<h6>Facetune Portrait Artist Gretchen Andrew on How To Make Yourself Irreplaceable in the Era of AI </h6>
It’s early September in Berlin and digital artist and TFR guest collaborator Gretchen Andrew has a busy month. She’s a woman who is going places, in her career quest to see if the Internet can make her a famous artist, and in the most literal sense: She takes our Zoom call on foot, speed-walking to catch a glimpse of “Facetune Portraits,” the exhibition she’s showing at Berlin Art Week, before the sun goes down. 
For the brand launch of TFR, Andrew designed “Dreams to Reality,” a series of NFTs celebrating the first collection of footwear. Andrew splits her time between London and Park City and travels often (“Facetune Portraits” tours in Paris, Miami, San Francisco, New York and Dubai in the next six months), so the collaboration was a true fit, pairing an artist manifested from an experiment on the Internet with the ambitious mission to invent a luxury dress shoe with the insole of a sneaker. 
“For the digital collectible we decided to go for an animation that reflects Tori’s journey in making the shoes and also the literal and metaphorical journeys we hope the women who wear them go on, ‘from dreams to reality,’” Andrew says of the NFTs in collaboration with TFR’s eponymous founder, Tori Forbes-Roberts. Each of the three pieces of digital collectible art come with an animated, mixed-media illustration of a TFR shoe rendering becoming real, and an affirmation for the wearer.   
For the photo shoot for the collaboration, the artist, whose self-described style includes elevated sporty looks for “literally running from one thing to the next,” wore the Katharine loafer from the collection and “loved the way it felt both powerful and comfortable.” 
On Owning Your Likeness—And Your Power
As a format, NFTs mirror the footwear line’s unmatchable designs. (Any person who has limped in heels can appreciate that, like an elusive dress shoe that feels like walking on clouds, NFTs are unique because they can’t be replicated.) Andrew’s NFT collection for the brand ties into her larger body of work through themes of manifestation, which Andrew explains as her way of hacking the Internet. In her art project and career challenge to become a successful artist online, Andrew set out to use search engines to build associations between her and a famous artist, attacking the “subconscious of the Internet.” 
“I was using these very girly and frivolous ideas of vision boards and affirmations and manifestation, but I was using them in a technically structured way where they were changing Google search results,” Andrew says, pointing to the power a democratized Internet gives the end user. The results were effective. “They were manipulating these big tech algorithms.”
In her touring exhibition, Andrew’s featured collection of portraits employ custom robotics to apply the same face-tune filters that social media users try on to beautify themselves—but using physical paint instead of digital filters. 
Andrew’s robot distorts the faces and bodies of her subjects to expose “where the power is in how we represent ourselves,” by visualizing in the physical world what AI does to our likenesses in the online world. Like an alarm to remind us of our humanity, the work seems to tap the viewer on the shoulder and say, particularly to women: We have power, and we are giving it away to technology. 
“These tools seem like they're very self-empowering because they let us decide how we want to be represented. But then they go into this algorithmic system where someone else has determined that if you look this way, you're more likely to get exposure on these platforms,” Andrew says. 
“The sense of choice disappears quite quickly.”
Andrew has used the robotics to face-tune her own portraits as well as influencers and singers whose careers rely on social media—all of whom understand the pressure to aesthetically appeal to the algorithm while promoting their creative work. 
“I also know if I post a pretty photo, my next three photos will get more traction,” Andrew says, explaining the catch-22, where creators are on social media to work but “are rewarded if we look pretty.” 
What makes the artist’s commentary interesting on a meta level is the irony of using the very manipulation tools and technology she’s commenting on to make the art. After all, visibly distorting subjects’ physical personhood, rather than their online avatars, demonstrates the harm more starkly. So does Andrew see AI’s influence on the algorithms as perilous, or as a tool in her artist palette? While she believes it’s generally bad to normalize using AI tools and filters to manipulate reality, part of how she views her role as an Internet artist is to educate on how the technology works by taking it to an “absurd” level.
Andrew says the wisest course to chart is not to run from (or attempt to outrun) technology but to “rearrange our expectations and personal relationships to it.” She believes the future of AI will be “a lot like the way that capitalism is in our world where it's pervasive; it impacts everything; it changes our priorities.” 
“No creator can fully exist outside of the capitalist system. And that I think is going to be true for AI and, and artists as well.” 
On Making Yourself Unmatchable in the Future of Work 
Andrew spends a lot of time thinking about what makes us human—vulnerability, emotional capacity, desires and unfulfilled dreams—and reframing the negative connotations associated with our fragility as assets in the mixed universe of the future.
If using AI at work is as inevitable as it seems, Andrew’s advice for creators and high-performing women in industries where the future of work is changing is to try to remember you’re not competing with the AI. 
“There are a billion versions of AI and a billion bots and none of them are you.” 
According to the artist, the key is in your humanity, and being yourself. 
“Make yourself irreplaceable,” Andrew says. “Who are you that is different than any other person in the world? If you can believe that who you are matters even to yourself, then you’re the only you that will ever exist.” 
Andrew’s self-transformation and global success are proof of believing in your inner power, answering the question in her virtual experiment on how the algorithm manipulates us—and what happens when we manipulate back. 
As a creator who believes an artist’s job is being celebrated for their unique self, Andrew says, like an irreplaceable NFT, each unique human is inherently unmatchable. 
More than a decade after a false start in Silicon Valley using her degree in information systems and theory (she loved tech but hated her job), Andrew has found a way to use technology to show the public how it’s misused. 
“That was like 15 years ago. Here we are and I’m running around Berlin because I've got this big exhibition opening. ‘It's worked’ is kind of the point.” 
System hacked.

