Why Skimm’r and fashion tech CEO Amanda Curtis loves Surface

“Surface — like fashion — is a blend of art and business,” according to Skimm’r (frequent reader of theSkimm), fashion tech entrepreneur and Surface fan Amanda Curtis.

Skimm’r and CEO Amanda Curtis working on Surface Pro 4.

As Ferris Bueller says, “life moves pretty fast,” so Amanda relies on her Surface and theSkimm to get the most out of her day.

Amanda got her Surface Pro 4 as a gift from her mother-in-law and quickly fell in love because “it lets me use my left brain and right brain in ways that just aren’t possible on a Mac, plus it’s light enough to take anywhere.”

While you may know Amanda as the Forbes ranked CEO of fashion tech start up Nineteenth Amendment, you may not realize that she actually used to be a fashion designer. In fact, when Amanda talks about how she started Nineteenth Amendment, she says “it began with a failed fashion week.” After she graduated from Parsons School of Design, Amanda worked as a designer at a variety of New York brands. Over time she saw more and more emerging brands ultimately fail.

“So, my cofounder Gemma Sole and I started Nineteenth Amendment to create a better place for fashion, a place where the next big names in fashion can more easily bring their designs to market –with designs manufactured on demand– and where tastemakers can discover cutting-edge fashions before they go mainstream.”

On any given day, Amanda is running between meetings with investors, designers, retailers and her staff, so being able to throw Surface Pro 4 in her purse has been key. She jokes “I’ve probably done permanent damage to my back from carrying a MacBook for all those years.”

At the Nineteenth Amendment office in Manhattan, Amanda hooks up her Surface to an external monitor (or monitors depending on the day) so she can work like she’s on a desktop. And when reviewing tech packs (i.e., detailed factory instructions) with designers and manufacturers, “drawing on Surface to point out manufacturing details in Nineteenth Amendment’s designer technology is so much more precise and efficient than using print outs.” Surface enables a harmonic balance of Amanda’s design and business selves, making it a perfect fit for this fashion designer-turned-tech entrepreneur.

Amanda is such a big fan, she invited Surface to sponsor their #NineteenthAmendmentPeople event where guests voted on the future of fashion. In the Surface Design Corner, fashion designers had the opportunity to sketch their latest designs while getting real-time feedback from consumers. Some lucky guests left with signed prints of their favorite designs drawn on a Surface.

Nineteenth Amendment fashion designer Rosina-Mae sketching her next collection on Surface Pro 4.

In tech, and especially fashion tech, design is key. Amanda appreciates how “Surface is both a beautiful device inside and out, combining both form and function in one seamless device.” Surface Pro 4 hasn’t changed the way she works as much as it has let Amanda work faster because now things she used to do on paper can be done on her Surface. She doesn’t need to worry about printing things out to give feedback to her team or designers, nor does she worry that she won’t have that one file with her when she’s in a meeting. “With Surface, everything I need and my entire fashion-meets tech process is right in my purse.”

Source: Why Skimm’r and fashion tech CEO Amanda Curtis loves Surface