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Stephanie is a serial entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience founding and building…
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Stephanie Downs reposted thisStephanie Downs reposted thisThe journey from material innovation to industry adoption begins when a material is put into the hands of a designer. That is the thinking behind S|STYLE – Wardrobe Edition 2026, developed in collaboration with Kering Material Innovation Lab. Ten emerging designers were invited to work with a new generation of materials and explore how they could perform, adapt and take shape through real design applications. ELEVATE was part of that material exploration. Omôl designer Nathalie CHEBOU MOTH used ELEVATE alongside Taroni silk to reinterpret the brand’s signature Totem line through footwear, bringing the material from sample to design concept. The project comes at a particularly relevant moment for material innovation. With Kering aiming to reduce its use of virgin animal leather by 30% before 2028, Wardrobe Edition placed a particular emphasis on alternatives capable of opening new possibilities for traditionally leather-based applications. Vogue Business recently explored the project and the wider challenge facing next-generation materials: proving their potential through design and building the industry support required to bring innovation to scale. Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/eWXMgVCy #ELEVATE #UNCAGEDInnovations #MaterialInnovation #FutureOfMaterials
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Stephanie Downs reposted thisStephanie Downs reposted thisSix years ago, UNCAGED was just beginning its journey to rethink what materials could be. This September, that journey brings us into some of the most important conversations shaping the future of materials, fashion, deep tech, commercialization, and climate innovation. Our New York calendar starts during New York Fashion Week and continues with four events across Climate Week NYC For us, these events are about much more than showing up. They are the rooms where the industry is working through the questions we’ve been focused on from the start: How do breakthrough materials move into real products? What does it take to scale them? And what partnerships, infrastructure, and investment will accelerate adoption? Throughout September, UNCAGED will be joining designers, scientists, founders, brands, institutions, and investors across New York, with a strong presence during Climate Week NYC - Climate Group It’s an important moment in our journey, and another opportunity to bring ELEVATE into the conversations shaping what comes next. Read more about where we’ll be this September and why these conversations matter: https://lnkd.in/dR6ZMYNH #UNCAGEDInnovations #ELEVATE #ClimateWeekNYC #NextGenMaterials
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Stephanie Downs reposted thisStephanie Downs reposted thisWe’re proud to have Natalie Portman supporting UNCAGED Innovations as we rethink materials through science, craftsmanship, and a commitment to lower impact. Now we want to hear from you: What brand would you love to see using next-generation materials? Tag them below.
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Stephanie Downs shared thisUNCAGED is growing again — hiring a VP of Sales! PLEASE SHARE to help spread the word! We're looking for someone with deep experience selling within leather, synthetic leather, textiles, footwear, fashion, or related materials industries, and a track record of scaling B2B sales. If that's you, or someone you know, we’d love to connect.
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Stephanie Downs shared thisExcited to be on stage next week representing UNCAGED Innovations in Copenhagen at the Global Fashion Agenda Summit which has become one of the most influential events for sustainability in fashion. The forum plays a central role in shaping how the industry responds to its most pressing environmental and social challenges. Join us to discuss Scaling Innovation: Next Gen and Low Impact Materials ➡ Can new materials go mainstream? Emissions reduction opportunities to execute fashion’s scale-up plans. ➡ Demand, cost and capital: scaling lower-emission materials while reducing the cost of the transition. ➡ Aligning financial goals with implementation strategies to secure resources for a resilient fashion future. Hear from my brilliant fellow panelists: - Olivia Pinnock, Sustainable Fashion Journalist - Krishna Manda (he/him), Global Head of Sustainability, Lenzing Group - Henry Kavuma, Founder and Executive Director, Living Carbon Capture Dye System Many of you have already reached out to meet up, but shout out if you will be there! Learn more at https://lnkd.in/eTXVSbFt Special thanks to Faith Robinson and Helena Bauer Beuer for your work putting together this amazing event!
