Virtual fashion platform Syky — founded by Alice Delahunt, former chief digital and content officer at Ralph Lauren — has announced a new incubator to help digital fashion talent build and scale their businesses.

The year-long programme will provide 10 designers with access to the latest digital design tools, guidance in business and brand building and instruction on digital environments and web3 technology from a roster of mentors with different areas of expertise. They include the British Fashion Council; Jonathan Bottomley, chief marketing officer at Calvin Klein; Mark Guiducci, creative editorial director at Vogue; Sabine Le Marchand, creative director at the brand strategy firm Frosty; Matthew Ball, author and recognised metaverse expert; and Megan Kaspar, a member of the collective Red DAO, which is known for having spent nearly $2 million on Dolce & Gabbana’s inaugural NFT collection.

The designers in the first cohort have already been selected and come from 10 different countries, including Nigeria, China, Dominican Republic and Italy. The programme’s first round will begin in July, and the designers are expected to release their debut collections on Syky later this year.

Delahunt announced the launch of Syky in late 2022 after her experiences seeing how customers responded to the release of digital items by Ralph Lauren and Burberry, where she had previously been global director of digital and social media. In January, the company closed a $9.5 million funding round led by Seven Seven Six, the venture fund of Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian.

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The Executive Who Left Luxury for Digital Fashion

Alice Delahunt left her role as Ralph Lauren’s chief digital and content officer to strike out on her own and found a new web3 company in the belief that digital fashion is reaching a turning point.