Daria Shapovalova
Co-founder of DRESSX
Daria Shapovalova is the co-founder of DRESSX, the Los Angeles based company that began as a store for digital-only fashion and now sells AI virtual try-on and styling tools to fashion and luxury brands. Before DRESSX she spent more than 15 years building Ukraine's fashion infrastructure, including Mercedes-Benz Kiev Fashion Days.
| Role | Co-founder of DRESSX |
|---|---|
| Organisation | DRESSX, Los Angeles |
| Co-founded | July 2020, with Natalia Modenova |
| Known for | Digital fashion and AI virtual try-on |
| Earlier ventures | Mercedes-Benz Kiev Fashion Days, Fashion Tech Summit |
Who is Daria Shapovalova?
Daria Shapovalova is a fashion entrepreneur and the co-founder of DRESSX, which she launched in 2020 with Natalia Modenova. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles and is one of the best known names in digital fashion, the practice of designing, selling and wearing garments that exist only as 3D files or AI-generated imagery. She has been recognised on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list and the Business of Fashion 500.
Career
Shapovalova built her early career in Ukraine. According to her professional profile she has more than 15 years of experience in the fashion industry, and British Vogue once described her as "Kiev Fashion's Queen Bee" for her role in giving Ukrainian designers international visibility. Her ventures from that period include:
- Mercedes-Benz Kiev Fashion Days, a fashion week platform for Ukrainian designers
- More Dash, a Paris-based showroom for emerging labels
- Kiev Fashion Institute, which combined fashion education with technology
- Fashion Tech Summit, an international conference on fashion and technology
She later moved to San Francisco, completed an MBA and worked as an intern at Walmart, an experience that combined retail operations with technology. In July 2020 she co-founded DRESSX, which has since raised several funding rounds, including a Series A, from investors such as Slow Ventures and Red DAO.
Influence on the fashion business
DRESSX started by selling digital-only collections from brands and independent 3D designers, which customers could "wear" in photos and on social media. The idea challenged the assumption that a fashion product must be physical, and it gave brands a low-waste way to test designs and reach younger, online audiences. Partners cited by the company include Victoria Beckham and Farfetch.
Daria Shapovalova and technology
The company has since shifted towards artificial intelligence. Its DRESSX AI Suite is a modular set of enterprise tools for fashion and luxury retailers, including AI virtual try-on, an AI customer assistant, an AI stylist for stores and a smart mirror, alongside a consumer product called DRESSX Agent. The stated aim is to help shoppers answer whether an item will actually look good on them. Shapovalova has described the next step as deeper personalisation, in which the system remembers a customer's preferences and size data to make future purchases easier.
Why it matters
Shapovalova's path from fashion week organiser to AI entrepreneur mirrors a wider shift in the industry, from treating digital fashion as an experiment to using generative and computer vision tools to reduce returns and personalise online shopping. For brands and retailers, DRESSX is a frequently cited example of how virtual try-on is moving from novelty to commercial infrastructure.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Daria Shapovalova?
Daria Shapovalova is the co-founder of DRESSX, a Los Angeles based company founded in 2020 that pioneered digital-only fashion and now offers AI virtual try-on tools to brands. She previously founded Mercedes-Benz Kiev Fashion Days and the Fashion Tech Summit.
What does DRESSX do?
DRESSX began as a marketplace for digital-only clothing from brands and 3D designers. It now focuses on an AI suite for fashion retailers that includes virtual try-on, an AI customer assistant and an AI stylist.