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Stephanie Downs shared thisSo exciting that the recognition keeps coming for the work we are doing at UNCAGED Innovations! Congrats team!!Stephanie Downs shared thisWe’re honored to be recognized by @FastCompany as one of the Most Innovative Companies of 2026. At Uncaged, innovation is what enables us to develop next-generation materials that are both high-performance and scalable, designed to support brands navigating a rapidly evolving landscape. Through continuous research, testing, and refinement, we’re redefining what materials can deliver. This milestone is a reaffirmation of our role in shaping the future of the industry. And we’re just getting started. #FCMostInnovative #UncagedInnovations
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Stephanie Downs reposted thisStephanie Downs reposted thisColor is a strategic decision. It influences perception, reinforces identity, and defines how a material performs within a collection. With ELEVATE SIGNATURE, we developed a refined palette shaped by nature and engineered for consistency ensuring that color and texture work together with structural integrity and scalable performance. As our CEO Stephanie Downs says, “This is what the future of materials looks like”. Not trend-driven. Not generic. Built with intention. Explore the new ELEVATE SIGNATURE catalog here: https://lnkd.in/dz_wqqJx #BioLeather #NewColors #ElevateSignature #Uncaged #Craftmanship #BioLeather #NewColors #ElevateSignature #Uncaged #Craftmanship
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Stephanie Downs reposted thisEveryone talks about being first. But the real advantage? Being a second mover. “In most industries, the first movers aren’t the ones that are the breakout technologies,” Downs argues. “Before we had Facebook, we had MySpace and Friendster. Before we had Google, we had Ask Jeeves and Netscape.” It's about learning from others' mistakes. Adapting faster. Refining your approach without wasting time. In the world of biomaterials and sustainable alternatives, speed and agility win. You don't need to be the pioneer to lead the market. You just need to be smarter, quicker, more focused. That's what sets Uncaged apart. That's how we're shaping the future. Being second isn't a fallback. It's our secret weapon. And it's working. Thanks to JD Shadel for interviewing UNCAGED Innovations and Mike Smeed with InMotion Ventures for this piece in Global Corporate Venturing. https://lnkd.in/ecz-gWybCan the second wave of vegan fibres crack the fashion market? - Global VenturingCan the second wave of vegan fibres crack the fashion market? - Global Venturing
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Stephanie Downs shared thisEveryone talks about being first. But the real advantage? Being a second mover. “In most industries, the first movers aren’t the ones that are the breakout technologies,” Downs argues. “Before we had Facebook, we had MySpace and Friendster. Before we had Google, we had Ask Jeeves and Netscape.” It's about learning from others' mistakes. Adapting faster. Refining your approach without wasting time. In the world of biomaterials and sustainable alternatives, speed and agility win. You don't need to be the pioneer to lead the market. You just need to be smarter, quicker, more focused. That's what sets Uncaged apart. That's how we're shaping the future. Being second isn't a fallback. It's our secret weapon. And it's working. Thanks to JD Shadel for interviewing UNCAGED Innovations and Mike Smeed with InMotion Ventures for this piece in Global Corporate Venturing. https://lnkd.in/ecz-gWybCan the second wave of vegan fibres crack the fashion market? - Global VenturingCan the second wave of vegan fibres crack the fashion market? - Global Venturing
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Stephanie Downs liked thisStephanie Downs liked thisNYCW and UNGA week in NYC was packed. The conversations I keep coming back to weren't about panels. They were about how we actually finance food and biotechnology as part of building resilient, secure supply chains. A few things that stuck: 1. There's already a playbook for using collective purchasing power to pull technology across the Valley of Death. We don't have to invent it. We have to run it. (Thanks Selena and Marika) 2. Energy investors have a clear checklist before they'll structure infrastructure financing for food. That's not a no. That's homework. (Thanks Kelsey) 3. Bring younger generations into this conversation early and give them real agency, not just a seat at the table later. (Thanks Allison, Aimée, and Chloë) 4. The week opened with a conversation about plant-forward eating and ocean health with Nat Geo photographer Bertie Gregory, and closed with a double rainbow and an accidental detour into a friend's surprise birthday party. Some weeks just go your way. Thanks to everyone who hosted, convened, and made time to talk. #NYCW #UNGA #FoodSecurity #SupplyChainResilience #AlternativeProteins #Bioeconomy #TheEveryCo #UncagedInnovations #FSI #GFI Center for Green Market Activation (GMA) The Good Food Institute Food System Innovations Tilt Collective
