INflux_MFA Thesis Process Book 2018 by EliseFang

INFLUX

JING (ELISE) FANG

PROJECT / MFA THESIS PROJECT JOURNEY

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CHAPTER 01 / INTRODUCTION

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PROJECT / MFA THESIS PROJECT JOURNEY

MFA Thesis by Jing (Elise) Fang Copyright ÂŠ 2018 Jing (Elise) Fang Written and Designed by Jing (Elise) Fang All Rights Reserved. No portion of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without the written consent of Jing (Elise) Fang. All respective work shown has been appropriately identified and credited. Any omissions found will be noted and corrected in subsequent editions. Project influx-project.net Contact elisfang.com elisefangdesign@gmail.com

INFLUX PROJECT / MFA THESIS PROJECT JOURNEY

Andrew Bolton Head Curator of The MET

JING (ELISE) FANG

“Technology could enable us to radicalize the definition of what fashion means.”

Contents

01 02 03

Introduction

Research

Design Strategies

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PROJECT / MFA THESIS PROJECT JOURNEY

Design Solutions

Moving Forward

04 05 06

Development

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CHAPTER 01 / INTRODUCTION

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Introduction

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BACKGROUND

THE QUESTIONS DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES

CHAPTER 01 / INTRODUCTION

THE PROBLEM

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CHAPTER 01 / INTRODUCTION

Technology is intervening fashion industry. With high speed of consumption, high demand for development, and the awareness of sustainability, the traditional fashion industry no longer fits consumers’ demands. A quest for technology intervention is challenging the traditional fashion industry. Fashion tech uses the technology of the future to redefine our relationships with online and offline stores, brands, consumers, publishers, social communities, and ourselves. Technology-based design such as wearable devices, smart clothing bring a new way of how we interact with our belongings. Fashion tech is leading the future.

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Technology is intervening fashion industry

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≤ BACKGROUND ≥

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â&#x2030;¤ THE PROBLEM â&#x2030;Ľ

Low widespread and long-term consumer adoption Although studies show increased demand for smart technology in the future, widespread and long-term consumer adoption is still low. Studies show a 30% return rate and more than half of U.S. consumers who have owned an activity tracker no longer use it after six months. One important barrier is that people lack information on fashion tech. Research show that 40% of people do not know what fashion tech products are available in the market, and the majority of people do not fully understand what fashion tech can do.

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≤ THE QUESTIONS ≥

What is the main issue in fashion tech?

How does fashion relate to tech and vice versa?

What does fashion tech mean?

What is the reality of fashion technology?

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How can we define this new rising field? Is fashion tech relate to human intelligence? Are the realms of fashion, technology are fusing in a inspiring and legitimate way?

Is fashion tech an inevitable route for us?

How far could fashion tech take us?

How will we be able to related to all the smartness in fashion tech in future?

Is fashion tech changing our way of viewing our belongings? Do we need to research fashion tech in order to make wiser decisions on future design?

Do we need to take lessons on getting along with our appliances?

What is the current research studying about fashion tech?

Is fashion tech able to produce meaningful communication with us?

Do we need to practice how to use our products? Is fashion tech only a refined product, or it can be used in every process of making the product? Are fashion tech changing how we interact with our clothing?

Is there any research done to prove that human needs more smart clothing? Apart from smartness, what else does fashion tech bring us?

Is there any evidence to support that fashion tech is invading consumers’ life?

Is fashion tech more fashionable, or more tech-savvy? Where do I find legitimate resources about fashion technology? What resources are currently available for people who are interested in this field?

What information do we need to find out the relationship between fashion and tech?

What kind of information are needed for research?

How would scientists respond to fashion tech, and what about designers?

What do people who do not like fashion tech think about?

How can designers synthesize available information in this field and then make informed decisions?

As a designer, how can I contribute to this ever-expanding field?

What are future directions for fashion technology?

What will fashion tech bring? Would fashion tech definitely happen or only probably happen? How will we be influenced by fashion tech?

If fashion tech is inevitable, what should we prepare for it?

What is the competition in this field? Will we eventually fight with what we create? Will it happen? The store enticing you to buy, but the personal assistant inside your mobile phone resisting?

What should we do with those unexpected things created by ourselves?

Does fashion tech ask us to evaluate our values beliefs on products? Why is it important to make information about fashion tech more accessible?

Do you trust your future belongs while they are capable of doing everything for you?

Do we all agree that being uninformed about fashion tech will cause misunderstandings? Why is knowing about fashion tech important?

Why do I think making information about fashion tech more accessible is essential to design?

Is fashion tech a researchable field?

Are there any current problems in fashion tech?

CHAPTER 01 / INTRODUCTION

Do users need be experts in this field in order to make wise design decisions?

Will fashion tech eventually change what we are used to now?

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Apart from designers, and engineers, who are also involved in fashion tech?

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How can we be sure the designs of the fashion tech work for us?

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“Wearables need to be soft—and not just on the body—but also attract an emotional response.” Billie Whitehouse Art director and Designer at Wearable Experiments

Influx helps narrow the information gap, grow the nascent filed and create a network of early adopters of fashion technology. It embraces innovation, collaboration, and connection.

CHAPTER 01 / INTRODUCTION

Since many barriers associated with widespread fashion tech adoption stem from lack of understanding, better educated consumers will be an important factor in expanding this market. I propose to design informative and engaging materials to motivate curious new users to become regular customers.

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Informative and engaging materials that motive curious new users to become regular customers

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â&#x2030;¤ DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES â&#x2030;Ľ

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Research

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THE CONNECTIONS

THE INTERVIEW VIDEO PROPOSAL THE SURVEY FASHION TECH MEETUPS

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THE EVENT

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≤ THE CONNECTIONS ≥

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POWER

The connections open my mind and explore my topic from different perspectives. I tried to find connections based on various categories such as environmental impact, economic impact, political impact, cultural impact, personal impact, and additional unique connections. People, places, products, ideas related to fashion tech were explored. Various key words show the most important connections. The goal is to investigate my topic in a divergent and well-rounded way.

INNOVATION

SMART

BALANCE

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CHAPTER 02 / RESEARCH

INCLUSIVE SENSITIVE SPEED

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In order to get more insights and inspirations, I’ve invited young people who are my target audience, such as fashion designers and engineers. I’ve also invited people from other industries, such as education, illustration, music, and financial.

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≤ THE EVENT ≥

This event was host as an informative meet-up because my topic is providing information on fashion tech. I designed an invitation, an event checklist as the planning guide, and a fashion magazine that reports this event. Other supporting materials such as informative posters, name badge, photo booth frame were also designed.

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Participants

CHAPTER 01 / INTRODUCTION

Fashion Technology Information Event

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“I’m interested in Fashion Tech, tell me more.”

“How much do the high-tech fashion products cost?” Even, 25, Fashion Designer

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Cara, 24, Sales

“Are those fashion tech products durable?” Zoe, 27, Graduate Student (Fashion Design)

“Are there any safety issues in wearable tech?” Kiki, 30, ESL Instructor

“I’m very interested in smart textiles and 3D printing.” Ying, 26, Fashion Designer

“Do they have side-effects?” Jason, 31, Product Designer

INFLUX JING (ELISE) FANG

“I think fashion tech can be very popular among young people like us.” Nico, 26, Graduate Student (Fashion Design)

Andy, 32, Entrepreneur

“I really like the responsive wallet. I think companies should let more people know what they are making.” Jiyea, 28, UX Designer

“Who will have access to all the information generated by high-tech products?” Sun, 29, UX Designer

“It’s really exciting! ” Ken, 28, Software Engineer

CHAPTER 02 / RESEARCH

“I think those (fashion tech) products should more focus on functionality rather than how they look.”

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≤ THE INTERVIEW ≥

Evelyn Zoubi Data Analytics Founder of Glanse.co Organizer, SF Fashion Retail & Big Data Meetup

Interview Questions

Interview Insights

1. What aspects of fashion technology attracts you at the first place? Why did you choose this field?

In my interview with Evelyn, she talked about current fashion industry, big data, and her experience using big data in her own fashion tech start-up—Glanse. She thought that demand in fashion tech is ever-growing, the way of leveraging the data is a big issue in fashion industry. Finding out what people’s really needs are is crucial in growing fashion industry as well as reducing waste caused by retailer overstock. She also indicated that today’s consumers need a more seamless experience and more excitements.