FaceTune portrait artist Gretchen Andrew on how to make yourself irreplaceable in the era of AI

Member Spotlight: Gretchen Andrew

<h6 data-mce-fragment="1">Each pair of TFR shoes is uniquely authenticated with a digital collectable.</h6>
Innovative footwear is an evolving industry marrying aesthetic with ease, which is why we’re so excited to pair each purchase of TFR shoes with a totally unique digital collectible.
TFR Digital Certificate of Authenticity
You may be asking: What business does a performance luxury shoe brand have to do with digital collectibles? There are already several fashion brands with a collectibles presence in the metaverse, from Gucci to Nike. We’re not doing this to follow their lead, though. We’re doing it our way, to provide a value proposition that’s true to our brand.
TFR’s approach to digital collectibles aligns nicely with our small-batch production. In our case, the digital art serves as a certificate of authenticity, making every TFR product uniquely collectable. The batch number, production quantity, and art series is provided at time of purchase. The batch number is also printed on the sole of the shoe.
For example, our initial production run (batch TFR001) is 250 pairs per style which means only 250 units of the digital art will be created or “minted.” At time of purchase, the digital art is minted (embedded with blockchain code), then deposited to your member account on The Formation*. You “own” it from here on out and can view, download, and/or share to your social media. If NFTs are your thing, you can also easily connect your crypto wallet and convert the art to an NFT with a single click.
Women Supporting Women in Digital Art
TFR, at its core, is a platform for women to help other women. We support women in the art world by commissioning female artists to create our digital collectibles. Our first digital collectibles were created by <a href="https://theformation.tfrshoes.com/blogs/inspired/articles/gretchenandrew">Gretchen Andrew</a>, a Park City neighbor with global recognition. Her series is called “Dreams Into Reality” and is a representation of TFR’s dream of creating a luxury shoe line coming to fruition. It also reinforces the power of positive words: What we say to ourselves to encourage us to keep pursuing those dreams––no matter how big or small.
Whether you’re an avid collector of digital currencies or just a lover of great shoes, this is the next generation where innovation meets style.
 
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<blockquote>
 *Digital Collectibles are a member benefit of The Formation, TFR’s community. <a href="https://tfrshoes.com/pages/sign-up">It’s free to join The Formation</a>, plus receive a limited edition digital collectible as a special welcome gift for new members.
</blockquote>

Each pair of TFR shoes is uniquely authenticated with a digital collectible.

Ever Received One-Of-A-Kind Artwork With Your Shoes? Start Here.

