Field Trip: On-site Report from Daydream's SOHO Popup.

Retailgentic Volunteer Field Reporter, Dana Gallant, gives us a first-person perspective

What is Daydream?

Everybody, and I mean everybody that’s been in digital retail for more than 5yrs knows Julie Bornstein. Starbucks→Nordstrom→Sephora→Stitch Fix→The Yes/Pinterest→RedFin(board)→sweetgreen (board)→Daydream

When it dropped in late ‘23 that Julie had co-founded daydream, a vertical AI-powered fashion search+discovery company, everyone in my universe had a ‘record scratch’ moment. What? This is new and exciting. Then in June 2024 they announced their monster $50m seed round (traditional seeds are usually like 5-10m), it was a mouth agape, drop your drink on the floor, what the !@@#! is Daydream?! moment.

Daydream uses AI to learn your preferences and act as an AI powered personal fashion stylist/personal shopping assistant. It’s primarily an app-based platform and has just recently gone live and is ramping up nicely.

Horizontal vs. Vertical AI Shopping

Here on Retailgentic, we talk about what I think of as ‘horizontal’ Agentic Commerce companies- meaning they work across retail verticals. Like Daydream, there’s an explosion of entrepreneurs that are building ‘vertical’ solutions tailored to a specific industry. Fashion/apparel is the most active, but there’s gifting, grocery and many more. I’ve now heard of so many I am going to break them out into their own market map shortly, but until then this is what it looks like:

Retailgentic Call For Help!☎️

In early October as a Daydream registered user, I started getting invitations to this really interesting promotion (what we call an activation in today’s hipster World) that is a both a Daydream Popup in SOHO (152 Wooster), but they also put together 25 partner brand stores up and down Broadway that were part of the activation, offering discounts and other goodies (looks like a lot of champagne!)

After receiving these promos, I was bummed I wasn’t going to be able to make it as I knew that given Julie’s strength in these types of things it would be pretty cool.

I had an epiphany and tried put a post on LinkedIn asking if anyone in the NY area could go for us, write it up and take some pictures. I was surprised to get about 10 volunteers and the quality of volunteers was mindblowing 🤯. Turns out there are a lot of super-smart fashion people in NY that read Retailgentic, who knew?!

Dana to the Rescue!🛟

Dana Gallant was the first to respond and asked for details of the mission. I looked at her background and she has a BS from FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) and is at Parsons getting her Masters in Fashion Management. On top of THAT, she knows startups and has been following Daydream closely. I was very happy to find someone much much more qualified to cover this than I am. Thanks Dana!

Now without further delay, is Dana’s first-person fashion expert highlights of the event.

Field Trip Report: Daydream’s SOHO Popup…

I visited the Daydream pop-up in SoHo to see how the brand would translate its AI-driven platform into an in-person experience.

Coming from the worlds of marketing, fashion, and technology, with a background in Advertising and Marketing from FIT, experience at an ad tech company, and now pursuing my master’s at Parsons, I’ve followed Daydream since its early days. I’ve been using the platform since it launched and believe that while it’s still developing, the concept behind it is strong and full of potential.

The pop-up leaned into the brand’s “dreamy” aesthetic, with futuristic lighting, soft tones, and a sense of digital minimalism. The atmosphere felt lively and social, more like a creative gathering than a traditional product demonstration; with a bar, a DJ, treats, and an aura photo booth adding a playful touch. A small clothing rack displayed a few items that complemented the brand’s visual identity.

Guests entered by scanning a QR code to sign up for Daydream, a clever and seamless way to drive engagement beyond the event itself. Upon leaving, visitors received a card listing the brand’s SoHo retail partners offering discounts and small gifts, a thoughtful gesture that extended the experience into the surrounding neighborhood.

As an early experiment in experiential retail, the pop-up offered a fun and visually cohesive introduction to Daydream’s world. It successfully built awareness and community around the brand. Looking ahead, there’s an exciting opportunity to deepen the connection between the technology and the in-person experience to help visitors not just see the brand, but feel the product in action. I’m excited to see what’s next for Daydream and how the brand continues to bring its imaginative vision to life.

-Dana Gallant, Retailgentic New York Field Reporter (for a day😁)