2. How do you define fashion technology? 3. How have you seen this field evolved? 4. What’s your vision on fashion technology? 5. How do you see fashion technology in five years? 6. How do you connect with other fashion tech professionals? 7. Instagram and all of these blog platforms have been so revolutionary in the fashion world over the past 10 years, it just seems like fashion really does embrace technology on its end. Do you have any ideas about the next big app? 8. What things do you think are needed to promote fashion technology? 9. What are the obstacles do you see that prevent fashion technology from an average person? 10. In which ways do yo think fashion technology can be truly integrated to people’s life?

When talking about her mobile app—Glanse, Evelyn explained the swipe left and right navigation is designed for keeping people longer on this app, and only one image showed on screen maximizes user experience. Zoubi, Evelyn. Personal interview. 10 March 2017.

INFLUX CHAPTER 02 / RESEARCH

Evelyn Zoubi Founder of Glanse.co

JING (ELISE) FANG

“Today’s consumer need more seamless experiences and more excitements.”

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≤ VIDEO PROPOSAL ≥

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In order to learn more about my target audience, I sent out a survey to help me get more insights about their thoughts and preferences on fashion technology. The total respondents are 70 people in the age of 20-35 young professionals and students.

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â&#x2030;¤ THE SURVEY â&#x2030;Ľ

Participants (70)

Age 18-20 (4.35%) Age from 21-29 (85.51%) Age from 30-39 (10.14%)

Level of Interest in Fashion Tech

Extremely interested

Very interested

Moderately interested

Sightly interested

Not at all interested

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

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CHAPTER 01 / INTRODUCTION

Social media, website and physical store are three most popular ways to attract people to know more about fashion technology. Survey respondents

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Survey Responses

17 or younger 18-20 21-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60 or older

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Yes No

57.14% 42.83%

Q3. Do you own any wearable technology? (If answer is “Yes”, go to Q4) Yes, multiple items Yes, one No

12% 40% 48%

Q4. What devices/brands do you have? iWatch Jawbone Fitbit Smart Watch/ Moto 360 Casio Watch Fitness bracelet USB necklace

54% 2% 22% 2% 2% 11% 7%

Q5. What types of features most interest you in a product? Fitness Health Location awareness None Others (please specify) Notifications, appearance, integration with other devices)

66% 62% 23% 6% 14%

Brand name Price Sustainability Aesthetics/styles Functionality Quality Materials used

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Q7. Are you willing to purchase clothing or accessories with tech features in the near future? Unlikely Somewhat likely Neutral Likely Very likely

5% 20% 21% 45% 9%

Q8. How interested are you in fashion tech? Extremely interested Very interested Moderately interested Slightly interested Not at all interested

9% 21% 56% 11% 3%

Q9. How much do you know about fashion tech? A great deal A lot A moderate amount A little Nothing at all

1% 4% 30% 49% 16%

Q7. How would you like to know information about fashion technology? Website Physical store Informational events Social media Meetups Others (please specify) Magazines

64% 46% 21% 69% 11% 6%

CHAPTER 02 / RESEARCH

Q2. Have you ever heard of “fashion technology” or any related terms before?

Q6. When considering fashion technology purchase, please rate the following factors from most important to least important. (1-most important, 7-least important)

JING (ELISE) FANG

Q1. What is your age?

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In order to get more insider insights about the current fashion technology industry, I participated into various fashion tech related meetups.

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≤ FASHION TECH MEETUPS ≥

Based on my own experience of attending fashion tech related meetups, and interview with Evelyn, the organizer of SF Fashion Retail & Big Data Meetup, there is a big gap between fashion and tech industry. Fashion companies, retailers and designers lack awareness and knowledge about integrating technology and data into their current business, while technologists lack education on fashion trends, aesthetics, etc.

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THESIS MATERIALS

C H A P T E R 0 3 / D E S I G N S T R AT E G I E S

STRATEGIES

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Design Strategies

INSIGHTS

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The following are 18 insights that I have investigated from research, articles, survey, interviews, as well as my own experience of attending various fashion technology related meetups and events. I use quotes, imagery and infographics to present those insights.

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≤ INSIGHTS ≥

1. The majority of people are interested in fashion technology.

10.Cross-category shopping is what consumers want.

2. Leveraging data is crucial in creating a better user experiences.

11. Privacy is a big concern with fashion technology.

3. There is a big gap between fashion industry and technology industry. 4. People need to know how to make sense of data generated by fashion technology. 5. Positive mobile experience has a positive impact on mobile shopping. 6. Fashion tech needs to be seamless, and more integrated into people’s life.

12. People have become sensitive about how they spend their time and what inspire them to do so. 13. Aesthetics is a crucial factor in adopting wearable tech products. 14. There’s no platform for people to both get information about fashion technology and make purchase. 15. Widespread and long-term consumer adoption of fashion technology products is low.

7. Technology helps bring a more sustainable future of fashion.

16. Both tech-savvy consumers and professionals need cuttingedge content.

8. Brand loyalty is a deciding factor in purchasing fashion tech products.

17. Social media is an effective way of communicating brands to target consumers.

9. People need soft, stylish and sexy wearables.

18. There are no industry standards or guidelines for fashion technology.

INFLUX CHAPTER 01 / INTRODUCTION

Bruce Sterling American science fiction author known for his novels and work on the Mirrorshades anthology

JING (ELISE) FANG

“When wearables arrive, I hope they’re Italian. If you’ve gotta wear the damn things all the time, they ought to at least look elegant.”

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Project Goal Bridge the information gap, grow the nascent market of fashion technology, and create a network of early adopters of fashion technology.

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â&#x2030;¤ STRATEGIES â&#x2030;Ľ

Target Audience Young professionals between 20-35 years old with expandable incomes.

Three key insights The right side shows three most important insights among all 18 insights. Based on those insights, strategies and deliverables were explored.

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Insight 03 Professionals There is a big gap between fashion industry and technology industry.

Strategy 01 Build a purchasing catalog with relevant information about fashion tech products.

Strategy 02 Provide savvy consumers with insider information about fashion tech, while offer professionals a platform or a public face to share insider insights.

Strategy 03 Create an opportunity for insider networking, face-to-face communications, and more connections.

Deliverable 01 An online retailer that provides information about fashion tech products, current news and trends, purchasing guide, order and delivery services, etc.

Deliverable 02 A quarterly publication that engages others in a platform about fashion, technology, and design. It will include featured reviews about fashion tech products, interviews of designers, experimental labs, start-ups, and also blog for products reviews and users engagement.

Deliverable 03 A platform that provides an opportunity for professionals to network, connect, and collaborate.

Marketing Materials (campaigns) Website Equivalent: Women Wear Daily + Bloomingdales

Publication Equivalent: Wired magazine

Application Equivalent: Slack / Fiverr / Upwork

C H A P T E R 0 3 / D E S I G N S T R AT E G I E S

Insight 02 Savvy Consumers + Professionals Both tech-savvy consumers and professionals need cutting-edge content.

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Insight 01 Everyday Consumers Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no platform for people to both get information about fashion tech and make purchase.

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â&#x2030;¤ THESIS MATERIALS â&#x2030;Ľ

Online Retail

Publication

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One publication (48pp) + Three covers

Events Newsfeed Trends Reviews

Product catalog

A collection of insider information

Home Shop

Trends

Events

Gear

Latest

Upcoming

News

New

Marketing Materials (3 posters)

Fashion & People Current news Interviews Opinions

Tech & Gear New products Reviews

Lifestyle Brands collaborations {eg. Levis X Google)

Art & Culture Fashion Photography

A Project Collaboration App Discover talents with different skills / A list of people Collaboration Opportunities / A list of projects

Retail Store

Network Find connections Discuss collaboration details Check progress Set milestones Review talents

Talents Work samples Message A list of project collaborations Projects information

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Development

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VISUAL STYLE DEVELOPMENT

APP DEVELOPMENT MAGAZINE DEVELOPMENT POSTER DEVELOPMENT IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT

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WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT

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In order to keep a cohesive visual language of Influx, I started to explore various visual directions, sketch logos, develop brand guidelines,etc.

