The rise and importance of women in ‘fashtech’

Early in 2019, two women, Lexie Willitts, a former lawyer and her friend, Marina Pengilly, together founded Little Black Door, a digital wardrobe inventory platform where users can sell clothes and accessories online.

Having made £30,000 and £50,000 respectively, these two women, who had quit their jobs to start Little Black Door, have raised more than £350,000 from friends and family and are about to launch a version for the general public by the end of the year.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the fashion sector has been hit hard. However, reports predict that the industry could regain positive growth where fashion and technology meet – ‘fashtech’. Since last year, there have been three fashtech startups valued at more than $1bn: The RealReal, Rent the Runway and StockX – the first two started by women.

Generally, fashion is male dominated. Only 40% of womenswear designers are female. Women only make up a third of roles at chief experience officer level, but the gender balance in fashtech is less askew.

Helen Lax, director at the Fashion District in East London, says that of the 88 startups applying for a 2020 Retail Futures grant, 60% involved women.  Lax further states:

“There’s something happening with females getting involved in fashion tech. It is because they are, in broad terms, the end consumer, they will see a commercial opportunity that perhaps starts as an observation and then they turn that into a tech opportunity”

Many women have created online fashion companies involving recycling and selling clothing, accessories and even personal styling services.

“In general, women care deeply about sustainability. We care about what the fabrics are made of. We care about the ethics of the factory. We are upholding our social values in the purchases that we make. Value-driven decision-making is lucrative. There is a market in that ” says Lax.