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Natalia Fedner    

Founder of Natalia Fedner; Celebrity Designer; Season 1 Project Runway: Under the Gunn; Inventor of Stretch Metal

Natalia Fedner is a couture fashion designer and inventor based in Los Angeles. She was born in Ukraine and immigrated to Columbus, Ohio as a refugee. She is known for inventing Stretch Metal, dressing celebrities, and her time on "Project Runway".

Her namesake brand focuses on sustainability via upcycling, creating boundary pushing wearable art, and using her patented 6-way stretch metal textile for clothing, interiors, and sculptures. She is best known for designing for celebrities including Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Cher, Lenny Kravitz, Doja Cat, Janet Jackson, Alicia Keys, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Shakira, Charlize Theron, Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner and many others. She is passionate about refugee aid and works with several US and Ukraine based charities, to help internally displaced people in Ukraine and recent refugees.

A graduate of Parsons School of Design, Fedner studied fashion and textile design in NYC and Paris. She worked for Calvin Klein Collection, Donna Karan Collection, and Marc Jacobs before starting her own brand. Her designs have been on runways in Paris and NYC, and featured in the prestigious windows of Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue in NYC. Magazines highlights include Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, The Cut, L’Officiel, Esquire, Maxim, Sports Illustrated, Complex, and Galore.

While competing on Project Runway: Under The Gunn, she created the first working mechanical dress in the history of the series. Her interest in designing and inventing started at the early age of 4 when she began collecting “pretty colored wires” that were left as trash outside of a local telephone communications company in her native Chernivtsi, Ukraine (She would turn them into bracelets for herself and friends).

Speech Topics

From Refugee to Runway: A Journey of Resilience and Innovation Description

Natalia Fedner’s journey from refugee to renowned celebrity fashion designer showcases her resilience and innovation. Overcoming numerous challenges, Natalia’s story is a testament to perseverance and creativity, offering valuable lessons on achieving success against the odds. Fedner discusses her childhood in Soviet Ukraine and the journey across Europe that finally led to the USA.

Attendee Results:

  • Learn strategies for overcoming adversity and achieving success.
  • Be inspired by Natalia's personal journey and innovative work in fashion.
  • Understand the importance of community and empowerment in achieving success.
  • Learn to be a HWH - Hard Working Hustler: applying the immigrant mentality to your life in order to reach new levels of success.
  • Fake It Till You Make It - we all do it; learn how to do it ethically.

The Art of Custom Design: Meeting the Demands of Celebrity Clients

Creating custom designs for celebrities requires a blend of creativity, flexibility, and precision. Natalia Fedner explores the process of bespoke fashion design, from initial consultation to the final fitting, emphasizing the importance of attention to detail and client satisfaction. Fedner pulls back the curtain on celebrity fashion, and reveals the timelines, the people involved, and how to jump to the front of the line without years of networking.

Attendee Results:

  • Discover the process of creating bespoke fashion for celebrities.
  • Learn how to manage client expectations and deliver exceptional results.
  • Understand the importance of personalization and detail in custom design.
  • Learn the number one secret to getting the attention of a celebrity.
  • How to maintain your own design voice while designing for someone else's "style".
  • Understand the impact of celebrity partnerships on brand growth.
  • Properly capitalizing on big celebrity moments for your brand.

The Triple Bottom Line: People, Planet, Profit Description

Natalia Fedner explores the concept of the triple bottom line in business—balancing social responsibility, environmental impact, and profitability. She discusses how to integrate these principles into business operations, from product development to marketing strategies. It doesn't matter how small or big your business is, you can create a company that is MORE profitable by focusing on innovative environmentally sustainable solutions to every day problems you might not even be aware of.

Attendee Results:

  • Turning financial restrictions into environmental and marketing gold.
  • Learn practical ways to integrate social and environmental goals into a business model.
  • Discover strategies for achieving profitability while being socially responsible.
  • Learn how to source and utilize sustainable materials.
  • Discover ways to communicate your sustainability efforts to clients.

From Concept to Creation: The Art of Textile Invention Description

Natalia Fedner takes audiences on a journey through her creative process, from initial concept to the final textile invention. She discusses the challenges and rewards of working with unconventional materials and the importance of pushing boundaries in design. This talk provides a behind-the-scenes look at Natalia’s most innovative projects. Fedner also covers the patent process, and tricks to get ahead of "Office Actions" by the USPTO.

Attendee Results:

  • Understand the creative process behind textile invention.
  • Learn about the challenges of working with unconventional materials.
  • Get inspired to push the boundaries of traditional design practices.
  • Learn about Provisional Patents and how to succeed in attaining a permanent patent.
  • Become comfortable with the empirical model of research and development.
  • Understand the balance between aesthetics and functionality in textile design.

The Future of Fashion: Innovation through Technology Description

Explore how technology is revolutionizing the fashion industry, from 3D printing and wearable tech to sustainable materials and smart textiles. Natalia Fedner shares her insights on the latest technological advancements and how they are reshaping design, production, and consumer experience. She also shares (or when possible brings) fellow wearable tech designers and some of the latest projects they are working on.

Attendee Results: - Understand the impact of technology on fashion design and production. - Discover innovative materials and techniques transforming the industry. - Learn how to stay aware of the latest fashion technologies by building a community of like minded individuals - Discover low cost entry points into wearable tech for any size business. - Become comfortable with failing and turn each failure into a building block of success.

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