How Emerging Technologies Are Reshaping the Fashion Industry

Innovation and fashion have always gone hand in hand. An insatiable appetite for affordable fashion was largely responsible for the e-commerce boom. Meanwhile, bold choices by pioneering designers have helped challenge gender norms and steer social change. Nowadays, new technology is penetrating just about every facet of the fashion industry. Everything from the manufacturing process to how we shop for clothes is being redefined by technological breakthroughs. Below, we’ll explore the latest innovations that are driving trends and pushing the fashion industry in bold new directions.

Virtual Fitting Rooms and Online Experiences

There’s no denying that online shopping is incredibly convenient. Worldwide, more than 2.6 billion people shop online regularly. That’s around a third of the global population. While convenient for the consumer, e-commerce doesn’t exactly score top marks for sustainability. The carbon footprint of e-commerce deliveries is considerable, a fact made even worse when you consider that as many as 30% of online orders are quickly returned by customers. Retailers typically bear the brunt of this financially, with returns leading to even higher CO2 emissions. While there are many factors behind high return rates, one initiative that retailers can adopt is virtual fitting room technology.

While they’ve been around for a few years now, virtual fitting rooms have largely struggled to deliver the increase in conversions retailers are looking for. However, a lack of uptake hasn’t deterred developers from finessing the augmented technology behind virtual fitting rooms. Fashion and sportswear brands like Zara and Nike have both adopted digital fitting rooms. Meanwhile, Amazon allows customers to use the same technology to virtually try on a new outfit or see how a new couch might look in their living room. While far from perfect, the tech behind virtual fitting rooms is moving in the right direction. In the next few years, expect it to become a standard feature of most e-commerce platforms.

iGaming’s Impact on the Fashion Industry

For many people, casinos are just as synonymous with haute couture and luxury labels as they are with gambling. There’s an undeniable link between the two, with the most exclusive casinos operating strict dress codes. Leading labels like Chanel, Moschino, and Michael Kors have taken direct inspiration from the refined realms of the high roller.

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Making Materials More Sustainable at the Source

Natural materials are often considered a safe choice when it comes to sustainability. However, the environmental impact of farming organic crops like cotton or rearing livestock for wool is huge. Rather than ditch these natural fibres in favour of eco-friendly synthetics, some companies have taken a different approach to curb their carbon footprint. The Woolmark Company, a brand famed for its Merino wool garments, began feeding its sheep supplements to limit the amount of methane they were producing.

One of the simplest ways to make fashion more sustainable is to switch to recycled materials, rather than invest time and resources into harvesting new ones. Until recently, manufacturing garments with recycled material was prohibitively expensive. However, new developments in recycling technologies have made it easier and cheaper for brands to turn pre-loved clothes into premium products.

How AI Will Reshape the Future of Fashion

There’s been a lot of fear-mongering regarding artificial intelligence recently. While there’s reason to be cautious, this technology has exciting implications for the fashion industry. For consumers, AI brings many perks. Aside from improvements to virtual fitting rooms, AI and refined machine algorithms are making it easier for shoppers to find styles best suited to them. With the potential for breakthroughs in synthetic material production and manufacturing improvements, retailers also stand to benefit from artificial intelligence.