Visual Directions 01

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â&#x2030;¤ VISUAL STYLE DEVELOPMENT â&#x2030;Ľ

Visual Directions 02

The following are four initial visual directions, the feedback I received from my instructors and peers were combining four of them, and explore a cohesive visual style that fits my topic fashion technology.

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Visual Directions 04

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Visual Directions 03

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Website Sitemap The Influx website works as a online store front for Influx. It also contains various information about fashion technology, such as the latest news and trends, related fashion tech events, the Influx app, the Influx project credits, and contact.

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≤ WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT ≥

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Header HOMEPAGE

SHOP

APP

EVENTS

MAGAZINE

ABOUT

Featured Story

Price (sort by)

Click-able Prototype

Upcoming Events

E-magazine

Project Intro

Latest Trends

Color (sort by)

Walkthrough Video

Explore More

Magazine Intro

Contact Info

Archive

Size (sort by)

Section Intro

Purchase

Footer EMAIL CONNECT

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TRENDS

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Round 01 Based on the previous visual directions, I kept exploring the initial visual style for the website. Those are the three visual styles for the landing page of the website. The third one was chosen to be further developed.

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Round 02

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Round 03

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Round 04

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The Influx app helps working professionals find potential talents to collaborate on various projects. The initial round of design is exploring different user flows based on the user journey, and then further define each section and related features and actions.

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â&#x2030;¤ APP DEVELOPMENT â&#x2030;Ľ

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Introduction (5 min)

The Future (10 min)

Give out release form and get signature. Get recording equipment ready. Introduce who am I and why am I conducting this interview. Note: Ask about experiences, stories, and future direction.

10. What could this be? What would you like it to have? To do? What would that make possible for you?

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App User Interview Questions

Overview (5 min) 1. Can you tell me a little about yourself—what you do, hobbies, etc.? Note: specifically learn more about his/her role in fashion and/or tech. What inspires/motivates them to be a part of it? What are the biggest challenges that they are experiencing?) 2. How do you remain up-to-date with the industry you work?

Exploring Specifics (10 min) 3. What’s your experience associated with fashion tech, if you have any? (Have you ever purchased any fashion tech related products?) 4. Have you ever participated in any fashion or tech related events? Conference? Or anything else? 5. How do you feel about it? Is there anything you like or dislike, why? Note: Get a general picture of interviewee’s past experiences related to the subject matter 6. Do you know any collaborations between fashion and tech? If do, can you give me some examples? 7. Can you describe the successes or failures of each and why? Note: Understand what that person values in the collaborations and where there are opportunities for improvement) 8. Have you personally tried to bring them together? 9. What do you think can be done to better support fashion and tech industry? Services? Experience?

11.If I had a company that could create anything you wanted related to fashion tech, what would you ask me to make? What else? Why? Note: Focus on products, services, experiences, environments, etc. 12. How do you see fashion and tech in the next 5 years? What do you think will be different? The same? Why?

Wrap-up (5 min) 13. Is there anything we haven’t talked about? Thank you for your participation.

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App User Interview Insights

It is difficult for professionals to find valuable information and resources to help them collaborate with each other.

Young working professionals think networking is a great way to find more opportunities.

Professionals in both fashion and technology industry think it is challenging to work together due to their different mindsets and ways of thinking and working.

Professionals think information should be easy to understand, concise and easy to access.

03 Professionals are willing to collaborate on projects if any relevant opportunities may arise.

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App User Interview Details

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Personally, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m really interested in fashion tech products that promote a healthy lifestyle, and products that can keep me motivated.

Michelle J.Hsu UX/UI Designer at Mediatex, Taiwan, China

Mediatex is a Taiwanese fabless semiconductor company that provides system-on-chip solutions for wireless communications. Michelle usually reads blog articles and attends different events to stay up-to-date to the latest news. When talking about fashion tech collaborations, Michelle says she hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t purchased any fashion tech related products, but she has done some research in AR for clothing. Personally, she is really interested in fashion tech products that promote a healthy lifestyle, and products that can let her motivated and work out more or live healthily. In terms of attending fashion tech related events, Michelle prefers events that are inspiring and unique, especially could give her memorable experiences rather than just a dry talk. She mentions a gallery show she attends at Pace gallery in Palo Alto last year. She likes highly interactive experience she had there and thinks it is a wonderful example for the kind of events she would like to attend.

She personally has never thought of bringing fashion and tech together. For her, fashion tech is a vague concept and is hard to think as something workable even though herself studied industrial design for her undergraduate. She is more interested in lifestyle rather than those highly advanced garments or gadgets.

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Product Desginer at Leanplum San Francisco, CA

Jason is a product design at Leanplum, which is a mobile marketing platform that drives app engagement & ROI. He stays up-to-date by reading articles, participating in various meet-ups, social events, etc. Generally speaking, those events are not interesting, they are more like company events rather than social events. A lot of times, the contents are not very helpful or new, or inspiring, but the good thing is to get to know more people. He thinks Apple watch is a successful product of fashion tech collaborations because it is stylish while functions well. He likes to keep it everyday. A lot of times, he thinks fashion tech collaborations are not very successful because a lot of products are hard to relate to his everyday life, and does not offer very good experience. He also mentioned he did not know very much about other fashion tech products. He is interested in knowing more about fashion tech products, and are also interested in attending related events if they are actually showing the products, and explain how technology are used. He wants to see, touch, and feel the real product. Jason mentioned fashion tech really focuses on fashion, rather than tech. It should start from fashion, and combining with tech.

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Jason Tang

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I think the future of fashion tech is promising while still needs time. Fashion tech should be more related to peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life, and give people positive experiences while still has solid functions.

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I think networking and collaborations between fashion and tech are crucial in making something disruptive.

Sharon Murphy Graduate Director of Fashion Merchandising, School of Fashion, Academy of Art University San Francisco, CA

Sharon Murphy spent over 25 years in the apparel industry including management positions in sourcing, manufacturing, product development and fashion retailing. She worked for Esprit de Corp, as well as for Jessica McClintock, Inc. She also continues to consult with Venice Collaborative to source textiles and related materials for architects and builders of residential projects in Venice, CA. Sharon sees fashion tech differently. She sees technology as a tool of providing insightful and meaningful user data thus can better guides fashion industry. She is not interested in the actual wearable products, rather she is interested in how technology can advance the decision-making process in fashion industry. She thinks the fashion industry will be greatly impacted by the advancement of technoloy in the next 5 years, thus she highly encourages every fashion designer to keep an eye on the latest technology. She thinks networking and collaborations between fashion and tech is a crucial step in making something disruptive.

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Director of Fashion Merchandising, School of Fashion, Academy of Art University San Francisco, CA

As a director who has many years of experience in fashion industry, especially in marketing, Jinah thinks that fashion tech is a broad concept. She mentions the differences between wearable fashion and wearable tech. For her, wearable fashion is more about the collaborations between those big names, such as Fitbit X Tory Burch, Apple with Nike, etc. Those stuff are not really disruptive rather, they are more like borrowing big names. Whereas, wearable tech has a boarder view, those are gadgets that are more technology focused, such as Fitbit, smart house, smart technology in healthcare, etc. She also mentions that smart textile is a different story. She always attends different conferences and events to check out the latest news inside industry. She finds products that promotes a certain lifestyle is what consumers need. She thinks current collaborations between fashion and tech is not that disruptive, a lot of those collaborations are really creations between big names in both industry, not really functional. She believes more disruptive collaborations involve professionals with different skills and experiences from various industries, not limited to only fashion and tech industry.

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Jinah Oh

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Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all about leading people towards a more balanced lifestyle and see what technology can bring.

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App User Journey The following is the user journey of finding talents for collaborations. The key steps were explored, under each key step were the actions users went through in this journey.

Looking for Collaboration

Connect

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App Sections The Influx app includes six sections, each section has several features and corresponding actions.

HOME Features List of skills categories Recommendations Actions Select a category

SEARCH Features Skills Work samples Experience level Project details (time, requirements, etc) Actions Search by key words

WORK Features Hire a professional Project agreements Project progress Actions Add / edit / sign project agreements Upload in-progress works

REVIEW Features Review Comment Actions Leave a review Rate works / professionals

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Features Skill owner profile Message Connect Actions Connect with potential candidates Chat / Video-call / Voice-call

PROFILE Features Personal info Projects Payment info Actions Edit profile See past and current projects Edit / delete payment info

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MESSAGE

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App User Testing In order to access the overall usability of the Influx app, while refining and developing the design solution, I conducted several user testing. The main focus is evaluating the general user flow of the app, whether users could gain an understanding about fashion technology and complete each task on the app easily. Two users participated into this testing, all of them are in the age of 25 to 30, and have basic knowledge of fashion technology and are interested in buying fashion tech related products in the future.

