Rob Smith is the Founder & CEO of The Phluid Project

This gender-free clothing store offers a safe space for people to be themselves #NowThisPride. » Subscribe to NowThis: http://go.nowth.is/News_Subscribe The Phluid Project is the world’s first gender-free clothing store — and it’s empowering individuals to be themselves. The idea came to founder Rob Smith in 2017, and he used his life savings to open the first store in NYC in 2018. “We are part retail, part community space, and completely gender-free. That’s the way we look at it, it’s a place that is safe and welcoming and inviting to everyone,” he explained. “A lot of my life was separated in two different worlds. I really wanted to merge it into one and I was thinking about with I was doing — so I almost was living two separate lives.” Smith was a “corporate guy” by day who worked with nonprofits at night. But after he quit his job, and started traveling around the world, the concept of The Phluid Project came to him. “The importance right now of having The Phluid Project is it’s about addressing a generation that is not being addressed,” he explained. “Nearly half of Gen Z doesn’t identify as heterosexual. They don’t identify as being straight. So, they fall into this space. They’ve already started to look at the binary constraints that we’ve created, and they’re like, this doesn’t make sense.” For more information, visit www.thephluidproject.com. Connect with NowThis » Like us on Facebook: http://go.nowth.is/News_Facebook » Tweet us on Twitter: http://go.nowth.is/News_Twitter » Follow us on Instagram: http://go.nowth.is/News_Instagram » Find us on Snapchat Discover: http://go.nowth.is/News_Snapchat NowThis is your premier news outlet providing you with all the videos you need to stay up to date on all the latest in trending news. From entertainment to politics, to viral videos and breaking news stories, we’re delivering all you need to know straight to your social feeds. We live where you live. http://www.youtube.com/nowthisnews @nowthisnews

An interview with Rob Smith, Founder of the Phluid Project, discussing the historical role gender has in clothing and how gender fluid clothing can impact our society going forward. Founder of the Phluid Project This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Rob Smith, founder, The Phluid Project, was the guest speaker at Faces and Places in Fashion. "Faces and Places in Fashion" provides an opportunity to connect with the pulse of the fashion industry in an open and conversational setting. "Faces & Places in Fashion" is a lecture series, class, and forum for prominent fashion professionals to discuss their trade, experience, and perspective on the business.|Rob Smith, Founder of The Phluid Project, is a highly accomplished Senior Executive, Entrepreneur and Board member with more than 30 years of experience in the apparel, fashion, sports goods, and merchandising industries. Leveraging extensive experience focusing on global consumer insights and foreseeing and maximizing emerging trends through end-to-end, multi-channel strategic management, Rob is a valuable asset to startups, mid-sized and well-established apparel and fashion companies seeking expert assistance with growth strategies, growth inhibitor analysis, turnarounds, product portfolio, and product placement. His key areas of expertise include youth businesses, retail, brand development, wholesale, e-commerce, merchant, international experience, merchandising, design, planning, product development, supply chain, and go-to-market strategy.|Rob consistently creates strategies that reflect a deep understanding of customer needs, global and regional preferences, product development and assortment planning, while maximizing strong margins. Throughout his executive career, Rob has worked in a variety of successful leadership positions for well-known companies and brands. Most recently, at Haddad Brands – Nike, Levi’s, Jordan, Converse, Rob provided strategic oversight in daily operations of the design, branding, sourcing, and marketing departments. He led a team of 100, including 4 VPs and 20 managers. While at Victoria’s Secret, he directed a $600M apparel, shoe and accessory business for catalog and online distribution, managed content for 65 catalogs yearly, and created the industry’s #1 ranked website. During his 20+ years at Macy’s, he led a team of 6 VPs and 75 executives, successfully merging four operating divisions into one division, while delivering sales and profit growth. He consistently executed more than 6 mergers of Macy’s divisions into one successful Macy’s.|Rob’s background and his bringing The Phluid Project to fruition is a personal venture which is a reflection of his professional experience and driven by his intimate passion and understanding of how today’s youth thinks, their unwavering persistence in social responsibility and carving out a niche that has greater relevance than ever before recognized or appreciated. Rob presently serves on the Board of Steve Madden Ltd. Member of the Compensation and Corporate Governance Committees; he is a Board Member and Chair of the Hetrick Martin Institute and the HMI Emery Awards - Hetrick- Martin Institute; and is a Board Member for Athlete Ally and launched the Athlete Ally Action Awards. Rob holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Marketing Management from Michigan State University. 2018, Fashion Institute of Technology

We put non-binary activist Eddie Jarrel Jones and The Phluid Project founder Rob Smith in conversation with each other, and the two spoke some powerful truths about the continued gendering of products like makeup and clothing. Smith recalls that 30 years ago, the only way that he was able to experience the joys of playing with makeup was to work at a beauty counter. Even today, Jones notes that it's hard for non-binary femmes like them, or even trans women, to get that experience in stores. Follow Nylon on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nylon/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/nylonmag Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nylonmag/ Flipboard: https://flipboard.com/@nylon

f clothes make the man, or a woman for that matter, the clothes at The Phluid Project allow you to be whoever you truly are. It is the first of its kind-- a gender-free store. Rob Smith conceived of the idea after decades in merchandising and marketing for major brands. The store in NoHo sells clothing, accessories, and makeup that appeal to anyone and everyone. Lauren Glassberg has more: https://7ny.tv/2P3TdDK Check out more Eyewitness News - http://7ny.tv/2suJHTd OUR SOCIAL MEDIA – FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/ABC7NY/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/abc7ny INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/abc7ny/ SNAP: abc7ny PODCASTS: http://abc7ny.com/podcasts/ NEW HERE? – Hi! We’re abc7NY, also known as Channel 7 on TV, home to Eyewitness News, New York’s Number 1 news. We hope you love us on YouTube as much as you do on television! NEW TIPS: Online: http://abc7ny.com/submit-a-news-tip/2599968/ Phone: 917-260-7700 Email: abc7ny@abc.com

The Phluid Project offers clothing for everyone no matter what gender you identify with.

We are the World's First Gender Free Store. Listen to founder and CEO Rob Smith tell the story of the Phluid Project.

I didn’t just learn so much, but I also realized how much I needed to unlearn from taking part in this beautiful roundtable discussion that features The Phluid Project founder Rob Smith, GLSEN Youth Programs Manager A.T. Furuya, writer and editor Kurt Osenlund, and NewNowNext editor Sam Manzella. Watch these amazing souls discuss topics of inclusivity, acceptance, what we see for the future, and what YOU can do to push this movement higher and higher. Regardless of how you identify, how you love, who you love, or how you express yourself, I believe you deserve to do so freely and with acceptance from all human beings❤ Don't forget to follow me: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlexAiono Twitter: https://twitter.com/alexaiono Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexaiono/ You can also find my music here: - Amazon: http://amzn.to/2g2by6W - Spotify: http://bit.ly/2g3K6AI - iTunes: http://apple.co/1pDSaFn - Apple music: http://apple.co/2h8GbDF