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Stephanie Downs liked thisStephanie Downs liked thisMy Climate Week NYC recap looks a little different this year; I curated the room I wanted to exist. On September 17, we gathered 170 highly engaged attendees at Newlab for Fashion × Deep Tech, the fourth edition of the Sustainable Design Impact Hub and an official Climate Week NYC event. As someone who has attended my fair share of global convenings, there were a few things I was very intentional about when curating the Hub: ☝ We removed some of the invisible walls that typically exist at industry gatherings: the separation between panel speakers and the audience, between founders and industry, between the person developing a technology and the person who could actually help bring it to market. ☝The space itself was part of the story. Inside a repurposed shipyard, our panel chairs were made from recycled oil barrels, our pens from coffee waste, biomaterials from apple, cacao, and grain were exhibited throughout the Gallery, and even the CLA 250+ featured a vegan MB-Tex interior. ☝Covnersations continued offstage. Founders building solutions met industry actively seeking them (and secured new clients!). ☝Our Innovation Gallery brought next-generation materials out of the lab and into a tactile, artful environment that invited people to observe, question, and connect directly with the people building them. Curation, to me, was thinking deeply about who should be in the room, how different parts of an ecosystem should encounter one another, and what becomes possible because they did.There is a fascinating space at the intersection of New York Fashion Week and Climate Week NYC. We made it our own this year, and we’ll do so again next year! We’re also taking that energy to Paris during Haute Couture Week on January 28; as a very well-oiled (perhaps bio-fueled) machine. 😉Paris, you’re next. 🇫🇷 (more detailed recaps on the panels I moderated soon!) Climate Group SustainableDesignImpactHub CocoaFiber Kaylia Group Jesse Adler Anna Ho Powered by Martin Sauber Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America, Inc. Yale Center for Business and the Environment (CBEY) Western Alliance Innovation Banking Group Fashion Institute of Technology ASRC Center for Advanced Technology (CAT) ! To all of our team, partners, and speakers; thank you! Adam Bent Dana Davis Theanne Schiros Vanessa Barboni Hallik Jessica Binns Jessica Kwon Ambriel Pouncy Rebecca Mink Liz Alessi Stephanie Downs Ross McBee Mridu Jhangiani Victoria Smith Adam Baruchowitz Francesca Belluomini, MSL Heather Fitzgerald Karen Pearson Raz Godelnik Larissa Shepherd Tavis Ezell Jesse Henry Serena Wessely Mary Grinnell Joshua Katcher FROM THE SOURCE BjornQorn St. Buena Vida
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Stephanie Downs liked thisStephanie Downs liked thisAt Gotham Foundry’s Climate Week symposium, NYFIC and Gotham Foundry co-presented the third session, “Turbocharging the New York Innovation Pathway from City to State,” exploring what it takes to bring new materials from the lab to the market. Product & Marketing Director Susan Easton opened the session with an overview of NYFIC’s work connecting New York’s farms, researchers, mills, manufacturers, designers, and brands. She highlighted the grants and shared resources helping promising materials move beyond individual pilots and into a stronger statewide textile supply chain. The panel, moderated by Maria Gotsch of the Partnership Fund for New York City and Kelley Kizzier of the Bezos Earth Fund, brought together Stephanie Downs of UNCAGED Innovations, Emily Laurilliard of Empire State Development’s NYSTAR division, sonia park of New York City Economic Development Corporation, Aradhita Parasrampuria of Cellsense, and Dr. R. Helen Zha, PhD, NYFIC Associate Director and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Associate Professor. Together, they explored the steps between a successful material pilot and a product that can be made at scale: manufacturing partners, the right funding, brand adoption, and stronger connections between New York City and the rest of the state. Thank you to Theanne Schiros, Gotham Foundry co-director and NYFIC consortium member through FIT, for co-developing the session, and to our moderators and panelists for a thoughtful discussion about building New York’s sustainable textile economy.
