🎮 Gaming x Retail → Alo uses NFC tech to connect IRL shopping & digital rewards—a new playbook for retail engagement.

• 🏆 Brand Loyalty 2.0 → With in-game rewards, exclusive digital fashion & real-world perks, Alo is turning casual players into brand superfans. Other brands will copy this playbook.

📖 Read more on WWD

🪩 Want more insights? Download The Digital Runway Report

🚪 Kim Jones Exits Dior Homme (BOF)
🏎️ Louis Vuitton x F1 Sponsorship (Forbes)
👓 Apple Cancels Augmented Reality Glasses (The Verge)
🛍️ Whatnot Goes All-In on Live Shopping (Vogue Business)
📛 Maison Margiela names new creative director (Fashion Dive)

👀 Which headline has you talking? Reply & let’s discuss!

🗞️ TLDR: DeepSeek is China’s AI disruptor, delivering enterprise-ready models at a fraction of OpenAI’s cost.

💡 Why DeepSeek Went Viral:
⚡ Ultra Low-Cost AI → Built for $6M vs. OpenAI’s billions.
🔎 Business AI Powerhouse → Optimized for finance, coding & research.
📉 Wall Street Shocked → U.S. tech stocks dropped—China’s AI dominance is real.

🧐 AI Comparison:
📊 DeepSeek = Business AI → Optimized for data-driven insights & forecasting.
💬 ChatGPT = Consumer AI → Best for content creation & customer interaction.

🔍 Data Cutoff:
🔹 DeepSeek → Updated until early 2024 (better real-time insights).
🔹 ChatGPT-4o → Limited to April 2023 (unless using web browsing).

🔮 Takeaway: DeepSeek signals a shift from AI for creativity to AI for business intelligence.

🦾 Want my AI Tools? Watch 25 Tools to Glow Up in 2025

📺 Ray-Ban Meta glasses Review + Virtual Try On → My full setup guide, review and even style advice. Shop 👓 here

🎙 Digital Fashion Week Podcast → Hear from Clare Tattersall before the NYFW event next week.

🎬 Watch on YouTube | 🎧 Listen on Spotify | 🍏 Apple Podcasts

Dear Runway Diaries,

🏮 Happy Lunar New Year!

After spending 10+ years in Asia (Hong Kong, Macau, Korea) LNY isn’t just a retail moment—it’s family feasts, red envelopes, and new year resets. I redesigned my home office to bring in new energy for 2025!

🎂 Happy 1 Year The Digital Runway 🎉

This time last year, I turned an idea I sat on for 20+ years into reality. I made a video sharing the highs, lows & wild lessons—go show it some love! 💖👇

💖 BIG thank you to everyone who’s subscribed, tuned into the podcast live (or caught the replay), shared this newsletter, or engaged with my content.

Building a personal brand AND a media platform as a one-woman team (with an AI tech stack) isn’t easy 😮‍💨—but every share, comment, and follow helps me grow. 🌱 If you’re loving this, send it to a friend. Let’s futureproof ourselves together! 💃

🏀 Shooting My Shot:

Just applied for The Stan Dare to Dream Challenge—a shot at $10K or $100K for my biz. Winners announced Feb 7—send me good vibes! 🔥 (Try Stan here.)

🚨 NYFW Digital Fashion Tech Alert

🎤 I’m moderating a Digital Fashion Week NYC panel on Feb 7 → What Retail Customers Want: Engagement

…and 🪩 The Digital Runway is an official Digital Fashion Week Media Partner! 👀 (more on this next week)

🎟 Use code SPEAKERFRIENDFEB25 for 50% off tickets.

🎁 Digital Fashion Week Giveaway (3 Tickets) 🎟️ Subscriber Exclusive

📌 How to Enter: