T For 'Technology' In Fashion!
Harsh Dalal, Director, JD Institute of Fashion Technology
JD Institute of Fashion Technology is one of the top institutes of art and design. The dreams and passion of students with imagination are stimulated under the eminent experts from the industry. JD Educational Trust is an established formed to serve the aspirants who want to pursue a career in arts and design by making them responsible citizens through corporate social responsibility.
In recent events, it is seen that technological interventions in the field of fashion has totally changed the working norms. These days' designers are able to predict the trends and styles that can become fashion hits with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI)! Once it was a mere imagination to have robots that could cut and sew fabrics has become a reality because of AI! With the help of AI, Indian fashion designers are conducting multiple types of research for developing universal body measurement size to nullify the dependency on inadequate European and American sizes. According to the Indian fashion pundits, the Indian fashion market is marching towards unchartered territories as new algorithms are written to create designs based on users' interest. From these algorithms, much software have been developed that helps in the manufacturing process of 3D printed garments that are designed exclusively by consumers.
Role of AI, VR and Online Channels in Fashion Industry
Talking about the progress of AI innovations in India, AI is touted as one of the groundbreaking ideas in the field of fashion. The retailers of the fashion industry are using AI-powered software and machines to understand the need of consumers upon which they are offering one-on-one solutions. For the optimum use of AI, the retailers have the aim of creating more personalized garments based on the data generated by the AI algorithms.
"The retailers of the fashion industry are using AI-powered software and machines to understand the need of consumers upon which they are offering one-on-one solutions"
Not to forget about virtual reality (VR), which too is playing its part by being an interactive mirror in fitting rooms and three dimensional visual merchandising systems. These VR enabled rooms and systems have the unique ability to quickly simulate apparel collections. On the other hand, consumers are using social media as a platform to exhibit their fashion and lifestyle choices which are generating huge data. Later these data are used by the fashion technologists for extensive research purposes for making the shopping experience of a consumer personalized.
And who could forget the role of online platforms and online stores in the lives of fashion enthusiasts? A few days back these platforms were looked down by the elitists, but today the platforms are breaking barriers between luxury and renting by making luxury accessible for those who couldn't afford it. This has created tremendous competition in the fashion industry due to which the loyalty-driven luxury retailers are now opening up to the idea of e-tailing. Seeing the potential market in e-tailing, many independent companies are selling their luxury goods via online channels. Some famous retailers like Burberry, Thom Browne, and Harvey Nichols have teamed up with an online platform such as Far Fetch to increase their online visibility in this millennial market. From this, it is evident that not only high end and high street retailers are in the race of popularizing their brands through online channels, but luxury and super luxury goods' retailers are also trying to come into the limelight.
During this chain of innovations in the fashion industry, our students at JD Institute of Fashion Technology are showing their technical skills. One group of students have created a smart technology which includes a barcode to eliminate errors for invoice recording. Another group of students has designed one garment called 'Stand By', which is made by organic fabrics and chemical-free print. This new garment brings palliate to chronic pain as it has distress alert technology like BPH free heat therapy that brings comfort to the wearers. In addition, the garment is embedded and concealed with wearable electronics that has location tracking mechanism. Along with providing comfort to the wearers, the garments are helping the environment from the adverse effects of chemicals as they are made by zero-waste technique.
Imprints of Technology in Daily life
If technology can become a source of sustainable and eco-friendly alternative in the manufacturing methods of the fashion industry, can't we say that it has the ability to free us from any environmental hazards? If you have questions on how to use technology for such cases, then at the time of experiencing and exploring the new technologies/innovations you must have an open-minded approach. This is because technology is not only brought into practical use to provide efficiency. It serves the purpose of learning through a robust under-standing of functionality. So, to learn how to use technology for sustainable environmental developments, one has to minimize disruptions during the learning procedures. It might be difficult at the beginning, but the key to balancing the learning process is to stay patient with the learning process. Afterward, it is essential to carry out timely training sessions for overall growth and maximum resource utilization.
As there are no grey areas of AI and it is gaining popularity more than ever, you can say that it has the possibility of creating unemployment in the future. However, it is totally wrong to think like that. AI will never take over Human Resources. While AI helps augmented reality for customizing shopping experience for consumers and customizing the designing approach for designers (when needed), but in reality, AI will never have the ability to eradicate human power. This is because the creative inputs that designers put into their designs are cultivated through extensive learning and years of field expertise. AI will never be able to replicate or generate such designs as real-time experience always overpowers digital expertise.
