Fashion’s Whiplash: Kathleen Chan on AI, Tariffs & Fixing Broken Supply Chains

Tech Talks

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11d ago 23:20

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“The 100% tariffs have poured fuel on an already raging fire… it’s put this whiplash effect into every sourcing manager and production team.”

Kathleen Chan, CEO & Founder of Calico

Global apparel supply chains are “very, very broken.” Kathleen Chan is out to fix them. As founder of Calico, she’s building an AI-driven “force multiplier” to bring resilience, speed, and clarity to one of the world’s most volatile industries.

In this conversation with David Savage, Kathleen shares:

How tariffs and economic instability create a whiplash effect in fashion
Why Calico’s inbound leads surged 300% in the last year
The role of AI and vetted factory networks in rebuilding resilience
Lessons from her early entrepreneurial journey
Why VC priorities are shifting to sustainable growth and leaner teams

This is a rare inside look at how technology is rewriting the rules of global apparel manufacturing, and the human decisions driving that change.

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