According to Textile Focus, fashion is one of the key industries that is currently being redefined by digital disruption. We’ve seen a shift towards digital fashion shows from the likes of Dior and GCDS, but how far is technology taking the fashion industry? In this blog, we want to look at just that, as we discuss how technology is disrupting the fashion industry.
Fast Fashion
Technology plays a huge role in the fashion industry, whether that’s through online shopping or digital fashion shows, but lately, it seems as though IT is the must-have tool for every fashion brand. We first saw this as a result of the ‘Fast Fashion’ movement, as it was evident that the current manufacturing model, at the time, wasn’t keeping up with consumer demands.
According to Edology, the term, ‘fast fashion’, was coined in fashion retail to describe the quick turnover of designs that move from the catwalk to current fashion trends and became extremely popular. During this time, IT was able to provide a solution to slow manufacturing problems that the fashion industry faced.
Samples
However, some pieces of technology, like that from Indian technology consulting and solution company, Simbus, are helping the fashion industry with both retail and manufacturing solutions. We’re previously written a blog about 3 technologies that are revolutionising fashion retail, in which we spoke about how technology is changing the retail industry, but this solution is one that we had to speak about in this blog.
The fashion industry loses the most time in the sample production process of manufacturing, as it takes at least ten days to complete a rushed initial sample (createafashionbrand, 2020), with the wrong thread colour and different measurements. However, Simbus’ Browzwear 3D Apparel Design Suite is a SaaS platform that allows companies to create a realistic 3D prototype of their garments. It also allows the team of manufacturers to collaborate on the item together and is a truly revolutionary product that is speeding up the manufacturing and retail process.
Ecommerce
As a result of the current lockdown restrictions, a lot of stores, including Topshop, have suffered greatly from not being able to open their doors. All stores are currently closed, which means that if brands weren’t already utilising their websites, they’ve had to quickly play catch up to e-commerce giants like ASOS.
For many, technology has provided a solution to the problems brought by the coronavirus pandemic and has shown that digital really is the future.
The fashion industry has been slowly taking steps towards a digital revolution, however, with the pandemic closing the doors of all major retailers, the industry has been catapulted towards technological solutions. For many, including Topshop, technology has saved them from having to shut their doors forever, and for others, technology has provided a solution to slow manufacturing problems.
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