In recent events, it is seen that technological interventions in the field of fashion has totally changed the working norms. These days' designers are able to predict the trends and styles that can become fashion hits with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI)! Once it was a mere imagination to have robots that could cut and sew fabrics has become a reality because of AI! With the help of AI, Indian fashion designers are conducting multiple types of research for developing universal body measurement size to nullify the dependency on inadequate European and American sizes. According to the Indian fashion pundits, the Indian fashion market is marching towards unchartered territories as new algorithms are written to create designs based on users' interest. From these algorithms, much software have been developed that helps in the manufacturing process of 3D printed garments that are designed exclusively by consumers.
Role of AI, VR and Online Channels in Fashion Industry
Talking about the progress of AI innovations in India, AI is touted as one of the groundbreaking ideas in the field of fashion. The retailers of the fashion industry are using AI-powered software and machines to understand the need of consumers upon which they are offering one-on-one solutions. For the optimum use of AI, the retailers have the aim of creating more personalized garments based on the data generated by the AI algorithms.
"The retailers of the fashion industry are using AI-powered software and machines to understand the need of consumers upon which they are offering one-on-one solutions"
Not to forget about virtual reality (VR), which too is playing its part by being an interactive mirror in fitting rooms and three dimensional visual merchandising systems. These VR enabled rooms and systems have the unique ability to quickly simulate apparel collections. On the other hand, consumers are using social media as a platform to exhibit their fashion and lifestyle choices which are generating huge data. Later these data are used by the fashion technologists for extensive research purposes for making the shopping experience of a consumer personalized.
And who could forget the role of online platforms and online stores in the lives of fashion enthusiasts? A few days back these platforms were looked down by the elitists, but today the platforms are breaking barriers between luxury and renting by making luxury accessible for those who couldn't afford it. This has created tremendous competition in the fashion industry due to which the loyalty-driven luxury retailers are now opening up to the idea of e-tailing. Seeing the potential market in e-tailing, many independent companies are selling their luxury goods via online channels. Some famous retailers like Burberry, Thom Browne, and Harvey Nichols have teamed up with an online platform such as Far Fetch to increase their online visibility in this millennial market. From this, it is evident that not only high end and high street retailers are in the race of popularizing their brands through online channels, but luxury and super luxury goods' retailers are also trying to come into the limelight.
During this chain of innovations in the fashion industry, our students at JD Institute of Fashion Technology are showing their technical skills. One group of students have created a smart technology which includes a barcode to eliminate errors for invoice recording. Another group of students has designed one garment called 'Stand By', which is made by organic fabrics and chemical-free print. This new garment brings palliate to chronic pain as it has distress alert technology like BPH free heat therapy that brings comfort to the wearers. In addition, the garment is embedded and concealed with wearable electronics that has location tracking mechanism. Along with providing comfort to the wearers, the garments are helping the environment from the adverse effects of chemicals as they are made by zero-waste technique.
Imprints of Technology in Daily life
If technology can become a source of sustainable and eco-friendly alternative in the manufacturing methods of the fashion industry, can't we say that it has the ability to free us from any environmental hazards? If you have questions on how to use technology for such cases, then at the time of experiencing and exploring the new technologies/innovations you must have an open-minded approach. This is because technology is not only brought into practical use to provide efficiency. It serves the purpose of learning through a robust under-standing of functionality. So, to learn how to use technology for sustainable environmental developments, one has to minimize disruptions during the learning procedures. It might be difficult at the beginning, but the key to balancing the learning process is to stay patient with the learning process. Afterward, it is essential to carry out timely training sessions for overall growth and maximum resource utilization.
As there are no grey areas of AI and it is gaining popularity more than ever, you can say that it has the possibility of creating unemployment in the future. However, it is totally wrong to think like that. AI will never take over Human Resources. While AI helps augmented reality for customizing shopping experience for consumers and customizing the designing approach for designers (when needed), but in reality, AI will never have the ability to eradicate human power. This is because the creative inputs that designers put into their designs are cultivated through extensive learning and years of field expertise. AI will never be able to replicate or generate such designs as real-time experience always overpowers digital expertise.