Nicole Sun Previous Fashion Designer at Semir, Hangzhou, China | MFA in Fashion Merchandising, Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA

David Li Software Engineer at INXX Hong Kong, China

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It is better to show work samples rather than people’s profile pictures in the category part.

Showing how to use this app and what to expect on the home page would better guide the users.

Payment part should be adapted or removed. It is strange to call collaboration if it needs to pay.

People do not like apps that require sign-in before they try it first.

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App User Testing Insights

03 The search part needs clarification. It is not clear to choose a category.

“I think the welcome and walkthrough at the beginning is a good way to grab users’ attentions .” Yuting Sun, App interview participant

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TONE & VOICE

TYPOGRAPHY

Simple Be concise, use familiar words and avoid extraneous information.

Headline

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UI Style Guide 01

Professional Use formal language and create trust among customers. Friendly Talk to customers in a friendly and warm tone.

Font: Apercu

Subhead Font: Apercu

Bor aspis dem quis consed quates asim ese cusam ium quaecum quosandebit, illamus erit, cuptatus a ventur, Xerit ut pre ne cum renimo. This is a sample of text link.

COLORS

POSSIBLE BUTTON

CONNECT RGB 160/0/242 #A000F2

RGB 0/234/232 #00EAE8

Connect

RGB 89/99/107 #59636B

RGB 206/215/223 #CED7DF

CONNECT

Connect RGB 243/248/251 #CF4F7F9

INFLUX

GRAPHIC ELEMENTS

JING (ELISE) FANG

ICON

Sara Smith Graphic Design

Web Design

Sara Smith San Francisco, CA Business Development

Digital Marketing

Technologies

Software Development

50%

Complete! Branding

Fashion Design

Information

Testing

Connection

Product Design

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TONE & VOICE

TYPOGRAPHY

Simple Be concise, use familiar words and avoid extraneous information.

Headline

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UI Style Guide 02

Professional Use formal language and create trust among customers. Friendly Talk to customers in a friendly and warm tone.

Font: Blender

Subhead Font: Blender

Bor aspis dem quis consed quates asim ese cusam ium quaecum quosandebit, illamus erit, cuptatus a ventur, Xerit ut pre ne cum renimo. This is a sample of text link.

COLORS

NAVIGATION Carrier

RGB 89/99/107 #59636B

RGB RGB RGB 150/152/153 206/215/223 92/0/235 #959798 #CED7DF #5C00EB

9:41 AM

100%

Title

ACTION

Button

Send

Button

Send

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GRAPHIC ELEMENTS

PHOTOGRAPHY STYLE ICON

ER AJ

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Create opportunity by connecting professionals from both fashion and tech industry to each other.

CONNECTION

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App Design Principles

COLLABORATION Work with joint efforts and bring everyone together to deliver better results.

TRUST Always being accountable and trustworthy. Foster a culture where people are always asking ready to clean up confusions and get work done.

SIMPLICITY Create simple and straightforward solution is crucial.

FLUIDITY Create a sense of continuity, and tell a compelling story. Put people first before technology.

INFLUX

Ifx

Ifx flux

flux

Ifx

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App Icon

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≤ MAGAZINE DEVELOPMENT ≥

Cover Design

INFLUX

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Can’t and Won’t

Fashion designer Ying Gao created these dresses to explore the aesthetic of false neutrality using a living system. yinggao.ca

emerging fashions + technologies

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Contents

TOOBACC DOCK

D E PA R T ME NT S

FE AT UR E D

When Chemistry Meets Contour

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INS PIR ATIO N

Decoding ’Manux X Machina’

Condom Material Becomes Sportswear

The key players unpack the meaning of its latest exhibit on the evening of the Met Gala.

Pauline van Dongen has created experimental athletics apparel from the same material that Skyn uses to make its condoms.

Laura Bowker’s clothes respond to environment and feelings.

PHO TO GR APHY IDE A

‘Wardrobe Snacks’ Explores The Elegance Of Eating

That doesn’t mean that Bowker abandoned fashion altogether. Quite the contrary: while still at university she designed a jacket dyed with a special ink that changed color, from yellow to black, according to pollution levels. After some years spent in consultancy, Bowker finally decided to create The Unseen, a fashion house whose aim is “fusing

scientific study and creativity”. “It just tries to visualize unseen things in the environment, with humans, everywhere,” Bowker said. She still uses her chemistry skills to think up clothes and art objects that transform depending on the environment. One of them, for example, is a fabric whose colors change according to the surrounding pressure. “This compound was originally thought for Formula One—to track aerodynamics by measuring the friction across the surface of cars in real time,” Bowker explained. A skullcap encrusted with over 4,000 “chameleonic gemstones” can show different color patterns according to the temperature of the wearer’s head. Bowker said. “If you’re sad, it will show blues and red , if you’re chilled it will be white.”

12 Top Tech Milestones With fashion tech becoming more prevalent and relevant with every season and fashion week, we thought we’d take a look back at its recent history.

Acollaboration between photographer Kelsey McClellan and art director Michelle Maguire.

When Lauren Bowker was studying textiles in Manchester, she fell badly ill. When she got out of the hospital, she realized that she was done with catwalks, and that she wanted to create something with more meaning. That’s when she started studying chemistry. “I wanted to know how to produce material that could speak for you,” Bowker said. “A material that could give you an early warning system if you get ill, to give you an indication of how your spine or your muscles are performing.”

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When Chemistry Meets Coutour Laura Bowker’s clothes respond to environment and feelings.

TE CHNO L O GY

Is Fashion Ready for the AI Revolution?

FAS HIO N

L IF E S TYL E

Lacan’s ‘Mirror Stage’

The Jacket of the Future

To be truly useful, usable and desirable for people, we’ll see the following future improvements in wearable tech products.

It’s still early days, but the jacket offers a glimpse into what might happen when we start connecting our clothes to the internet.

Artificial intelligence can help businesses align supply and demand, scale personal service and design better products.

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Our mirror image completes our identity

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Lacan’s Mirror Stage

signifies Lacan’s idea that our mirror image completes our identity. The designer also implements color theory to conceptualize the ‘mirror stage’, taking dark bluish violet and lucent yellow, which mixed together present gray–a key color used in the collection to symbolize the polished surface of a mirror.

London-based fashion designer Leonie Barth works to create womenswear and accessories. Her collection “ICH IST EIN ANDERER” was designed with human science as inspiration, focusing on Jacques Lacan’s theory of the “mirror stage”. Originally from the German city of Gütersloh, Barth studied at the University of Applied Sciences in Bielefeld, presenting ‘ICH IST EIN ANDERER’ as her graduate collection. A series of ten outfits visually interpret Lacan’s ‘mirror stage’ concept, which divides the human psyche into three intertwined orders: the imaginary, the symbolic and the real.

Barth’s use of holographic textiles is also mindful of the Greek root word ‘holos’, meaning ‘whole’: the notion of wholeness and completion is significant to the mirror stage. The designer explains, “Clothes develop through the reflection of their own image. Missing parts are added and existing parts are reflected to create completeness.” Ever since she can remember, Leonie Barth has always been fascinated by designing and being creative. Moreover, she has been always interested in philosophy and social sciences. Leonie Barth

Lacan recognized the significance of mirrors in the creation of self-consciousness, and Barth translates his theory into expressions made possible through clothing. Utilizing mirrors in her designs to physically reflect symmetrical illusions of the collection’s ‘halved’ elements, Barth Photography by Lucie Marsmann IS S UE 0 1

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Top Tech Milestones In Recent Fashion History

Condom Material Becomes Sportswear Photo: Courtesy of Iris Van Herpen

Photo: Inez and Vinoodh, Vogue, April 2015

Photo:Courtesy of Dior

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Printed Perfection Iris van Herpen unveils her first 3-D-printed designs, created in collaboration with London-based architect Daniel Widrig and printed by Materialise. Each piece from this first collection took approximately seven days of around-the-clock printing to make.

