Innovation Meets Tradition:

Highlights from the Digital Couture Summit MFW FW’24-25

In the heart of Milan, amidst the flurry of Fashion Week, the Digital Couture Summit created a unique intersection where tradition met innovation, and luxury embraced the digital realm. The exclusive event, limited to 300 hand-picked attendees, showcased a blend of high fashion and the latest innovations in traditional luxury, fashion, and beauty digitalization at Lynk&Co’s central Milan venue.
Digital Couture Summit returned for the second year, led by fashion luminary Nikki Cikaluk and sustainable design pioneer Olska Green; it bridged the gap between esteemed luxury houses like D&G, Valentino, and Hugo Boss and the avant-garde digital couture world. The event showcased a fully immersive experience of digital expertise, featuring debuts from digital fashion vanguards SEAMM and CHIPPED. The original production of a phygital runway show by Ecoolska & Isadoska, who presented their digital and physical sustainable collections, capped the event.

L-R: Blake Lezenski (Outlier Ventures), Carlota Rodben (Beyond Luxury), Nikki Cikaluk (Digital Couture Summit) & Jackie Berardo (Meta). Photo by Vasyl Kalynchuk

Digital Couture Summit VIP Reception Hosted by Seamm
“The Green Matrix” Phygital Runway Show by Isadoska and Ecoolska. Photo by Vasyl Kalynchuk
Global innovation leaders from D&G, VALENTINO, HUGO BOSS, L’Oréal, Meta, and SWAROVSKI, among others, met with digital counterparties from SEAMM, CHIPPED, DRESSX, SYKY, and Beyond Luxury on stage and off stage to discuss the importance of digitalization in the luxury industry and the latest trends in phygital clothing, 3D designing and immersive experiences. A notable highlight was D&G’s New Media Head, Davide Sgherri, discussing the growing influence of blockchain in the fashion industry. His insights into integrating Web3 and NFTs into the brand’s DNA underscored the sweeping digital transformation in luxury fashion. Carlota Rodben, the visionary behind Beyond Luxury, discussed the transformative role of Augmented Reality (AR) in fashion. At the same time, Meta’s Jackie Berardo discussed integrating NFC chips in beauty products, highlighted by CHIPPED’s next-generation beauty nails. Blake Lezenski of Outlier Ventures, Simone Targetti Ferri of L’Oréal, and SYKY’s designer Felipe Fiallo of FELIPE_FIALLO were among other notable speakers who illuminated the summit’s core theme: the seamless fusion of digital and traditional fashion realms.
Digital Couture Summit Founders Olska Green & Nikki Cikaluk with D&G Head of New Media Davide Sgherri. Photo by Vasyl Kalynchuk
The event wasn’t just about dialogue; it was an immersive experience. Guests engaged with interactive workshops and witnessed cutting-edge product showcases, including a live fashion collection showcase by SEAMM that took the guests into the future of fashion through VR and AR fitting rooms. The highlight of the evening, however, was the “Green Matrix” Phygital Runway Show by Ecoolska & Isadoska. “The Green Matrix” is a thrilling blend of the physical sustainable fashion world and digital innovation brought by Olska Green, founder of Ecoolska, a next-gen sustainable phygital fashion brand and Jessica Evans, MA Biodesign Central Saint Martins London, the visionary founder of Isadoska. This show was a narrative of sustainability —where the showcase of “The Green Matrix,” an upcycled collection crafted by Olska Green in Milan entirely from thrifted clothes alongside digital innovations by Jessica Evans, who addressed the importance of sustainable material utilization, showcasing the journey of creating innovative textiles from algae combined with upcycling material— illustrated the dynamic synergy between eco-conscious practices and digital technology. Algae offers a promising avenue for sustainable textile production, blending seamlessly with upcycled materials and providing a natural, eco-friendly dyeing solution. This approach also tackles the issue of overproduction, aligning with Ecoolska & Isadoska’s grand vision to transform the fashion industry into a more sustainable and innovative one. The Digital Couture Summit was not just an event but evidence of the evolving fashion landscape, embracing digital innovation while honouring traditional craftsmanship. As the summit concluded, anticipation for its September SS’25 edition grew, signalling a continuous digital evolution journey in high-fashion echelons.
“The Green Matrix” Phygital Runway Show by Isadoska and Ecoolska. Photo by Vasyl Kalynchuk
Next-gen Beauty Workshop by CHIPPED and AR Fitting Room by IZY Studio. Photo by Vasyl Kalynchuk
“It is a true privilege to have the trust of all the leading luxury, fashion, and beauty brands by coming to Digital Couture Summit for the second year. It is exciting to see how traditional fashion continues its digitalization journey, as we have already started working on September SS’25 Edition.”—Nikki Cikaluk and Olska Green, Founders of Digital Couture Summit.
In a world where physical and digital realms increasingly merge, the Digital Couture Summit nods to the future of fashion, charting a course toward a sustainable, innovative, and interconnected industry.
About Digital Couture Summit
Established in 2023, Digital Couture Summit is an immersive fashion event that connects luxury houses with digital couture. Organized by Nikki Cikaluk, a digital fashion and web3 conferences advisor, and Olska Green, a sustainable fashion designer and founder of Ecoolska, Digital Couture Summit made history as the 1st digital fashion summit organized during the Milan Fashion Week, uniting thought leaders from traditional and digital fashion, luxury and beauty. As its mission states, Digital Couture Summit is an immersive experience connecting luxury houses with digital couture, showcasing immersive web solutions, connecting different tech generations and bringing fashion, tech and web3 innovators on stage for thought-provoking discussions.

Digital Couture Summit Guests at Lynk&Co. Photo by Vasyl Kalynchuk