Speakers

Session Title

Behind the Label: How Data Is Making Fashion Better

Session Description 

Fashion is entering its most transparent era. AI-driven design, Digital Product Passports, and RFID tracking are converging to give every garment a story — verifiable, traceable, and honest. From the first sketch to the final stitch, data empowers brands, informs shoppers, and reshapes private label into something smarter and unmistakably better.

About Ben Smith 

Ben Smith is currently Managing Director of the Tu Clothing business at Sainsbury's, with over two decades of leadership across the UK's biggest value and fashion retailers. He previously served as Chief Trading Officer at Matalan, where he oversaw a £1bn+ business and introduced 50+ new brands; Trading Director at PEP&CO, the UK's fastest-growing volume retailer; and spent nearly a decade at Primark — most recently as Global Trading Director for Womenswear, leading a £2bn+ multinational offer. Known for transformation, brand-building, and commercial growth, Ben brings a buyer's eye and a leader's perspective to the future of clothing.