Tech Powered Luxury

In our Season 5 finale, Sinead Keary reveals how her experience in personal shopping and luxury retail helped her create a digital-first brand, bringing personalization to the online space. Sinead Keary  brings together lessons learned from both  Topshop  and  Brown Thomas  to create a  digital-first brand  that merges premium accessibility with luxury craftsmanship. Her brand stems from her years...

This week, we bring you the live podcast episode from our most important event to date: Live from Paris Fashion Week, where we gathered  Aoife McNanamara, Una McGurk, Paul Sheeran, Bairbre Power and Shana Chu  to discuss how each of them are  elevating the Irish fashion ecosystem in all its different forms: from retail to journalism, from beauty and fine jewellery to innovation . The event took pl...

The delicate powerplay of localized strategies to reach the Chinese consumer anywhere, at anytime. The pandemic drastically shifted how Chinese consumers interacted with luxury brands , and the impact of these changes is still being felt. While many brands thrived by focusing on local markets, the return of international travel presents both a challenge and an opportunity:  one-third of Chinese co...

Hannah Attalah ’s journey with  Oceanus  began with her love for fashion and hand-embroidery. After studying at the London College of Fashion and working with big names like  Donna Karan and Jenny Packham , Hannah realized her true passion lays in textiles and elaborate designs.  Her work with the intricacies of evening wear and the management of different hand-beading techniques ultimately led he...

Welcome to our Season 5 premier of Tech Powered Luxury! Get ready for our first episode to be recorded live from Selfridge's in London with the incredible Dr Vali . Dr. Vali is a  leading figure in luxury wellness , known for her innovative approach that combines  extensive medical expertise with cutting-edge biohacking techniques . What glues it all together? Her  integrity . Biohacking is th...

This week, we are thrilled to bring you an exclusive interview with  Lauren Arthurs , the Irish influencer who has created her own app to solve what most influencers and content creators struggle with: the lack of a one-stop solution to edit and manage content. Lauren Arthurs  is a fashion and lifestyle influencer from Ireland who started her career with a blog in 2012, and just recently launched...

Paddy Hogan's transition from the  adrenaline-fueled realm of Formula 1  to the  dynamic ,  health-focused dining world of Nutbutter   is an intriguing mix of  entrepreneurship, innovation, and personal evolution . The core reason behind Nutbutter was  creating a healthy lifestyle that combined efficient operations, great design and a better quality of work  (and life balance) to everyone invo...

This week we explore the role of education in the sweet spot of where technology meets fashion: how to foster experiential learning to educate the upcoming generation of fashion leaders. Matthew Drinkwater is at the forefront of the Fashion Innovation Agency (FIA)  at the London College of Fashion (LCF),  driving the integration of technology and fashion education. The FIA acts as a  bridge betwee...

This week, we are thrilled to bring you an exclusive interview with  Rachel Hennessy , founder of fashion rental  Happy Days . Are you new here?  Welcome to our amazing community  - keep reading to discover everything about Tech Powered Luxury, our  Community Rewards and Substack . Rachel Hennessy  leveraged her experience at KPMG and Google before launching her own fashion rental Happy Days in Ir...

Join us for Episode 7 of Season 4 with Una McGurk, founder of Seoulista Beauty , a brand that focuses on bringing salon-standard skin experiences to your home with two concepts at the core: cooling temperatures and applying pressure , techniques that allow for changing and improving the texture of skin. From their award winning Instant Facial masks ( created with 100% biodegradable fermented cocon...

This week, we are thrilled to bring you an exclusive interview with  Hasna Kourda, the award-winning Tunisian entrepreneur,  founder of  Save Your Wardrobe . Hasna is tackling some of the most complicated issues in the fashion industry:  the creation of a circular business model, facilitating care and repair to increase a product’s lifecycle. Hasna Kourda ’s upbringing in Tunisia shaped her vision...

Get ready for an episode packed with humour and celebrity encounters with none other than Irish media icon Triona McCarthy . From studying to be a beauty therapist to following her goal to work at the crossroads of fashion, beauty and media, Triona McCarthy takes us on a whirlwind journey through her incredibly exciting life. Wherever you are listening from, we hope this episode brings you laughte...

