Changing the direction of the fashion industry towards a more sustainable future, forward-thinking designers and makers have been challenging traditional design methods by successfully combining fashion with technology. Of the many innovations that have taken place so far in 2019, here are some that have made quite the impact on the fashion industry:
- The Digital Collectable Garment
Fabricant, a digital fashion house known for leading the fashion industry towards a new sector of digital-only clothing auctioned off a different type of garment, a digital-only garment that sold for $9,500.
Existing only digitally, the outfit was worn by Johanna Jaskowska, a Berlin-based digital artist and virtual influencer. The one of a kind digital haute couture, that sold on 11th May 2019, at Ethereal Summit in New York was auctioned off by Dapper Labs, the team behind Cryptokitties, to raise money for the Foundation for Art and Blockchain.
- Puma’s BioEvolution Shoe
Back in April 2019, Puma introduced a shoe that they designed to adapt to the body. The BioEvolution sneakers were an experimental shoe in collaboration with the research organization Fraunhofer Institute. The shoe was created using biologically active materials that adapt to the wearer’s foot uniquely.
With impressive features like a biologically active layer of the shoe-upper that acts as a dense nanosensor net and at a microscopic level maps the areas of the foot which produce heat and sweat. It was a mapping that created a matching ventilation pattern, or in other words, living micro-organisms selectively remove material to create a unique fit.
- Luxury Fashion Adopts Blockchain Technology
This year, French multinational LVMH launched a blockchain platform designed to confirm the authenticity of high-priced goods. Code-named AURA, LVMH shared that their end goal was to not rely on third parties blockchain technology.
Teaming up with ethereum design studio ConsenSys and Microsoft Azure, LVMH built AURA using a permission version of the ethereum blockchain which focuses on data privacy called Quorum, developed by JPMorgan.
Hoping to change the luxury game, the high end brand is determined to make sure that it is easy to trace your Saintonge from the alligator farm to the store. If you grab it second hand, then you will be able to know the multiple chains of owners that have bought and sold it.
- Prada Invests In A Recyclable Alternative
With the future of fashion leaning towards investing in sustainable alternatives, 2019 is the year that Prada invested in what could be a viable option. The luxury brand introduced Re-Nylon, a range of travel bags made from 100% recycled ocean trash.
For the collection, Prada used Econyl, a material developed by Aquafil. The textile yarn producer has come up with a way to blend waste pulled from the ocean with textile waste, upcycling harmful pollutants into a useful fabric. Aquafil maintains that the process it uses to make Econyl means the material can be recycled indefinitely, with no loss of quality.
Hoping to replace all of its nylon with a recyclable alternative by the end of 2022, Prada is making an effort to invest in a sustainable alternative. They are doing this by replacing its virgin nylon with recyclable Econyl. So far, the Italian brand has applied this unique fabric to six of its unisex bags, including the belt bag, the shoulder bag, a tote bag, a duffle and two Prada backpacks.
- Exploring Machine Learning For Fashion
Flora Miranda is a designer who is shaping the future of fashion and clothing production using technology. Her ‘Deep Web’ collection introduced the audience to the concept of ‘Machine Learning’. It was an approach that allowed her to explore how ‘Machine Learning’ can be visualised through outfits that portray one step in the computer learning process.
Miranda’s approach examines the future possibilities of fashion, an interdisciplinary artistic fundamental research. She used technology to explore how fashion will evolve in the next ten years by focusing on development, innovation and rethinking fashion. The end result was the delivery of an entirely new aesthetic with a surprising visual impact.
- New Generation of Fully Immersive Smart Clothing
Whispers began back in 2018, but it wasn’t until January 2019 at CES, that the Teslasuit, a full-body haptic suit, was unveiled. It is a garment designed to enhance virtual and augmented reality experience through the synergy of haptics, motion tracking, and biometry.
The Teslasuit is a two-piece bodysuit designed to create a fully immersive environment that erases the difference between the real and virtual worlds. Stretchable, breathable, durable and even washable, the makers of the Teslasuit have found a way of integrating new technologies in the smart fabrics to fit the body like a second skin.
Consisting of a jacket and trousers, the Teslasuit’s haptic technology allows transmitting touch and is an excellent way of making VR experience deeper, immersive, and more realistic. It is an additional channel of communication and a new way of making VR experience deeper, immersive, and more practical.
- The ‘Infinite Hoodie’
We can thank Stella McCartney for the first fully recyclable hoodie. The infinite hoodie was announced in July of this year. It is a sustainable fashion solution capable of creating a complete circular loop. Working in collaboration with textile innovation company Evrnu, the British designer came up with two prototype products that were biodegraded and return to the natural ecosystem.
With only 50 produced, the fully recyclable hoodie was created using 60 percent NuCycl fibre, a material made using the threads from old garments, and 40 per cent organic cotton that has been diverted from landfills.
