Press

Suede February 2026 Press Release

NEW YORK, NY - February 17, 2026 - Suede, an AI-powered workflow platform for independent fashion retailers, officially launches its Shopify app this week during New York Fashion Week. Founded by former retail buyer Danielle Dantche and technical co-founder Shama Keskar, Suede transforms purchase order emails into fully formatted Shopify product listings, eliminating one of the most time-consuming tasks in retail operations.

Startup radar: Seattle founders focus on fashion, freelancing, real estate, parenting

The business: Platform for fashion buyers and merchandisers that uses AI to streamline how products are brought to market. Automates product data ingestion, tracks signals on social media, and creates a “digital twin” of real world products. The company won a recent pitch competition at the AI2 Incubator.

Leadership: CEO Danielle Dantche spent eight years as director of merchandising operations at Seattle-based retailer Pipe and Row.

Ai2 Incubator Pitch Please Win

Out of thousands of applicants, five founders were selected to pitch at the Ai2 Incubator Pitch Please Competition. Danielle was the first and only entrepreneur accepted into the accelerator via this competition.