NYConvergence ORIGINAL
by: Amy Berryhill

New York's Fashion 2.0 Meetup kicked off 2010 with a dapper crowd, free vodka and presentations from three local start-ups. These presenting companies all had technology tools at their core, but the businesses were fitted for fashion. The presenters were scrutinized by a panel of investors, made up of veteran venture capitalists and fashion industry executives. "I see the next wave of entrepreneurship in this industry, much like I saw it in the technology sector fifteen years ago," said panel member David Freschman, Founder and Chairman of FashInvest, LLC.

Coveted List showed off a proprietary data system allows users to search over 25,000 SKUs by body type. Automated rules associate each fashion piece with certain physical attributes, and the user is then able to narrow down findings most suitable for their own physique. Market Publique presented their home-grown solution for a online marketplace devoted to sales of vintage fashions, and Udorse (which we've posted about before) demoed their solution for allowing users to endorse the brands that appear in their Facebook and Twitter photos.

The evening ended with a presentation by Diana Eng, well-known for her role in season two of the television show Project Runway, demonstrating her new site FairytaleFashion.org. The site aims to educate the public about math, science and technology by demonstrating how these concepts can be utilized to create a fashion line.

"I love young businesses," said panel member Denise Seegal. "I'm really happy to be here and am very curious about what's next."