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Stephanie Downs liked thisStephanie Downs liked thisLove SS27 - thank you to the amazing team that made this possible. PATRICK McDOWELL Pandora Aspinal of London Limited TIAGI
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Stephanie Downs liked thisBuffalo here we come!!Stephanie Downs liked thisNew York has always been a state of innovation. From modern air conditioning and the pacemaker to the windshield wiper and the Bell P-59 Airacomet, New York State inventors and manufacturers have helped shape the way we live, work, travel, and protect our country. But innovation doesn’t stop with history. Today, a new generation of makers, manufacturers, entrepreneurs, researchers, and innovators is tackling the challenges of tomorrow—and the NYS Innovation Summit is bringing many of them together in Buffalo.⚙️💡 Join us October 27–28, 2026, for two days celebrating the people, ideas, technologies, and companies driving innovation across New York State. Come experience NY’s innovation ecosystem firsthand. Attend the Summit, exhibit your innovation, or become a sponsor and help support the state’s manufacturing and technology ecosystem. And while you’re in Buffalo, use your event badge to receive a discount at the Buffalo Museum of Science and explore some of the history behind New York’s spirit of ingenuity! -Black and white photos courtesy of the Buffalo Museum of Science, featuring innovators at the 1940 Science Congress.- The next chapter of New York innovation is being written now. Be part of it. ➡️ Learn More & Register: https://bit.ly/3HtjCuJ #NYSInnovationSummit #Innovation #NewYork #AdvancedManufacturing #Manufacturing #Technology #Entrepreneurship
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Stephanie Downs liked thisThis is one of those moments that makes all the material development worthwhile. Seeing Jennifer Droguett take Savigne by Planet of the Grapes® and cut, sculpt, ruche, fringe and completely reinterpret it for Anciela’s SS27 collection was so inspiring. From the vineyards of Provence to London Fashion Week — one thing is for sure, I'll never tire of seeing where designers take our material next. Bring on the creativity!! 🍇 🌟Stephanie Downs liked thisWhat happens when you give a designer a new material — and let them really challenge it? For Anciela’s SS27 collection at London Fashion Week, designer Jennifer Droguett took Savigne by Planet of the Grapes® and pushed it in directions we hadn't imagined. She cut it. Spliced it. Sculpted it. Ruched it. Wrapped it. Fringed it. Across the collection, the same material became three very different things. On the jacket, panels of black Savigne were cut and reconstructed to create dramatic, cocoon-like volume. On the shoes, it became playful and expressive — gathered into frills and ruffles, ruched and wrapped around ankles, and sharply fringed across pointed heels. And on the corset, it became structured and sculptural: precisely cut panels forming a low curved neckline, wide scalloped straps and beautiful interlacing across the back. One material. Three completely different expressions. And that, for us, is one of the most exciting things about developing a new material. It shouldn't simply replicate what already exists. It should give designers another vocabulary to work with. ANCIELA’s SS27 collection explores motherhood, memory and our relationship with Mother Earth, moving between past, present and future and asking what fashion can learn, preserve and reimagine. Circularity is considered from the beginning of ANCIELA's design process, through recycling, upcycling and regenerative techniques. For SS27, Savigne sat alongside rescued wool, vintage silk, seaweed-based fibres and bio-based pigments — each material becoming part of that wider conversation. Savigne begins somewhere very different: in the vineyards of Provence, with the grape marc left after winemaking. Seeing that material travel from vineyard to London Fashion Week — and then seeing Jennifer transform it so completely through her own creative language — is exactly why we created it. Not to imitate the materials of the past. But to expand what designers can create with next. Thank you Jennifer for seeing, creating and sharing the possibilities in Savigne by Planet of the Grapes®.
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Stephanie Downs liked thisStephanie Downs liked thisJoin an exceptional organization and help take it to the next level. Faunalytics is searching for its next Executive Director. After eight years leading the team, Brooke Haggerty iis moving on to her next chapter, leaving behind a strong organization, a talented team, and an exciting opportunity for a new leader to build on that success. If you have the leadership, fundraising, and strategic skills to help Faunalytics build on its success and increase its impact for animals, we’d love to hear from you. Applications are due October 18. Learn more and apply: https://lnkd.in/edgdkKDV Please share with others who might be interested and/or with your network.