Head Games DVF goes geek-chic, sending Google Glass down the Spring 2013 runway and taking her finale walk wearing a pair alongside Google’s Sergey Brin.

Out of This World Entirely designed in-house, Dior experiments with the use of virtual reality, introducing Dior Eyes in select boutiques, which captures a 3-D world behind the scenes of its show.

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Robot Fashion as performance art is exemplified to the max at Alexander McQueen’s Spring 1999 show, where the designer employs robots to spraypaint a dress worn by model Shalom Harlow in shades of black and yellow as she spins on a revolving platform.

Shape-Shifters Form meets function at Hussein Chalayan’s Spring 2007 show, as the designer uses microchips to reveal garments that mold and unfold by erasing seams to take on new forms and shapes at the end of the catwalk.

Watch This Way Topshop introduces a virtual reality tour from its London flagship store with specially commissioned Oculus Rift 3-D headsets (the ones bought by Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg for $2 billion) that enable shoppers to see its catwalk in real time.

Dutch fashion designer Pauline van Dongen has created experimental athletics apparel from the same material that contraceptives brand Skyn uses to make its condoms.

Photo:Courtesy of Snapchat

Sanp Happy In a matter of seconds, Gucci gives a sneak peek of its Pre-Fall 2016 collection via Snapchat, leaving a lasting impression—no filter required.

Pauline Van Dongen’s proposal re-appropriates the company’s Skynfeel material, which is made from polyisoprene—an alternative to latex that is claimed to provide the same strength but with a softer, more natural feel. It is used to create thinner condoms for increased sensitivity, and is safe to be worn by those with latex allergies. Currently the only brand that makes polyisoprene condoms, Skyn asked Van Dongen to take the material “out of the bedroom and onto the running track”.

2016_ The Drone Zone Drones hover high above Fendi’s Fall 2014 show. Turns out a Karl Lagerfeld furry monster charm looks cute and chic from every angle.

Virtually Speaking Chromat’s Becca McCharen places VR glasses on every seat at her Fall 2016 show so guests can resee the collection at home again and again.

best-known for her wearable tech projects that include garments with integrated solar panels and illuminated running gear. “No matter how you mould it or shape it, it’s going to feel great on your body,” she continued. “We asked ourselves, can we create an ultra-lightweight garment and mould

The result is the Skynfeel Apparel jumpsuit, designed specifically for long-jumpers to help increase their aerodynamics and fly further through the air. “What struck me about the Skenfeel material is that it’s super-elastic, super-lightweight and super-strong all at once,” said the designer, who is Photo: Marcio Madeira / firstVIEW

Photo: firstVIEW

Photo: Courtesy of Topshop

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Photo: Steven Klein, Vogue, August 2015

Photo: Alas Mert, Piggot Marcus

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It’s still early days, but the jacket offers a glimpse into what might happen when we start connecting our clothes to the internet.

The Levi’s Commuter Trucker Jacket with Jacquard by Google Abstract road

Right now, the Jacquard Jacket doesn’t do much more than that. You can change tracks in your music with a swipe, or to count things like the miles you ride or the birds you see on your way home. The jacket was designed with bike commuters in mind, and the functionality follows suit. “This jacket doesn’t need to do everything,” says Paul Dillinger, Levi’s VP of Innovation. Neither he nor Levi’s care about “wearables.” Instead, Dillinger wants to make this the perfect jacket for bicyclists: There’s a longer, butt-crack covering back; storm cuffs that keep out the whipping wind; and the connected gestures that make it easier and safer to change your music or get directions on the road. Of course, connectivity comes with some compromises. You’ll have to take off the tag and charge it via USB about every two weeks if you wear it just to commute, or every few days if you’re the all-denim-all-day type. The left

cuff is noticeably heavier and stiffer than the right, thanks to all the electronics inside. Also, PSA: You can’t wash the tag. On the plus side, if the battery dies, your jacket still does a good job being a jacket. For the most part, nobody would even notice the difference. THE JACKET Tapping on your wrist won’t exactly revolutionize bike commuting. You can ride with your phone in your pocket and voice navigation on already, or with a handlebar navy gadget. But the Jacquard Jacket is just the beginning for this technology, which began as a project within Google’s ATAP research division to find a way to integrate conductive yarn into clothes without needing new equipment or processes. Google plans to work with many other companies on many other garments; Levi’s, which knows denim inside and out, made for an ideal first partner.

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page 40 OMA designs The Met’s Manus x Machina fashion exhibition page 40 A Detail of the 3D-printed dress at Manus x Machina Exhibition page 41 A Detail of the 3D-printed Bahai Dress at Manus x Machina Exhibition

We have a wonderful past to draw from, but we’re also very interested in moving into the future. ever present not only thanks to the company’s representatives— including Ive, chief executive Tim Cook and Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs—but in the number of guests wearing Apple watches: at least 10 women by our count, and likely more men, although theirs were hidden by jacket sleeves. To be sure, the Apple Watch has attracted its fair share of naysayers, though its success is difficult to gauge with certainly as Apple doesn’t break out sales of the device in its public disclosures. But the company’s sponsorship of Manus x Machina comes at a tough time for Apple, which recently reported a year-over-year decline in quarterly revenue for the first time since 2003. While Ive declined to discuss the future of the Apple Watch directly, he was willing to speak more broadly about his general approach when it comes to the progression of a product. “It’s quite interesting that if you look back at the first generation of the iPod or the Phone—what happens

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in the next two, three, four years is dramatic. You’d be very surprised about some of the things you would absolutely assume that the first Phone did and it didn’t have,” he said. “Of course, this is a new category for us, one that we think is such a natural one because we think in a very authentic way. It’s not us being opportunistic in the way our competitors are. It’s not us thinking, ‘Well, this is a growing category.’ That couldn’t be further from the truth.”

and technology remains to be seen. “We have a wonderful past to draw from, but we’re also very interested in moving into the future,” Wintour said, regarding what brands like Vogue, Apple and Hermès-another Apple collaborator—have in common. “From our own point of view at Condé Nast, I think that we have always believed in tradition and quality and reaching out to audiences in as many ways as we can and now, through companies like Apple, we just have so many ways to do it.”

Wintour’s brand, Vogue, and Apple certainly have quite a bit in common. They are often worshipped, occasionally reviled, and seemingly tend to operate under the predilection that the consumer doesn’t know what she wants before she wants it. But in recent cycles, Apple and Vogue have both opened up.

For any brand, iteration is essential to staying ahead in today’s ever-changing world. “I personally love products when they’re at this level of maturity,” Ive said of the Apple Watch. “You know we can’t talk about future products, but if you look at what we typically do is that we don’t make something and stop.” What Manus x Machina shows it that this has long been the case for many of the world’s most influential clothing designers.

For Apple, this has meant creating an Apple Watch in a way that can be personalized. For Vogue, it’s meant embracing the Internet and creating more varied content to serve a broader audience online. But whether their brand power will keep them on top through the next cycle of media

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A network for early adopters of fashion technology

Junya Watanabe creates a trench coat which also doubles as a phone charger.

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That doesn’t mean that Bowker abandoned fashion altogether. Quite the contrary: while still at university she designed a jacket dyed with a special ink that changed colour, from yellow to black, according to pollution levels. After some years spent in consultancy, Bowker finally decided to create The Unseen, a fashion house whose aim is “fusing scientific study and creativity”. “It just tries to visualise unseen things in the environment, with humans, everywhere,” Bowker said.She still uses her chemistry skills to think up clothes and art objects

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that transform depending on the environment. One of them, for example, is a fabric whose colors change according to the surrounding pressure. “This compound was originally thought for Formula One—to track aerodynamics by measuring the friction across the surface of cars in real time,” Bowker explained. But The Unseen also wants to bring it up a notch, designing items that use chemistry and digital elements to react to their wearers’s physical and psychological status. A skullcap encrusted with over 4,000 “chameleonic gemstones” can show different color patterns according to the temperature of the wearer’s

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A material that could give you an early warning system if you get ill, to give you an indication of how your spine or your muscles are performing.

