FASHION-TECH INNOVATOR & SPEAKER I New York City

Named one of the “25 Forward Thinkers Defining the Future of Fashion,” “Top 100 Women in Wearable and Consumer Tech,” and “12 Amazing People You Need To Know in New York Fashion Tech,” Sylvia Heisel is a fashion-tech strategist, speaker, and consultant specializing in additive manufacturing, digital fashion, and sustainable innovation for apparel brands and manufacturers. Before shifting her focus to technology and innovation, Sylvia spent over two decades as the designer and CEO of her eponymous women’s eveningwear brand, where her collections were carried by leading specialty stores across the U.S. and featured in every major fashion publication of the era.

CEO FASHION COUNCIL GERMANY

After studying business administration in Mannheim, Scott Lipinski worked for the US management consultancy Accenture. Since 2004, he has gained experience in various positions at fashion brands such as Wunderkind, Michalsky, and lala Berlin. He has been CEO of the Fashion Council Germany since 2017. In addition to his role at the Fashion Council Germany, he is Chairman of the Board of the European Fashion Alliance. As CEO, Scott Lipinski advises the board of directors of the Fashion Council Germany on all strategic matters. He is responsible for the operational team and, together with the team members based in Berlin, manages the association's activities.

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER & DJ I Dubai

Nikka Lorak is a multidisciplinary creative with a strong focus on fashion, visual storytelling, and photography. Her work explores the intersection of aesthetics, identity, and contemporary culture, shaped by her close connection to fashion, editorial imagery, and creative direction. With a refined eye for composition, mood, and narrative, she brings a visual-first perspective to the AI Design Award jury—evaluating AI-generated fashion not only through innovation, but through craftsmanship, emotion, and cultural relevance.

PARSONS I New Design School I New York City

Julian Guthrie is an instructor at the Parsons School of design, where he created the Clo3D Virtual Fashion Design certificate and is currently the BFA Fashion Technology Coordinator for the School of Fashion. He has worked in the fashion industry for over a decade, including for brands such as: Telfar, Chloe Colette, Fleur Du Mal, Occhii, Autumn Adeigbo, DiOMi, Coach, The Donna Karan Company, J. Crew, Perry Ellis and Calvin Klein Women’s Collection. Presently, he is a freelance 3D virtual technical designer/patternmaker, employing both traditional and emerging technology as methods of patternmaking and design development.

BROOKMEDIA I Hamburg

Bianca Lang-Bognár is responsible at Brookmedia for fashion, lifestyle, culture, and travel, and is the initiator and editor-in-chief of the style supplement S (Der Spiegel) and the luxury supplement Splendid (Manager Magazin).

NATIFIC CO-FOUNDER & SENIOR PARTNER I Basel

Christoph Bergmann is a partner at Natific and Head of Sales and Marketing Europe and Service Operations. natific AG is a Swiss company providing B2B SaaS solutions for digital color management in the textile and apparel industry, helping brands and suppliers streamline color development, improve quality, and speed up time-to-market through software like ColorWarehouse and Voodoo Feasibility, offering a central platform for color data, virtual libraries, and supply chain transparency to replace slow manual processes.

DESIGN TEAM I BETTY BARCLAY I Heidelberg

Andrea Talic and Lisa-Jasmin Tomm represent the 3D design team at the Betty Barclay Group, where they specialize in creating commercially successful and production-ready fashion. Their joint presence on the judging panel highlights the critical balance between established industry heritage and the digital innovation required to reduce sampling and accelerate development cycles. Together, they bring a deep understanding of market trends and the technical precision needed to move a design from initial ideation to a successful commercial launch.