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Stephanie Downs liked thisStephanie Downs liked thisGo ahead. Roll your eyes. Find it ridiculous. Hate it. Disagree with me. That’s fine. Nothing says New York quite like a grown adult in a superhero suit. But I wanted that room to channel its inner hero. Because frankly, we need it. Some people probably wanted another polished, AI-sounding keynote. Big words. Perfect slides. Plenty of “Resilience” and “Transformation.” Very little conviction. I’d rather gather every bit of courage I have, say something that actually lands, and risk looking ridiculous than say something polished that changes nothing. Because the point of bringing this industry into one room wasn’t to perform progress. It was to push for it. And right now, there is plenty to be uncomfortable about. Just last week, a PETA protester was physically restrained at the COS runway show in New York. The CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America wrapped his leg around her and covered her mouth while the COS CEO helped him grab her arm. A room full of industry professionals, buyers, influencers and press watched in shock. Nobody intervened. Whatever your position on protest, animal rights or wool, it should make us stop and think. Because what should scare us isn’t an activist with a sign. It’s entitled, privileged people in positions of power who think they are above accountability. It’s the spectators, standing by when intervention matters, while nobody intervenes. It’s when uncomfortable voices are easier to shut down than to hear. When human empathy gets lost. When fast fashion continues to thrive and gets to celebrate its progress on the runway. And not to move the conversation away from wool, but to widen it: despite years of talking about transition, fossil-fuel-derived materials are still growing, not shrinking, and we are nowhere near moving fast enough to build a genuinely different materials system. What happened at the COS New York runway was one visible moment, just a fraction of what’s fucked up in this industry. We can’t even imagine what is happening across the rest of the supply chain that we don’t see. The workers. The communities. The extraction. The materials. The waste. The environmental impact. The animals. The consequences of decisions made far away. So yes, I’ll put on the superhero suit, hold the sign and take the hits if that’s what it takes to move something. Because this industry doesn’t need more spectators. It needs people willing to step forward. To speak up. To listen. To intervene. To question. To build. To take responsibility. To act. The people who got it, got it. Huge thanks to everyone who showed up, engaged, challenged, questioned and helped make the conversation what it was. I’ll share highlights from our Next-Gen Materials Transition Forum next. But in the spirit of New York Climate Week, Fashion Week and everything that has happened around us this past week, I wanted to spotlight this first. Maybe we all need to channel our inner hero a little more often.
Experience & Education
Honors & Awards
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40 Under 40 Awards
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Denver Metro Area - 2001
Hampton Roads, Virginia Area - 2011 -
Dewey DoGooder Award - 2014 Recipient
SXSX (South By South West Conference)
SXSW Interactive honors the vision of one of the organization's founders, Dewey Winburne, through this prestigious community service award. Each year, 10 community do-gooders are recognized for their use of digital technology to help others. The Dewey Awards celebrate the spirit of community which is unique to SXSW. The event is the heart of SXSW Interactive, bringing change makers from all over the world together for a night to honor their work and hear their stories.
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Illinois State University
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Robert G. Bone Scholar (Awarded to University’s top 14 students)
College of Business Award - Most Outstanding Undergraduate
Department of Marketing Award - Most Outstanding Senior
Department of Marketing Award - Most Outstanding Junior -
TEDx Speaker
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TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages. Meanwhile, independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world. Presentation - https://youtu.be/aaumxz81Flc
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English
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Private equity in 2026 is not chasing noise. It is chasing durability. The Riverside Company’s acquisition of Western Botanicals may not grab headlines. It is not AI or telecom. But it is telling. Western Botanicals operates in a specialised segment of the vitamins and supplements market where FDA registration, cGMP compliance and formulation expertise are strategic differentiators. In a wellness-driven economy, precision manufacturing and regulatory credibility create defensible growth. This is thematic capital deployment. Platform thinking. Operational depth over headline scale. Middle market PE is quietly compounding value while attention stays elsewhere. I unpack what this signals for CDMOs and disciplined underwriting in my latest DealSphere piece: https://lnkd.in/erJ7Nx6d Are we entering a cycle where operational differentiation outweighs multiple expansion? #PrivateEquity #MergersAndAcquisitions #MiddleMarket #InvestmentStrategy
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