Left: Lauren Bowker Right: The unseen women’s accessory be Lauren Bowker I S S UE 0 1

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studied at the University of Applied Sciences in Bielefeld, presenting “Ich ist ein Anderer” (I is an other) as her graduate collection. This fashion collection was designed with human science as inspiration. But, what is for Leonie “human science”? “I love to observe people, how they dress and how they behave–what they want to express through their clothing. I chose to focus on fashion because in our everyday lives we communicate identity and social position primary by means of our clothing. We are visual and social entities and need to communicate never only by voice but also by sight”–she says. For Leonie, fashion is an important component of our social being. She is a very visual person, so she could not imagine to do anything else than designing. Leonie Barth has quite a few second hand clothes in her wardrobe- a lot of vintage denims. “I prefer the quality as well which is more authentic than denim you can

buy on high street. Basically buying second hand is one of the most eco-friendly things to do. I am also wearing a lot of COS. Mainly because I know exactly where our products are coming from and a lot of pieces in the collection are made out of organic qualities. COS is paying a lot of attention to this, without feeling the need of advertising it. This responsibility just comes natural and the goal is to be 100% sustainable in the future. It is very exciting and amazing to be part of this process and I am proud of wearing our clothes– she explain us. In London there are so many great places to dine out and eat locally sourced products. Even a lot of pubs are doing this. We ask her to recommend our readers some of them. “Around my placea new Mildreds just opened- really good organic vegan food. Even for

lunch you have so many options, if you want healthy and organic food. I can also recommend Ethos Restaurant, a place in central London- really good food. Theres also a farmers market every Sunday opposite side of my house which is really amazing because all the products come from local farmers”. Leonie has always been fascinated by the phenomenon of personal identity, how we develop and which context the outer appearance matters for our identity. “At the beginning of my research, I dealt with Jean Paul Sartre’s “Huis Clos” and with Jacques Lacans “Mirrow Stage”, that discusses the awareness of our ego as a subject as well as an object. After my research, my key assumption was, that identity does not exist without a visible surface and its reflections. Mirroring ourselves is imperative to construct or own identity. When I talk about `mirroring´ I do not only mean a surface that reflects ones image, I also want to convey, that

we need the reflecting of another person, our counterpart. We can only become socialized personalities by observing and imitating– this is mirroring. The collection is inspired by Lacan’s philosophic thought and the resulting idea that our mirror image completes our identity”. I tried to research the origin of all the materials used to ensure a collection that is sustainable and conscious.

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diner always appears to be comfortable and perfectly satisfied with his chosen snack, almost zen-like.”

Michelle tends to draw inspiration from people she sees out in the world, just going about their business. The way they talk, and walk, and interact with one another while performing routine errands and transactions. Sometimes they’re dressed in full monochrome–unintentionally yet so wonderfully and perfectly styled. Kick-started by the desire to re-create and stylize these small moments she had observed, their idea was to just play around with color and texture to create a series of casual, monochromatic “sets”—in this case, zoomed-in views of a very specific section of a body.

The two first met back in 2013 while working on Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream Desserts cookbook in Columbus, Ohio–Michelle propstyled a portion of the photos and Kelsey shot. Since then they’ve worked hard to collaborate as much as possible. Kelsey moved to San Francisco almost 2 years ago, so now they’re 2500 miles apart. When they see each other, about 4 times a year, they squeeze in as many shoots as possible. They daydream about living in the same place again and working together full-time.

Constantly on the hunt for items to add to her props collection, Michelle and her husband go to a lot of thrift stores and estate sales, which means she’s always gathering stuff– objects, clothing, carpet remnants, you name it–that she thinks will photograph well. If it’s got nice color, texture, or shape, it’s going home with her.

I chose to focus on fashion because in our everyday lives we communicate identity and social position primary by means of our clothing.

Along with color, food is another great love that Michelle and Kelsey share, so for Wardrobe Snacks, once the clothing had been picked out, it was fun to think about an edible prop to become the star of the show. When working on a series, it’s nice to set parameters–both visual and conceptual–so that each photo fits within the group as a whole. For Michelle, the series is an example of the sensibilities that apply to her daily life:

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URBAN LIFE Most of the time, the fastest way to get anywhere in San Francisco is not Uber or Lyft or the ever—delayed Muni system, but on a bicycle. As long as you can handle the quad-busting hills and your reflexes are fast enough to dodge the occasional texting driver, there’s no better way to traverse the city.

actually improve an elite athlete’s performance.” The suit features dragonfly wing-inspired flaps on the edge of the body, constructed from a thin layer of the condom material and reinforced by a geometric laser-cut grid. Recently, a Swedish sex toy company developed a sheath with a tear-resistant honeycomb surface, while a group of UK schoolchildren won an award for a conceptual design that would change color when in contact with a sexually transmitted infection.

As GoBike cycle-sharing stands pop up all over the city, I’ve been riding more and more. I have this problem, though: I don’t know how to get anywhere. All too often, I ride with one hand on the handlebars and the other digging into my pocket, or holding my phone, as I try to figure out my next turn.

“In the world of competitive sports, athletes look for every advantage,” said Skyn senior global brand director David Chaker. “We custom made an experimental suit for long jumpers to explore the possibility that our material could

And so when I tried on Google’s new connected jacket, I instantly understood the appeal. The jacket—technically Levi’s Commuter Trucker Jacket with Jacquard by Google—is the result of a yearslong partnership between Levi’s and Google to integrate a conductive, connected yarn into a garment. It’s still early days, but the jacket offers a glimpse into what might happen when we start connecting our clothes to the Internet.

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Decoding ‘Manus x Machina’

BoF talks to key players at Condé Nast, Apple and the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to unpack the meaning of its latest exhibit on the evening of the Met Gala.

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SMART TECHNOLOGY I set mine to get me home. A double-tap on my left arm now sends a ping to Google Maps and delivers the next turn on my navigation, either through the speaker on my phone or whatever headphones I’m wearing. (All the Jacquard Jacket’s connectivity comes through your phone.) If I swipe away, it reads out my ETA. The small motor in my jacket sleeve buzzes and the light comes on when I get a text or phone call.

“Fashion has always been the first to embrace technology, right from the get go,” Andrew Bolton, head curator of the Costume Institute, told BoF at an exclusive preview of the exhibit on Saturday afternoon. There was still plenty of work to be done before the evening of May 2, when the exhibition would be unveiled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Gala, an annual fundraising extravaganza popularly known as the “Met Ball” and often described as fashion’s version of the Super Bowl or the Oscars—take your pick. Organized for the eighteenth year in a row by co-chair and museum trustee Anna Wintour, who helped raise more than $12.5 million in

Urban commuters Urban commuters with the jacket of the future

Communicate Handle calls and texts without handling your device. Navigate Stay focused on where you’re going.

Music Stay in your groove. Play, pause, and skip.

2015 for the museum, the event marks the one evening on the social calendar when stage-managed celebrities tend to take true high-fashion risks on the red carpet, often accompanying the designers who have created oneof-a-kind looks for them. This year, Apple, which is marketing its “wearable tech” device, the Apple Watch—as a fashion accessory, is sponsoring the exhibition. The company’s chief design officer, Jony Ive, has been the connective tissue of sorts between the technology giant and the event. “There was a calm and serenity and gentleness to the overall exhibition that I thought provided a wonderful context to actually consider and think about the pieces that constituted the show,” Ive told BoF on Monday, outlining the connections between some of the work on display by designers from Mariano Fortuny to Marc Jacobs. “In our work, we’ve always tried to design in a way where you’re not aware of the problems that we’ve had to solve. That’s the job of the designer: to solve problems and explore, but not really drag you through what all the problems were. I was irritated to have to leave [the exhibit].”

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While newfound synergies between fashion and tech are the stuff of headlines, Bolton’s show is eager to emphasis fashion’s long-standing relationship with the technical. After all, early couture houses like Charles Frederick Worth, Emile Pingat and Jacques Doucet relied on the newly introduced sewing machine to produce garments. A major inspiration for the exhibition was Yves Saint Laurent’s Mondrian dress, which, created in 1965, was almost entirely machine-made except for the hand-done hemming. And yet, today, the word “technology” tends to conjure up digital, software-based devices, from iPhones to self-driving cars. But, for some, the term “tech” also carries another meaning: a way of thinking, rooted in the iterative, test-and-learn approach to creativity and innovation favoured by those making the devices. Perhaps this is why so many fashion brands talk about thinking like a technology company. “[It’s about] how fast [tech companies] are, but also how creative they are,” Wintour told BoF in an exclusive interview on Monday morning.

