Description

In this episode I speak to Ashley Shak-Penn who has spent a decade building things around the globe, from the United Nations to Dublin’s Startup scene, and now as Managing Director of Dublin Independent Fashion Week (DIFW).

We talk about her varied background, where the contexts change, but the problems are the same. That tension is what this conversation keeps returning to, not as a problem to be solved neatly, but as something she's sitting with honestly;

• How do you formalize a grassroots movement without killing its energy?
• How do you charge for something that was built on generosity?  
• How do you make the case to institutions that fashion is a fundable art form when the legislation hasn't caught up with what everyone already knows to be true?

Ashley doesn't pretend to have all the answers. But if anyone can address them, she can. She’s dynamic, driven and completely focused on getting things done to amplify and build the fashion industry in Ireland. 

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