DIGITAL REALITY INTRODUCTION
Hannah Soper Fashion Forecast AD5605
IS 2030 HEADING TOWARDS DIGITAL REALITY?
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This past year has been particularly turbulent, not just within fashion but as a whole on a global spectrum. Impacting all aspects of life, I have researched further into the consequences it has had on the fashion industry and how Technology and Social Media have led the fashion industry to success this year. From this I have created a trend for 2030 called ‘Digital Reality’
‘Digital Reality’ outlines what scientific technologies I believe will be used to create fashion in the world of what we consider to be the new normal in 2030. Looking further into the expansion of technology and how it will be used to fabricate virtual clothing. Will Virtual Reality erupt on to the market? Digital Reality exhibits which direction I believe fashion will head towards in 2030.
Fashion reflects everything. It is a mirror of the world that we live. In other words, fashion has majorly been influenced by society, economics, religion, art and many other movements, especially within today’s climate and issues in the modern world. Taking it back to the basics fashion became an industry after the Industrial Revolution. With the development of new technologies at the beginning of the 20th century, such as the sewing machine and the factory system of production and today it has become an international industry through globalisation.
Specifically, my forecast heads towards innovation and the expansion of new technologies of what I believe will be the new future of fashion in 10 years. You may wonder why I have chosen this pathway of future fashion? I chose this as during my summer research I expanded upon the different direction to head towards whether that be innovation or traditionalism and was able to ascertain the impact technology has had on the industry. Although I believe innovation simply wouldn’t be here if it was for traditionalism, I was fascinated by the development of technologies throughout the years.
Taking it back to the basics, fashion has revolutionised over the years through the expenditure of technology which has shifted fashion to a more forward industry. Gone are the days when people would pay newspapers to get their ads published in classifieds, today we can post free adds or anywhere across the world using the internet.
Revolutionary innovations have constantly changed our lifestyle over the times, through the growth of technology. The newly appointed CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella states that “our industry does not respect tradition – it only respects innovation.” (Chacos, 2020). These wise words easily be applied to the fashion industry. To me this shows that simply innovation has not only reshaped the industry but has also developed it.
HAS THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IMPLICATED THE GROWTH OF THE FASHION INDUSTRY?
One of the most conflicting issues today is Covid-19 pandemic. With the impact it’s had on the climate in terms of jobs. Will this impact fashion in the future? Along with the aspect of working from home. How will this affect what brands produce and how they fit into the working world of 2030? Using my research, I am looking into how this will impact fashion in 10 years in conjunction with how previous issues have affected fashion in past time. Spoken upon briefly before, one of the biggest after effects of covid-19 is the shift in working from home set-ups. Due to the conflicting side effects of the virus working from homes looks like its seemingly the new normal, which is bound to have an effect on peoples need for work clothes. Are people going to stop buying tailored garments or will things start to go back to normal? I personally believe the demand for tailoring will die down and in conjunction with the movement of technology working from home will become far more accessible.
As customers' real lives' become increasingly intertwined with the digital world especially with the Covid-19 pandemic in tow, many designers and brands have already taken it upon themselves with being up-to-date with the latest technologies to push the limits of manufacturing, production, marketing and wearability. From the latest in artificial intelligence to the boom of mobile commerce, 3D printing and blockchain brands such as Helmut Lang, and Prada have expanded their technology to fit with the times. With many big brand names barely surviving the crisis, digital is not only an increasingly important sales channel; it will help companies adapt cost structures and make each step of the value chain better, faster, and cheaper. The rising cost of raw materials as the planet slowly starts to diminish and the financial and carbon costs hit the roof, the only way to meet consumer demand is to evidently streamline and digitalise the the process of making garments. Not only will this cut costs but also make the industry more efficient bring clothes to the virtual world.
VIRTUAL REALITY
NEW CONSUMER
THE FACE MASK
DIGITAL THE NEW NORM
PROTECTION
3D DIGITAL
Fashion Tech has immersed over the past few decades with technology constantly making its way forward. Whilst researching into this further I came across block chain fashion. This helps brands to have transparent supply chains by giving every product a unique digital ID. This will allow both brands and consumers to create end-to-end digital track record for all items in their inventories. Block chain start-up VeChain worked with Chinese-New York fashion label Babyghost on a similar initiative for the brand’s Summer 2017 collection. In Fall 2018, H&M … was launching a pilot program, using one wool beanie from the company’s Arket clothing line to test blockchain technology’s ability to improve product data traceability in its supply chain.