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At the same time, technology companies are increasingly adopting the lessons—and language—of fashion. “Regardless of whether we declare an interest in fashion or not, we are making products that are more and more personal… products that you wear and you wear every day,” Ive said. “We’ve not done that before and we’ve got a lot to learn. Just talking to Andrew [Bolton] is hugely informative,” he continued. “I think we have always had a very clear and a very singular approach to how we design products that are more familiar to people, more established in terms of product categories. I think it’s very hard to have that same clarity and singularity when you’re not absolutely confident in your subject matter.”

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—Andrew Bolton, Head Curator Of The Costume Institute

IMRAN AMED | LAUREN SHERMAN

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the left cuff is woven with the special yarn, created by Ivan Poupyrev and a team of Google scientists, that turns the bottom of your arm into a touchscreen.

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“Fashion has always been the first to embrace technology, right from the get go.”

NEW YORK, United States—The term “fashion-tech” may be less than 10 years old, but many of the garments on display in Manus x Machina: Fashion in the Age of Technology date back to the early 1900s. The exhibit, which opens publicly at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, takes a broader view of the interplay between technology and fashion, at a time when tech companies are marketing their devices as fashionable and fashion companies are eager to be seen as tech-savvy.

Both women say the response to the series has been exciting, garnering international attention. It’s totally gratifying to see so many people outside of their immediate network who are enjoying it with them. As for what’s next, the duo plans to keep moving with Wardrobe Snacks, shooting a few more pieces to round out the series while continuing to push its limited-edition prints, eventually trying to have a show somewhere– they would love to see them printed big.

When I first put on the jacket and snapped the detachable tag into place, it quickly paired to my iPhone through a dedicated Jacquard app. After a few seconds of setup, the app asked me to define a few gestures: What happens when you tap twice on the conductive yarn? What if you brush away from yourself, or toward yourself? What should it mean when the light on the tag illuminates?

It’s intended to look like a strap, but it’s more reminiscent of a security tag someone forgot to remove. The black tag contains a wireless radio, a battery, and a processor, but the most important tech in the Jacquard Jacket remains invisible. A section of

page 44 Hex condom features a tear-resistant honeycomb surface

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PHOTOGRAPHY

For Kelsey, part of the pleasure in shooting food is that it is associated with so many different ideas and memories depending on the viewer. She enjoys the nostalgia and the chance to present it in small, idealized vignettes. The coordination of food and clothing is meant to be light-hearted: take the Zero bar shot, for example. It’s funny because of its pairing of highs and lows–elegant and formal clothing matched up with a cheap candy bar–the folds of the fabric echoing the ripples of white chocolate.

The Jean Jacket Of The Future

-David Chaker, Skyn Senior Global Brand Director

it in a way that could help long jumpers perform better?” The flaps stay flat during the athlete’s run-up, then open up after takeoff to provide an upward lift that could extend time in the air. The condom industry is continually trying to improve its products, simultaneously gunning for better stimulation and protection.

paying attention to details and finding beauty and humor and entertainment in even the most mundane goings-on.

DAVID PIERCE

“We custom made an experimental suit for long jumpers to explore the possibility that our material could actually improve an elite athlete’s performance.”

Scientists are working on combining latex with wonder-material graphene to make condoms “more pleasurable”, while researchers at the University of Queensland have developed a new method of using fibers from grass to manufacture condoms that are “as thin as human hair”.

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Wardrobe Snacks Explores The Elegance Of Eating The delightfully-named ‘Wardrobe Snacks’ series is a collaboration between photographer Kelsey McClellan and art director Michelle Maguire, who together form the collective ‘Dusty’. Styled with retro clothing in satisfying palettes, the series features close-ups of hands elegantly holding a range of snacks, from an ice cream cone to an oyster, against carefully chosen clothing color schemes: coffee against cream, a donut against orange. “Wardrobe Snacks was inspired by diners lacking the luxury of being seated at a table,” explains McClellan, who describes the spaces her series portrays as “informal—perhaps even a bit awkward—as far as eating is concerned, yet the

In some ways, Manus x Machina addresses the growing push-andpull between technology and fashion head on, albeit through

the lens of two processes that have traditionally held different connotations of value for the fashion industry: the handmade (more valuable) and the machinemade (less so). In his introduction to the exhibition book, Bolton cites Fritz Lang’s Metropolis as inspiration, in particular, the epigram at the beginning and end of the film that reads: “The mediator between the HEAD and HANDS must be the HEART.” Bolton notes that it could have equally read: “The mediator between the HAND and the MACHINE must be the HEART.” With the 170-piece exhibition, Bolton takes a provocative stance, debunking the idea that something that is handmade is necessarily more valuable or more earnest, and insisting that, whether a garment is made by hand or machine, it’s the heart that counts. “I focused on designers who are known for either fetishising the hand or fetishising the machine or combining the two,” Bolton said. “I wanted to challenge the assumption of the hand versus the

machine. One always thinks the hand is representative of superiority or luxury, the machine is inferior. Sometimes, a garment produced by a machine is so much more time consuming and complex.” “I’m fascinated when I look at some of the pieces in the exhibition and you really can’t tell what was made by machine and what was made by hand,” Wintour said. Perhaps the show’s centrepiece, a Chanel haute couture gown from the Autumn/Winter 2014-2015 collection, best exemplifies Bolton’s intentions. The gown, moulded out of scuba knit, was dramatically accessorised by an embroidered train, its baroque design first sketched by hand then tinkered with on a computer to give it the look of pixellation. The pattern was then hand-painted with gold metallic pigment, then transfer-printed with rhinestones. Finally, pearls and gemstones were

hand-embroidered on to the fabric. A blown-up digitised version of the final result—which took 450 hours to complete—is projected on to a cathedral-like dome. As the sound of Brian Eno’s The Ascent fills the air it’s a majestic sight to behold. Bolton organized the exhibition of haute couture and prêt-à-porter by métier, or trade: embroidery, featherwork, floral appliques, pleating, lacework and leatherwork. One room deviates from the métiers, featuring the toiles— known as muslins—and paper patterns used to prototype the garments, and also pays homage to the tailoring and dressmaking ateliers within a single couture house. The structure of the exhibition mirrors Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d’Alembert’s Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers (Encyclopedia, or Systematic Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Crafts, 1751–72), a tome of the French Enlightenment that aimed to give these métiers the same gravitas as the arts and sciences.

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Andrew Bolton Talks Manus x Machina and the Costume Institute

JING (ELISE) FANG

INFLUX

About Influx

Charge your phone as you go

“This acts as a compass for the exhibition,” Bolton said, walking BoF from garment to garment as his team in white lab coats continued to assemble each vignette, the dove grey paint on the floor just freshly dry. Even in the final days leading up to the opening, he was still making tweaks as if he was in the final fittings of a runway show, adding a 1960s Givenchy piece to the featherwork section. “It’s changing almost daily,” he continued. “Other curators have the luxury to begin two years out. But I love the speed. It means you can respond quickly. Prada just did a great collection with artificial flowers that is a perfect hand-machine case study, so I was able to quickly pull that.” But with a tight timeline came roadblocks. “You really have to see the pieces to understand them, and you can’t really rely on the designers to give accurate information. Certain designers are very proprietorial about their technologies. That was a bit of a challenge,” he explained. “When things fall through, you’re constantly navigating those changes. Some designers don’t have [certain pieces] any more, some designers don’t want to give them to you, and some designers don’t want to be next to other designers. There are all of the politics behind that, too. But it’s very few and far between, those designers, to be honest.”

To a viewer, the arrangement— which essentially documents the process of engineering a garment, either by hand, by machine or a combination of both—feels orderly, almost zen-like. “Fashion is going so fast. It’s a bit like a house of cards,” he said. “There is not an appreciation of the artists, designers, the complicated processes that go behind it, so part of it is to slow it down a little bit and make people focus on the making of fashion.”

which is hand-embroidered with black gelatin sequins; some matte-side, some shiny-side up. Next, Martin Margiela’s ready-towear, synthetic-knit version from 1996, which features a digitally printed trompe l’oeil sequin motifs. He has arranged those two inverted pieces with a Ghesquière creation from his Autumn/Winter 2015/2016 readyto-wear collection for Louis Vuitton, which combines the two techniques.

