March 13, 2023 – The second edition of the Lifestyle Innovation Day (LID) on 13 March, powered by Dagorà Lifestyle Innovation Hub together with Lifestyle Tech Competence Center and other partners, can be considered a success: more than 1000 participants from the lifestyle and tech industry, financial sector, universities and public administration joined Ticino’s most important event of the year. Key topics with dedicated breakout sessions: digital transformation in fashion and luxury; innovation in retail; cosmetics, eHealth and food; as well as investments and access to R&D funds in Switzerland.
Not only the stunning location at the Lugano Arte e Cultura LAC on the shores of Lake Lugano contributed to the rush of participants, but also the impressive list of high-level speakers from all around the world, including some of the industry’s top brands and retailers. Among them were Saskia Günther, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Swisscom, Luca Ambrosini, CEO & co-founder at Rubicon, Daniela Massaro, Country Manager at Mastercard Switzerland, Jose A. Gonçalves, Europe Commerce Lead at Accenture, Valentina Visconti Prasca, Managing Director at YOOX, Marco Formento, Global Innovation & ESG Director at Dolce & Gabbana, and Marta Pompilio, e-Commerce Director at Essilor Luxottica.
In the afternoon, one breakout room – moderated by LTCC’s Innovation Manager Eleonora De Canio – was dedicated to “Destination Switzerland”. The presentations addressed investment opportunities and access to R&D funds for companies with real-life examples. Here, some of them: Chiara Mangano, Global Pricing and Digital Projects Senior Manager at Guess, and Jelena Tašić Pizzolato, Managing Director at LTCC showcased the fashion brand’s journey to 3D design, in collaboration with LTCC. Emile Dupont, Knowledge and Technology Team Leader at Innosuisse – Swiss Innovation Agency. Joël Benghiat, Chief Strategy Officer at Nembrini Consulting, and Raf Fonzo, Founder and Designer of the fashion brand Whitepage Inc. presented DesignX, the Ticino scalability enabler for talent.
With an incredible number of more than 70 keynote speakers and panel discussants, it is almost impossible to choose the most pertinent inputs. Some topics, however, recurred: artificial intelligence and the metaverse, consumer trends, the needs of Gen Z, and sustainability. A selection of presentation slides as well as photos of the best moments is now uploaded on the LID website.
The LID lived up to its promise of being a place where driving forces of innovation connect to develop together new models and create business opportunities for lifestyle brands: during the breaks, the foyer of LAC transformed into a beehive where valuable contacts were established and first plans for collaborations were forged.
To round off this inspiring day, Carlo Terreni, President of Dagorà and Lifestyle Tech Competence Center, confirmed the next edition on 15 April 2024.