In times of economic uncertainty, business priorities tend to shift. This discussion will explore the current state of sustainability in the fashion industry in an era of changing tariff policies, corporate strategies, and consumer sentiment. Fashion merchandiser and educator Anthony Millero will lead a discussion on challenges and opportunities in sustainable fashion, and will be joined by fellow co-lab member, fashion designer and product development professional Olga Kapustina as well as an expert in the field of sustainability Elizabeth Pulos, who has led Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives at Macy’s, Nike, and Converse, and is an educator with a focus on sustainability and corporate social responsibility.
Olga Kapustina – The Belarusian born, Brooklyn raised designer started her eponymous line in 1999. In the pre-Instagram-aughts, she was among the cult designers favored by women looking to embody their complex femininity through innovative clothes. Her work was featured in Barneys for a decade along with numerous exclusive boutiques across the US. Her clothes have been worn by celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Cameron Diaz, Kim Kardashian, Katie Holmes, Brittany Spears, Rachel Bilson among others. And her work was featured in major publications including Elle, Vogue, Bazaar, In Style, Mademoiselle, Cosmopolitan, L'officiel, and Marie Claire.
By 2012, fast fashion and social media had changed the rules and Kapustina, also craving a life-change, closed her popular line. Kapustina, who had been on track toward a career in science before embarking on a fashion career, returned to her love of biological systems and engineering.
After completing a degree in chemical engineering in 2017, she decided to marry her two passions with her unique ability to understand the languages of design and engineering. Kapustina taught sustainable design systems and materiality futures at the acclaimed Parsons School of Design and continues her commitment to introducing the scientific language and an interconnected cross-disciplinary approach to emerging designers and her commitment to re-imagining material life cycles, alleviating landfills, the use of biological materials for textiles and the interface between technology and biology.
With her extensive knowledge in both design, engineering, and sustainability systems, she often consults brands with sustainability strategy and product development. She has also guest lectured on new systems in fashion at the Yale School for the Environment, Savannah College of Art and Design, and Syracuse University and was a guest critic for the prestigious H&M Global Change Award during her time at Parsons.
In 2021, Kapustina co-founded Chosenwoven, where she created innovative designs and developed innovative techniques for luxuriously knit lingerie using Merino wool. Her work at Chosenwoven represented a perfect amalgamation of her love of good design and engineering, blending nature with innovative knitting to create garments that are free of plastic, zero waste, totally luxurious, outperform synthetics, and are honestly better than cotton.
Building on this expertise, Kapustina now focuses her talents on her new venture, Elke Merino. Drawing from her lifelong commitment to the finest natural fibers—silk, wool, and linen—she continues to reimagine solutions to design without the use of fossil fuels, bringing her decades of experience in both luxury design and sustainable engineering to create exceptional Merino wool products that honor both craftsmanship and environmental responsibility.
Anthony Millero is a fashion professional with experience planning and developing all product categories for men’s and women’s designer, sportswear, contemporary, jeans, and active markets. Industry experience includes positions at Liz Claiborne, TSE, and Calvin Klein, but much of his experience was at Donna Karan New York, where he was a merchandiser working on men’s and women’s jeans and men’s sportswear lines, ultimately becoming the director of merchandising for menswear. Anthony embraces a creative and collaborative atmosphere, is a strong leader and mentor skilled at working closely with designers to develop seasonal creative concepts and refine line assortments, and values partnering with product development teams to optimize margins leading to consistent year-over-year growth.
He is also a college instructor of merchandising, product development, trend forecasting, and consumer culture courses, and is a doctoral candidate of consumer and design sciences with a research focus on sustainability in textiles and apparel.
Elizabeth (Liz) Pulos is a recognized leader in corporate environmental and social responsibility within the footwear and apparel industries. Her 15-year career in ESG includes leadership positions at Macy’s, Nike, and Converse, where she served as Head of Global Sustainability. Prior to her current role leading the master's degree program in Business for Social Impact & Sustainability at IENYC, she was Head of Compliance, Sustainability, and Traceability at Inspectorio, the leading AI-powered supply chain platform providing intelligence across production chains for global brands.
Liz holds a B.S. in International Trade and Marketing for the Fashion Industries from Fashion Institute of Technology, and an M.S. in Sustainable Fashion from GCNYC. She co-wrote the SUNY textbook, Good Corporation, Bad Corporation: Corporate Social Responsibility in the Global Economy and teaches International Corporate Responsibility at FIT. Liz also studied Fashion Marketing at LaSalle International School of Fashion, Arts and Design in Montréal; Musical Performance at Mount Royal University in Calgary; and Environmental Science at the University of Calgary. A classically trained violist, she has performed in New York, Canada, Europe, the UK, and Australia.
Café Co-Lab's are small, weekly networking groups focused on specific topics. They are an opportunity for co-lab members to connect, share resources, and engage with other members.
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