Following suit Monlcer designed some outfits that have RFID chips inserted which allows customers to verify the product via an app or website- creating a new and innovative way to disperse their products and to discover the authenticity. This just shows how advanced technology currently in the fashion world and what it will be like 10 years from now.
One specific technological advancement I researched was 3D printing. Being born in the 1980s, 3D printing is not a complete brand new gadget in the fashion industry. Although adapted over the years, it not only brings life to garments but allows a more sustainable product being able to eliminate waste from the garment industry having less environmental impact. Thanks to 3D printing, designers have more freedom in terms of design and geometric complexity. Designer Van Herpen stated in an interview “I find the process of 3D printing fascinating because I believe it will only be a matter of time before we see the clothing we wear today produced with this technology, and it’s because it’s such a different way of manufacturing, adding layer-by-layer, it will be a great source of inspiration for new ideas.” (Van Herpen, 2020)
Although I focused my research mainly on innovation I did also look at the more traditional side of fashion. Specifically, looking into the more sustainable side of fashion. Sustainability is one of the biggest aspects that consumers of today look for in their clothes and question the brands ethics and sustainability. With this in mind technology is allowing the industry to become a lot more sustainable. I found that the carbon foot-print is huge due to the use of textiles and raw materials. However, there has been a noticeable shift in consumer patterns that have become apparent forcing fashion to become more sustainable by being slower.
One example I have found out of this is from the CLO Virtual Fashion, of which I found out that creating virtual porotypes in order to decrease the number of samples and reduce the carbon footprint on the planet. “Commercialising a completely new generation of textiles as well as bioengineered clothing solutions that are less demanding on the environment is creating more value, while reducing the damage caused by the fashion industry and consumers.� (Fashion Technology, 2020).
Various brands have already become more sustainable over the past few years. One example that I found was Patagonia. The brand not only uses sustainable materials to create its outerwear, but helps the customer to repair their clothing if any faults occur in the garment. Their goal is “to find solutions to environmental issues without causing unnecessary harm to the world.� (Patagonia, 2020) Along with following fair-trade guidelines and monitoring their supply chain in order to keep up to speed with the carbon footprint.
In summary, I have researched into both innovation and traditionalism covering both aspects in depth. From my research I have decided to go down the more innovative pathway as I believe from my findings that technology is the way forward. My summer research helped me to come to my final outcome as I was able to see that it was clear technology is the new route of fashion for the next 10 years. I will be focusing on digitalism and the advancement of technology within the next decade. Specifically looking into the different types of technologies that will not only re-shape the industry but will influence the consumers and fit into the new way of living after the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
REFERENCES 3D Printing and Haute Couture: Iris Van Herpen presents Shift Souls - 3Dnatives. (2021). Retrieved 10 January 2021, from https://www.3dnatives.com/en/iris-van-herpen-110220195/ Chacos, B. (2021). ‘Our industry does not respect tradition’: CEO Satya Nadella’s email to Microsoft employees. Retrieved 10 January 2021, from https://www.pcworld.com/article/2092359/our-industry-does-not-respect-tradition-ceo-satya-nadellas-email-to-microsoft-employees.html Fashion and Technology: How the Future is Changing | Verb Brands. (2021). Retrieved 10 January 2021, from https://verbbrands.com/news/ thoughts/how-technology-is-changing-the-future-of-fashion/ Moncler puts RFID chips into its products to fight conterfeiting | futur404. (2021). Retrieved 10 January 2021, from https://futur404.com/moncler-rfid/
IMAGE REFERENCES (2021). Retrieved 10 January 2021, from https://www.amazon.in/Fritesla-Virtual-Reality-Headset-Smartphone/dp/B01NAEFSS0 Digital jacket by Ophelica. (2021). Retrieved 10 January 2021, from https://dress-x.com/collections/mens-unisex/products/digital-jacket-ophelica Everything layered Corona look. (2021). Retrieved 10 January 2021, from https://dress-x.com/collections/accessories/products/everything-layered-corona-look-1 Magazine, W. (2021). High-tech beauty: at home gadgets for experimental regimens. Retrieved 10 January 2021, from https://www.wallpaper.com/beauty-grooming/besthigh-tech-beauty-gadgets Pink glasses. (2021). Retrieved 10 January 2021, from https://dress-x.com/collections/accessories/products/pink-glasses reflective shorts sport suit&banana bag. (2021). Retrieved 10 January 2021, from https://dress-x.com/collections/accessories/products/reflective-shorts-sport-suit-banana-bag What is digital fashion?. (2021). Retrieved 10 January 2021, from https://www.nssmag.com/en/fashion/20094/digital-fashion