Rebecca Minkoff launches fashion tech VC fund

New York-based designer Rebecca Minkoff has launched a venture capital fund dedicated to finding relevant early-stage fashion tech start-ups.

The fund in collaboration with Quotidian Ventures, was announced during a panel discussion at the National Retail Federation’s Retail’s Big Show conference in New York City, where the designer sat alongside her brother, Uri Minkoff, chief executive and president of her eponymous brand, and Pedro Torres-Mackie, founder and managing director at Quotidian Ventures.

They revealed that the fund would focus on early-stage investments in technology, with applications in e-commerce, fashion and retail, and that they plan to identify and invest in six to eight companies per year.

Torres-Mackie, said that the programme would serve as a “talent funnel” to help identify companies and resources that would best benefit the Rebecca Minkoff brand and the industry at large.

The first investment it confirmed is with 42 Technologies, an analytics and reporting software platform that works closely with fashion brands. The venture capital has not yet declared how much has been invested.

Minkoff has been a long supporter of embracing technology with her fashion line and retail stores. In 2014, the brand opened its “store of the future” concept that featured in-store mirror-screens allowing customers to shop the Minkoff collections, and more recently a self-checkout concept.