Fashion X, Stanford’s first pre-professional organization focused on fashion and tech, partnered with Hillel to bring Liraz Cohen Mordechai, known as Liri, an Israeli fashion lecturer, to talk about the fashion and tech scene in Israel.
Liri, who founded Fashionating by Liri, travels around the U.S. and Israel to bring a unique perspective on Israel through the world of fashion. Liri also has recently partnered with Taglit-Birthright, a non-profit organization that allows young Jewish people to take free Heritage trips to Israel. After their trip, she sponsors them for an additional four days of fashion tours around Israel.
In her lecture, Liri identified key ways that fashion is changing. She highlighted the work of startups that have used artificial intelligence (AI) to make the online shopping process more accessible by allowing users functionality such as the ability to virtually try on clothes or providing images of where a shoe’s pressure points are likely to be.
Matthew Levin, the Pacific Northwest Campus Coordinator for the international Israel-education group Standwithus, said he saw this lecture in part as a way to foster positive interaction in Israel.
“Most people care about fashion … everyone is a part of [the fashion movement],” Levin said. “It’s amazing to see.”
Liri echoed his sentiment by saying that fashion “is a tool to convey messages.”
This is the first event put on by Fashion X, which saw a need to have a pre-professional fashion group on campus. Fashion X has been meeting since Fall 2018, but has just been recognized as student group by Student Activities and Leadership this quarter.
“Industry [is undergoing] the greatest tech revolution yet.” said Fashion X co-founder Sigalit Perelson.
Perelson added that the organization wants its members “to gain exposure to the fashion industry, develop their network and understanding of the field and explore the intersection of fashion and technology.”
Perelson feels that Stanford’s position in Silicon Valley is a way to leverage the discussion of a growing fashion technology field. She hopes that the group’s influence may be able to reach the greater Stanford community and open new doors for those interested.
She hopes members will “take initiatives and broaden their horizons” in the areas of fashion they’re interested in. She added that this is the pilot event for much larger plans that include a speaker series and the first annual Fashion X conference.
“I have … always had a passion for fashion,” Perelson said. “We’re really looking forward to launching more broadly in the spring.”
Contact John Coffey at jcoffey2 ‘at’ stanford.edu.