Bolton—who recently experienced the flicker of fame thanks to his starring role in the just-released documentary about last year’s Met Gala, The First Monday in May—sharply pinpointed which designers from the 1900s onward best exemplified the significance of both the handmade and the machine-made. Hussein Chalayan’s remote-controlled garments, Issey Miyake’s steamstretch pleats and Iris van Herpen’s silicone feathers and 3-D-printed haute couture are well represented. As is the work of Miuccia Prada, Sarah Burton, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Nicolas Ghesquière, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, Christian Dior, and of course, Karl Lagerfeld, whose haute couture wedding gown from Chanel’s Autumn/Winter 20052006 collection is another standstill moment.

What isn’t prevalent here is the kind of whizz-bang gadgetry that one might expect from a show with the word “technology” in its title. “I was very keen not to focus on what has become known as wearable technology. It was something that I don’t find very appealing aesthetically,” Bolton said. “Unless it’s someone like Hussein, who is very into concepts and uses technology as a platform to express deep issues about our society and culture. But when it comes to a jacket that tells you that you’re hot, you know how hot you are. You take it off. I was more interested in the quiet technology often hidden from view, like laser cutting or ultrasonic welding.”

While the centre stage’s train may have taken 450 hours to complete, this high-neck, longsleeve piece was no less impressive, covered with 2,500 white silk camellias made by Maison Lemarié, a Parisian atelier known for its flowers and feathers. Bolton’s vignettes tend to show the evolution of a process. For instance, in the embroidery section, there is a series of three black slip dresses. First, Chanel’s 1935 haute couture version,

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3D printing, a technique employed by Van Herpen to create garments that often feel like living organisms, was more exciting to him. “It has the potential to be as revolutionary as a sewing machine

Inside Manus x Machina Exhibition

because if you get the materials correct, you could 3D print your own jacket or dress in your own home,” he said. “It’s the ultimate couture, because couture is all about the fit.” While Bolton’s work is a practice in subtlety, those after a glimpse of more gimmicky fashion-tech might have still been disappointed after surveying the crowd at the opening gala. That is, save for a few guests who took the theme to heart, including the actress Claire Danes, whose Zac Posen ball gown was literally lit from within, and model Karolína Kurková, whose “cognitive”, color-changing Marchesa dress was designed in partnership with IBM’s Watson. There were also a few gentleman sporting LEDpiped tuxedos, including

marketers Andrew Saffir and Daniel Benedict. “[The organizers] appreciate the effort,” said Benedict of the couple’s choice of attire. Indeed, the influence of the tech world was felt mostly in the guest list, which included Instagram’s Kevin Systrom, Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer, and Tesla’s Elon Musk. What was also wafting through the proceedings was Apple itself,

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Your coat is talking to you. The smart coat is changing the way you view about yourself. You should be as smart as your jewelry. This watch will tell you everything about you. The smart yoga pants are blowing your mind. Your pants are teaching you yoga. Hurry up, the smart clothing is changing everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life.

≤ POSTER DEVELOPMENT ≥

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Poster Slogans In order to grab customers’ attentions, I came up with various witty slogans to go with the posters.

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From design, color and photography to voice and tone, every aspect of our brand will live up to our mission and reflect who we are and what we do.

JING (ELISE) FANG

Our brand guides represent our brand core values and mission. The main goal is to create a clear visual language and a consistent experience that let people know who we are and what we are about.

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≤ IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT ≥

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Brand Name Based on the Brand Naming Toolkit–Techniques And Insights, Influx belongs to the category Neologisms, which are new words created by respelling existing words or by combining words. ‘In’ means something is trendy, which represents both fashion and technology, ‘flux’means something keeps changing, also connects to both fashion and tech, combing together, ‘Influx’ means fashion and tech are always developing and working together.

Flux It means continuous change, which symbolizes the development of technology.

In It means something is trendy and current, which represents fashion.

The Degree of Temperature Symbol It means fashion and tech always change, just like the change of temperature.

The Line It gives a visual break of two words, and emphasizes the visual hierarchy.

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Dala Floda Blender Book Blender Bold

Heading type

Body type

Callouts type

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Blender Book Borescim audande ntest, sitat evelecto inctissequam apitis plita idellendi atur audisiti doloratur? Iquo modi quide cum rehendi aspit entem dolupti onsequasita que num quam ea net eium eribus aut as dio. Natibus id que volecta epudignatur? Sunda ducia imporio nsedis doluptae etur? Ita cus. Is et, sit earit plabore aliquo qui amenda volut alis nosa venditis cone volori cumquibus. Uptate estiumq uatempelit ipidusciunda quam accuptatus, cuptasp ereptaq uiasper itiorum consequam, inci que nam sequis et maios con restrum ex eiureptas rem ra voloreped magnam lab in exceratemped eatquiatem voloratia velenia delest, conet verepud itaturia aut quiatur? Sam, sequid mintionsequi occus velecernam vercium sum id minus, earita sequo ipsa dus, soloremolore dellectas dolor re, quo quis ea dolorecum eum audis serati ad que maio dolenda estiorianis conseceat.

Blender Bold

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Borescim audande ntest, sitat evelecto inctissequam apitis plita idellendi atur audisiti doloratur?â&#x20AC;?

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Edge-to-edge, fullscreen display

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Color Palette Primary

INSPIRATION PURPLE CMYK 77 81 0 0 RGB 92 0 235 HEX #5C00EB PMS 2098C

INNOVATION BLUE CMYK 58 0 19 0 RGB 0 234 232 HEX #00E9E7 PMS 311C

TECHNOLOGY LIGHT GREY CMYK 18 10 7 0 RGB 206 215 223 HEX #CDD6DF PMS 427C

TECHNOLOGY DARK GREY CMYK 70 55 45 20 RGB 84 96 107 HEX #535F6B PMS 431C

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VIVID GREEN CMYK 26 0 100 0 RGB 203 246 0 HEX #CBF600 PMS 396 C

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ENERGETIC PURPLE CMYK 58 82 0 0 RGB 160 0 242 HEX #9F00F1 PMS 2592 C

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Design Solutions

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OUR POSTERS

OUR STORE OUR MAGAZINE THE INFLUX WEBSITE

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≤ OUR POSTERS ≥

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CHAPTER 06 / MOVING FORWARD

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

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Moving Forward

MOVING FORWARD

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Influx is just an beginning. I believe fashion technology has a promising future and will make a considerable impact on people’s life. Influx keeps narrowing the bridge between the highly advanced technology and the general public. It has been attracting more and more people since the Influx website’s launch.

≤ MOVING FORWARD ≥

As a graphic designer, my role is to connect professionals already working in the fashion technology industries and the average person. By making information more accessible and understandable to the general public, while offering the professional a way to share their insider insights, more and more people will know more about the nascent field of fashion technology. Once people know more about this field, they will see how this will impact and improve their lives. In the future, I look forward to potential collaborations with other talents to bring this project to life.

“We have a wonderful past to draw from, but we’re also very interested in moving into the future.” Andrew Bolton Head Curator of The MET

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Thank you for everyone who supported me along this journey.

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My instructor Phil Hamlet, thank you for helping me choose this promising topic and always inspiring me to be the best of me. Wioleta Kaminska, thank you for all the inspiring conversations and feedback. John Nettleton, thank you for always keeping an eye for the details and pushing me to where I am today. Thank you, Carolina de Bartolo, for helping me refining and improving along the way, and being supportive whenever I needed. Thank you all for your valuable critique and encouragement.

JING (ELISE) FANG

Thank you all my friends and classmates, for your support and love during the whole process. It was a painful while rewarding process, thank you for always being my side and sharing all the meaningful moments. Thank you my lovely family, for your endless love, patience and inspirations. Without you, I could not be who I am today. Thank you all of you.

CHAPTER 06 / MOVING FORWARD

â&#x2030;¤ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS â&#x2030;Ľ

SCHOOL Academy of Art University School of Graphic Design and Digital Media INSTRUCTORS Phil Hamlett Wioleta Kaminska John Nettleton Carolina de Bartolo WRITTEN AND DESIGNED Jing (Elise) Fang elisefangdesign@gmail.com ALL RIGHT RESERVED Copyright ÂŠ 2018 Jing (Elise) Fang All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopy or any storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission. Respect copyrights, encourage creativity!

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