Fashion | C4Trends

Fashion Tech for a New Era

Susan Schreiner — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 16:22:31 +0000

Fashion Tech for a New Era

Hyperconnected consumers expect to interact with retailers through multiple channels simultaneously.

Technology is changing the way consumers shop for fashion through social media apps, retail shops, digital dressing rooms and augmented reality. Consumers now expect an integrated and consistent digital experience across platforms when they go online to browse, research and buy goods.

Fashion Capitals Go Digital

While couture fashion hubs have long been in New York, Paris, London and Milan — Instagram and TikTok are now setting the fashion agenda, with Instagram becoming a store window display and TikTok furthering the conversation. Technology has disrupted the traditional fashion power structure centered around Fashion Week. Instead of limiting the introductions to elite editors, buyers and stylists — many are taking their fashions directly to new pipelines making the merchandise in their runway shows readily shoppable. Influencers can buy the collections online and in stores the same day they were shown on the runway instead of the usual six-month lag. Social media also is democratizing fashion by enabling younger and smaller designers to directly connect with followers and new audiences.

“Smart” Wardrobes

It’s more than smart watches or what you wear on your wrist. Technology in fashion is becoming more pervasive. Digitally-enabled fabrics, with IoT capabilities are expected to become big business as new multi-material fibers reveal new applications.

Gaming and The Direct-To-Avatar Model

The fashion world was recently abuzz with news that Balenciaga and Fortnite teamed-up for a multi-tier partnership. Included are Balenciaga outfits for Fortnite players, a physical Balenciaga collection inspired by the game’s Retail Row, a virtual Balenciaga store and billboards featuring gamers, and behind-the-scenes videos on how it came together. It’s Fortnite’s first luxury fashion collaboration and a sign that fashion and the metaverse are getting cozier. Prior partnerships with the same cross-category linkup include Louis Vuitton x League of Legends in 2019 and Gucci x Roblox earlier this year.

This is big news because 50% of Fortnite’s 400 million global players are spending their time in Fortnite, allowing them to create their own virtual worlds. Immersive, customizable worlds are engaging and serving as creative outlets for large audiences that fashion brands are looking to target.

As the worlds of fashion, fabric and technology intersect, new collaborations are driving innovation.

Innovation in Fabric

MIT and the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), joined forces in 2017 to build a bridge between design and engineering, and develop sustainable fabrics.

MIT and FIT also reached out to AFFOA (Advanced Functional Fabrics of America), a Cambridge, Massachusetts–based nonprofit public-private partnership. AFFOA and its membership ecosystem are helping to develop transformative textile-based products that meet the needs of defense, commercial and consumer markets.

The MIT, FIT AFFOA collaboration is yielding interesting results, as fashion and tech come together. Here is the latest news according to releases from the following groups.

Team Natural Futurism, developed a biodegradable lifestyle shoe using natural material alternatives, including bacterial cellulose and mycelium, and advanced fiber concepts to avoid use of chemical dyes.

Team Peacock, prototyped athletic apparel with color-changing material to highlight an athlete’s movement and quickly analyze motion through an app.

Team Ecollab, designed apparel and footwear using PE (polyethylene) and color changing material that is multifaceted and environmentally conscious.

Team Laboratory 56, created footwear to enhance longevity of product and reduce waste using PE, while connecting with the community through a recycling app program.

Tech fashion and the metaverse merge at CES 2022.

Reimagining Retail

Susan Schreiner — Thu, 01 Oct 2020 18:56:06 +0000

Because of the health crisis with COVID-19, retailers are starting to innovate and experiment. Acceptance of online shopping and

curbside pickup has accelerated during the pandemic but how can retailers entice consumers back into stores? Retailers are deploying new strategies designed to stimulate consumer interest, loyalty and engagement as consumer behavior is reshaped by the ‘mask economy.’

Many consumers are looking to limit physical contact with potentially contaminated surfaces. For many, it’s difficult to imagine browsing alongside other shoppers, trying on clothes, going into a store to ‘test-drive’ the latest gadget touched by others and interacting with another human at checkout.

Contactless technologies offer businesses a winning strategy by allowing the public to feel safer during their shopping journey, from ordering, browsing, checkout and payment to delivery.

During the pandemic, 30% of consumers started using contactless payments like NFC-equipped cards, smartphones and wearables to pay for a purchase, according to RTi Research. Some retailers are investing in virtual ‘try-ons,’ self-cleaning surfaces and robots. There are also other products based on technologies like voice interaction, gesture interfaces, facial recognition, sensor-based and RFID technologies, or companion apps that use a consumer’s own smartphone to operate a public device.

September/October 2020

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Remote service in-store will reduce browsing times and offer advice remotely. Experiential retailer SHOWFIELDS is using the Magic Wand app. For the instore experience, the app serves as a virtual store advisor to minimize human interaction. Consumers point their phones at displays and products to get more information rather than interacting directly with the product. Customers can also add items to a virtual cart while in the store before checking out via its app. The purchase is ready for pickup when they leave the store.

Inventory tracking is getting smarter, thereby reducing employee contact with items. Apps from companies like Displaydata and EDITED help retailers optimize promotions and reduce contact for shoppers hunting for merchandise. Touchscreens are everywhere — from ATMs to self-service supermarket checkouts — but in the age of COVID-19 consumers may be reluctant to touch these public devices.

Screens, kiosks and vending machines are being retooled to reduce human interactions. PopCom, the automated retail platform company, is developing an alternative way to deliver product. By delivering a software solution that makes kiosks and vending machines intelligent, PopCom enables retailers to provide customers with seamless access to their products, while also gaining customer insights based on data collected from facial recognition, AI and blockchain technology that is incorporated into its software platform.

“COVID has changed PopCom’s business,” says Dawn Dickson, its founder, CEO and director. “Retailers are looking for more frictionless transactions and they need to move faster. Vending machines are increasingly part of the new supply chain since the transaction is about self-checkout, self-service and frictionless payment,” she adds.

PopCom has pivoted to upgrading its touchscreens to be contactless, allowing them to be used with a pen or a stylus or while wearing gloves. PopCom is rolling out its solutions to the retail sector in the fourth quarter as well as into the regulated retail economy including cannabis, pharma, alcohol and tobacco. It also plans to license its intelligent software platform.

Aside from current challenges, a byproduct of this disruption at retail are the exciting new opportunities

for retailers, smaller businesses and brands as well as nimble entrepreneurs and innovators.