This week, we are thrilled to bring you an exclusive interview with  David De Patoul & Richard McSweeney, the co-founders of  Strike Digital .  We bring to you a masterclass on all things digital marketing:  how to start, what to keep your focus on and how to succeed in a crowded market , leveraging David and Richard’s expertise on how to best work with the algorithms on different platforms. D...

This week, we are thrilled to bring you an exclusive interview with Michel Tjoeng, the pragmatic technologist who founded ChatLabs. We explore his path and bring on the insights from beginning to end: starting as child with a passion for computers and UI, obsessed with customer experience (which child isn’t, really) to working with the biggest luxury group in the world, LVMH. 50% scientist, 50% ma...

This week, we are thrilled to bring you an exclusive interview with Aoife McNamara , the visionary Irish fashion designer revolutionising the industry with her sustainable and ethical approach. We dive into her inspiring journey, her dedication to sustainability, and the exciting ventures she has planned for the future, including a community expedition to Kilimanjaro and a documentary that looks a...

Season 4 of Tech Powered Luxury kicks off live from the newly opened Cartier espace in Dublin, Ireland, within Paul Sheeran Jewellers. Ashley McDonnell interviews none other than Irish media and fashion icon: Brendan Courtney. From creating his first award-winning documentary in his early 20s to launching a fashion-tech platform, starring in multiple TV shows in Ireland and the UK and eventually c...

Rachel Maguire is an Irish fashion designer and founder of independent fashion brand Rashhiiid , whose designs have been worn by global stars including Doja Cat, Ariana Grande, Megan Fox, Rosalía and many more. Rachel is a digital-first designer who’s viral faux fur hats, coats and accessories have put Irish design on the global map. Rachel was the first designer ever from the Grafton Academy of F...

Smita Lasrado is an Indian born and raised former international model and co-founder of creative and talent agency Feat Artists. With a roster of clients that include Dior, Chanel, Jimmy Choo and Vogue, Smita is putting India and Indians on the fashion map: from collaborating with Dior on their pre-fall 2023 show which took place in Mumbai on March 31, 2023, to bringing India's top models to r...

During the FuturePlus event in Paris on February 22nd 2024 brought to you by MAD Global in parntership with Tech Powered Luxury , host A shley McDonnell sits down with a panel of four founders within the intersection of fashion, art and culture on the blockchain for a discussion on how technology is disrupting the meaning of expression, community, investment and even the perception of value. “ Fas...

This season has seen us dive into all elements and topics that are important in the world of luxury and tech today, across many different product categories: hair care, fashion, beauty, interiors, henna, knitwear, and new technological developments that impact these categories; from AI that can eliminate sizing inconsistencies within fashion to blockchain technologies combined with insurance for l...

Celia B is the ultimate fashion all-rounder. Growing up in a small town in Spain, she pursued a degree in communications, gained experience within agencies, and eventually became a jewelry designer and finally, a fashion designer, a creative director and a tastemaker. Celia B has managed to catapult her colourful fashion house into that much-coveted space of being an independent designer with full...

David Klingbeil is building the ultimate data platform for luxury houses around the globe with his latest venture Submarine.ai. His 5 years experience at Google turning data into stories for major brands, a streak of serial entrepreneurship, giving 1000s of hours of lectures over the last decade on innovation and luxury means the NYU Adjunct Professor gives us a masterclass on all things tech and...

Rylé Tuvierra is our first guest of 2024, and Tech Powered Luxury's first-ever guest to return for a second episode. Rylé's first conversation with Ashley McDonnell was the most shared episode of 2023, and we're back a year later to check in with the Arab and Asian businesswoman. This time, we dive deep into Rylé's humble beginnings: working 12-hour shifts at a 7/11 in Dubai, and h...

Pietro Novelli is a serial entrepreneur from Italy who went from high school directly into the workforce, landing his first full time role at one of Italy’s most innovative banks thanks to an interview he did about his local start-up that emulated the business model of Groupon. From creating a digital agency and the world’s first TV programme on Facebook Live, to managing Digital Innovation at AXA...

Sorcha O’Raghallaigh is an Irish designer celebrated for her unique, bespoke creations with strong elements of fantasy, glamour and opulence. In this episode of Tech Powered Luxury, I speak with Sorcha O’Raghallaigh about her life as a fashion designer. From closing the graduate show at world-renowned Central Saint Martins with a collection that incorporated bold, glamorous and fantasy-inspired pi...