Join & Connect

Our friend Rebecca Rose from Juno Says Hello shares her thoughts on our recent Piazza of Fashion event with The Pool at Anthrologie Regent Street...

Hub Dot events have a unique energy that is so compelling it translates across themes of entrepreneurship, wellbeing, technology, family and more. Last Wednesday it was fashion’s moment in the spotlight - and wow did the Hub Dot team serve up a fantastic lineup of storytellers for the evening.

The event was co-hosted by Anthropologie on Regent Streetand The Pool, an online platform for inspiring, original content for women. Award-winning editor, and co-founder of The Pool, Sam Baker was the first to take the mic, and spoke about how our clothes sometimes serve as our disguise. Heads nodded in agreement as Sam described the challenge of finding the right outfit for ‘who we want to be today’. This inspiring introduction was followed by a burst of song from Cousin Alice, who appeared on stage accessorised with a feather boa and her vintage ukulele. Her soulful music set the tone for a lively and thought-provoking evening.  

Next up was Kat Farmer, author of the hugely popular blog Does My Bum Look 40. ‘I write about trying to find the fine line between mutton and frump’, she explained - looking neither! - and espoused ‘the power of a good outfit on a bad day’. Rows of guests smiled in recognition of this truism.

Ethical fashion is now - at last - taken seriously by designers, retailers and consumers. Speaking on behalf of Fashion Revolution was the formidable Orsola de Castro, standing before us wearing a pair of her grandmother’s shoes. Her message was that true style is sustainable. A pioneer of wearable tech was next to take the mic: Francesca Rosella is co-founder of Cute Circuit, an industrial research and development company focused on smart textiles. Her story communicated an infectious enthusiasm for the power of invention within fashion and Rosella received one of the biggest rounds of applause of the evening.

It’s impossible to talk about fashion without touching on shopping - particularly when you’re standing in the retail heaven of Anthropologie - and we were joined by one of the most visionary women in British e-commerce: Mo White, former head of product innovation at Style.com. Mo’s story articulated that moment of delight we experience when we know we’ve found the right outfit, and pull our ‘mirror face: wiggle, pout, turn’. Buying new clothes should always be a pleasure, but for many women, finding feminine clothes for an affordable working wardrobe is a real challenge. Heidy Rehman, former stockbroker and founder of careerwear brand Rose & Willard, dedicated her minute on stage to encouraging others to ignore perceived barriers to success: ‘I have been described as a disruptor.. And that’s a label I’m happy to wear’.

Style is not just about clothes, of course, but our whole appearance. The next storyteller was cancer survivor Denise Taylorson, who talked about how she found maintaining her looks ‘energising’ throughout the treatment process. ‘Never let anyone say that fashion is trivial’ she declared, which delivered a heartfelt ovation. Storytellers continued to take turns on stage: Alice Wilby from Novel Beings, talked about the importance of conscious creativity, The Pool’s Frankie Graddon about the pleasures found in online shopping, style and confidence coach Loulou Story gave a moving account of why she loves helping women dress for ‘who they want to be’, and Sophie Dunster showed how we can use design to connect with environmental issues.

What did the storytellers make of the event? Sarah Byrne - who used her minute on stage to describe the magic of vintage clothing - was overwhelmed by the crowd’s energy, ‘Never have I encountered so many incredibly positive, friendly, clever, beautiful women in one go. It was relaxed and fun but still a fantastic way to network’.

Hub Dot events have a unique energy that is so compelling it translates across themes of entrepreneurship, wellbeing, technology, family and more. Last Wednesday it was fashion’s moment in the spotlight - and wow did the Hub Dot team serve up a fantastic lineup of storytellers for the evening.

The event was co-hosted by Anthropologie on Regent Streetand The Pool, an online platform for inspiring, original content for women. Award-winning editor, and co-founder of The Pool, Sam Baker was the first to take the mic, and spoke about how our clothes sometimes serve as our disguise. Heads nodded in agreement as Sam described the challenge of finding the right outfit for ‘who we want to be today’. This inspiring introduction was followed by a burst of song from Cousin Alice, who appeared on stage accessorised with a feather boa and her vintage ukulele. Her soulful music set the tone for a lively and thought-provoking evening.  

Next up was Kat Farmer, author of the hugely popular blog Does My Bum Look 40. ‘I write about trying to find the fine line between mutton and frump’, she explained - looking neither! - and espoused ‘the power of a good outfit on a bad day’. Rows of guests smiled in recognition of this truism.

Ethical fashion is now - at last - taken seriously by designers, retailers and consumers. Speaking on behalf of Fashion Revolution was the formidable Orsola de Castro, standing before us wearing a pair of her grandmother’s shoes. Her message was that true style is sustainable. A pioneer of wearable tech was next to take the mic: Francesca Rosella is co-founder of Cute Circuit, an industrial research and development company focused on smart textiles. Her story communicated an infectious enthusiasm for the power of invention within fashion and Rosella received one of the biggest rounds of applause of the evening.

It’s impossible to talk about fashion without touching on shopping - particularly when you’re standing in the retail heaven of Anthropologie - and we were joined by one of the most visionary women in British e-commerce: Mo White, former head of product innovation at Style.com. Mo’s story articulated that moment of delight we experience when we know we’ve found the right outfit, and pull our ‘mirror face: wiggle, pout, turn’. Buying new clothes should always be a pleasure, but for many women, finding feminine clothes for an affordable working wardrobe is a real challenge. Heidy Rehman, former stockbroker and founder of careerwear brand Rose & Willard, dedicated her minute on stage to encouraging others to ignore perceived barriers to success: ‘I have been described as a disruptor.. And that’s a label I’m happy to wear’.

Style is not just about clothes, of course, but our whole appearance. The next storyteller was cancer survivor Denise Taylorson, who talked about how she found maintaining her looks ‘energising’ throughout the treatment process. ‘Never let anyone say that fashion is trivial’ she declared, which delivered a heartfelt ovation. Storytellers continued to take turns on stage: Alice Wilby from Novel Beings, talked about the importance of conscious creativity, The Pool’s Frankie Graddon about the pleasures found in online shopping, style and confidence coach Loulou Story gave a moving account of why she loves helping women dress for ‘who they want to be’, and Sophie Dunster showed how we can use design to connect with environmental issues.

What did the storytellers make of the event? Sarah Byrne - who used her minute on stage to describe the magic of vintage clothing - was overwhelmed by the crowd’s energy, ‘Never have I encountered so many incredibly positive, friendly, clever, beautiful women in one go. It was relaxed and fun but still a fantastic way to network’.

Hub Dot events inspire women to network using their mind, intuition and spirit through their stories – the results are limitless.

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Rebecca Rose is owner of Juno Says Hello, a London-based online boutique selling vintage cocktail dresses.