Fashion is finally getting the tech upgrade it’s been waiting for. The fashion industry is undergoing a technological transformation, and at the forefront of this revolution is Athena Studio, a Luxembourg-based startup that’s redefining how fashion brands approach product development. Founded in 2023 by CEO Heidi van Dyck, the company has emerged as a groundbreaking force in fashion technology, introducing the first platform to integrate early-stage impact prediction and optimization into product development.
The Vision Behind Athena Studio
Athena Studio’s mission centers on helping fashion brands improve their margins, time-to-market, and sustainability impact through innovative AI-powered solutions. The company has developed “Athena,” which is described as a virtual fashion product development assistant that enables creative teams to focus on what they do best: creating exceptional products, while the AI handles the complex data analysis and optimization processes.
“In my interactions with fashion brands, I realised the whole process of product development—so not just design but the entire testing and fabric selection and collection development– even in multibillion dollar companies is still very old school in the sense that the data is just in Excel sheets and there is no visibility whatsoever. This is very inefficient, and brands are missing out on opportunities to both improve cost efficiency and sustainability impact,” Heidi van Dyck, Founder & CEO, said.
Breaking New Ground in Fashion Technology
What makes Athena Studio unique is its comprehensive approach to addressing the fashion industry’s most pressing challenges. The platform provides real-time visibility into product development workflows across files, teams, and systems, effectively solving the fragmented data challenge that costs fashion brands significant time, money, and resources.
The company’s suite of proprietary algorithms includes innovative solutions like “Textile Twin,” which recommends similar but better fabrics based on various attributes such as touch and feel, sustainability, and cost-efficiency. Another key algorithm, “Pricinity,” optimizes gross margins and lead times, helping fashion companies make better, data-driven decisions from the earliest stages of product development.
Recognition and Industry Validation
Athena Studio’s innovative approach has received significant industry recognition. The company was selected as one of six startups for the prestigious New York Fashion Tech Lab 2025 cohort, joining an elite group of women-led B2B technology startups transforming the fashion and retail industry. This highly competitive program, established in 2014 by Springboard Enterprises, partners with leading brands including American Eagle Outfitters, Gap Inc., J.Crew, lululemon, Saks Global, The TJX Companies, Inc., and Tapestry.
“We are one of the six startups selected by New York Fashion Tech Lab. And that is fantastic,” Heidi van Dyck, Founder & CEO, said, emphasizing the significance of this achievement for the company’s growth.
Overcoming Industry Challenges
The journey hasn’t been without obstacles. Heidi van Dyck shares the challenges faced in the early stages:
“They could easily go up to two years, which is really long,” Heidi van Dyck, Founder & CEO, said, referring to the lengthy sales processes with major fashion companies.
Additionally, she notes:
“Initially, it took us a very long time to convince good tech talents to join a fashion-related startup, because it is not the industry that a lot of talents in the tech world would think of as a next challenge,” Heidi van Dyck, Founder & CEO, said.
However, the company has overcome these hurdles with strategic additions to the team. Arnaud Hillen, a former Software Engineer at Google, joined as co-founder, bringing deep technical expertise in machine learning and AI. This addition has been crucial for the company’s technical development and growth prospects.
Financial Foundation and Growth Strategy
Athena Studio has secured $53.4K in grant funding, demonstrating its ability to attract support for its innovative approach. The company graduated from the prestigious Fit 4 Start program in Luxembourg in 2024, marking an important milestone as it transitioned from working with smaller brands to piloting solutions with large, globally recognized companies.
The company’s mission remains the same, but there is now a greater focus on showing brands how they can improve their margins and timelines, a strategy that offers advantages for both profitability and sustainability.
Looking to the Future
Athena Studio’s vision extends beyond current capabilities. The company is actively exploring adjacent markets such as workwear, uniforms, and soft home goods, which share similar pain points in product development. With AI technology rapidly advancing, the company positions itself at the center of a major industry transformation.
“AI is moving fast, and we are building specialised AI agents for the fashion industry. I think in the next three to five years a lot of old software systems that were used by big fashion companies are going to be replaced by newer, and much better software solutions that are more intuitive and conversational. Our goal is to be a part of this revolution,” Heidi van Dyck, Founder & CEO, said.
As the fashion industry continues to grapple with sustainability challenges and the need for greater efficiency, Athena Studio represents a new paradigm where technology and creativity come together to create a more sustainable and profitable future for fashion brands worldwide.