Marie Curie was the first woman in France to receive a PhD in Physics and the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize. She received the award for her work in Physics in 1903, an honor she shared with her husband and another colleague, Pierre Becquerel. She’s also the only person––male or female––to receive two Nobel Prizes in separate disciplines, with the second honor achieved in Chemistry, on her own, in 1911.
Her accomplishments are an inspiration for women who work in STEM, but the way she got there likely resonates with all of us. Marie was often described as “quiet, dignified, unassuming,” which sound to us like euphemisms for those likely to be underestimated. But what she really demonstrated was an uncommon intelligence, intensity, and will. She pushed herself hard to be the smartest and hardest worker in the room. She was someone who wanted to win on merit. Because good gets noticed, right? Not always.
Despite being the best and brightest, her contributions in the discovery of radioactivity that ultimately led to the first Nobel prize were still downplayed. Her skeptics among the French Academy of Sciences tried to exclude her from the award and give it to her two male research partners: her husband and Becquerel. Rightfully, her husband advocated for her and her role in their discoveries. Ultimately, the three shared the prize. A supportive partner, whether you work in the same field or not, continues to be a key attribute for many successful women today. 
Marie was also a working mom. She and her husband, Pierre, had two daughters together. Long before the days of daycare, society norms at the time would have her leave work to raise her children. Instead, her father-in-law stepped in to help raise the girls. She was heavily judged by those around her for not spending more time raising her children. Despite all of her professional achievements, the press tried to alter her story, emphasizing her role as mother, wife, and humanitarian, downplaying her role in science. Those were the roles that women were expected to play. More than 100 years later, these expectations are not entirely extinguished.
Thankfully, Marie overcame obstacles in her career and still found time to pave the way for others to follow her lead. She was a teacher, tutor, and mentor for girls in science, including her daughters. One of them followed in her mom’s footsteps, became a scientist, and also won a Nobel prize. Marie knew that our success as pioneers shouldn’t be defined by the destinations we reach, but by our ability to pave new paths for others on their way to bigger and better places.
 
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The trailblazing legacy of Marie Curie, the namesake of our Marie slingback

Be A Marie

<h6 dir="ltr" data-mce-fragment="1">What the early Olympic games have to do with our Helene ballet flat</h6>
Our version of a ballet flat gets its name from Hélène de Pourtalès, a pioneer for women in sports and an Olympic champion. As one of the first women to compete in the Olympic games, Hélène paved the way for today’s greats: Katie, Simone, Sha’Carri, Diana, Ilona and so many others.
It’s no secret that we endorse women’s empowerment and equality here at TFR, which means we were, obviously, glued to our televisions for much of July and August watching the Summer Olympics in Paris. For the first time in Olympic history, these 2024 games had an equal number of men and women competing. But it was the women who shone in these games, bringing home more than half of the medals for powerhouses like Team USA, China and Australia, and breaking many records along the way. 
It took a long time to get to gender parity. The first modern Olympics, held in Athens in 1896, had 241 athletes. And they were all males. That same year, it was announced that women would be allowed to compete in the next games to be held in Paris in 1900. There, women were allowed to compete in no more than five disciplines: golf, tennis, sailing, croquet, and equestrianism. Unsurprisingly, this was not welcomed news. But it opened the door for the first 20 women to compete in an Olympic games, including Hélène de Pourtalès.
Hélène’s sport was sailing, an interest ignited by her father when she was a child. She also had great female mentors in the sport, including Baroness Julie von Rothschild, whose passion and competitive spirit earned her the title of “fastest yachting lady” of her day. Hélène married Hermann de Pourtalès, a fellow yachtsman who shared her passion for sailing. They competed together in multiple regattas, eventually qualifying for the 1900 Olympics where they won two medals for Switzerland––a gold and silver––and Hélène became the first female Olympic Gold medalist on May 22, 1900, at the age of 32. 
Hélène's fame after the 1900 Games was short-lived, not least due to the prevailing negative sentiment among the press and rest of society about women in sport. She spent the rest of her life in anonymity. Hélène's passion, competitive spirit, and fearlessness in a place where she wasn’t fully welcome are an inspiration for the women of TFR.
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What the early Olympic games have to do with our Helene Ballet Flat

Sport Meets Sophistication: Introducing Helene

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<h6>The inspiration behind the shoe that started it all.</h6>
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Our inaugural loafer, the Katharine, gets its name from trailblazer and Washington Post luminary, Katharine Graham. Though Miss Graham was born into The Washington Post––her financier father having purchased it in 1933––it was under Katharine’s leadership that the face of journalism was forever changed.
Katharine was led to her position at the helm of The Washington Post when her husband, president and former publisher of The Washington Post, Phillip Graham, committed suicide. But it was not a seamless transition. In the 1970s, women in journalism, let alone positions of authority, were uncommon. While we celebrate Katharine’s headstrong leadership today, it took her years to find her voice in a male-dominated industry. 
Though she was one of the first female CEOs of a Fortune 500 company, as well as one of the first female publishers, it was Graham’s decision to publish the Pentagon Papers, effectively exposing the Watergate scandal and eventually leading to the resignation of Richard Nixon, that helped solidify the magnitude of her cultural contribution. What binds Katharine to the women who inspire TFR, however, is her determination, grace, and conviction.
The Katharine loafer is imbued with elegance and versatility, a nod to the woman who forever altered journalism, paving the way for female CEOs, publishers, and writers. You could say we’ve got big shoes to fill.
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The inspiration behind the shoe that started it all

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