The Fashion Innovation Center: “Don’t You Know Who We Are?”

It first started with Neue.?

At Neue, we developed a sustainable solution built for rapid innovation, digitalisation, and enabling new business models. The problem was that the fashion industry did not understand what our kind of technology could mean for their business. So, as a result, we found ourselves having to educate the fashion industry on new technologies and how innovation can benefit the future of the industry.?

Working with fashion taught us that it is a very surface industry and not as skin deep as we first thought. It was a realisation that made us conclude that R&D in fashion was desperately needed, and this was when The Fashion Innovation Center was born.?

Bridge Builders

Building bridges between industries, governments, and educators has never been as critical as it is today. This is why we are bridge builders. The Fashion Innovation Center builds bridges that focus on the survival of the fashion industry.

Focusing on hands-on projects, our team champions pilot projects that help industries see the problem more clearly. Instead of relying on the theoretical approach, Fredrik Timour, co-founder + CEO, believes that it is essential to test and come up with data that supports the direction that your company is heading towards. "You can think up possibilities. You cannot reason yourself through it".

Bridge building is challenging. We first start by finding solutions for the problem. We are not looking to reinvent the wheel. At the moment, we are addressing over-production. It makes sense to help solve this problem, and the good news is that some of these solutions already exist in other industries. So how can we keep it simple? We are focusing on road mapping and finding ways to help the fashion industry with its challenges by partnering up with other industries like gaming for example.?

As we build the bridges, we have found the fashion industry somewhat resistant to change. So to jump over this hurdle, we make sure that we understand their problems and acknowledge that they are still a business that needs to make money to survive. We know we can't ask them to spend unrealistic money, so we introduce them to solutions that make sense for them.?

Problem Solvers

Currently, the Fashion Innovation Center is focused on finding solutions for fashion's overproduction problem.?

Overproduction in fashion is a significant issue for the environment, workers, consumers, and the industry. To address this issue, the fashion industry must adopt more sustainable production and consumption practices, including reducing waste, promoting circularity, and improving working conditions for workers.

For those who might not have received the memo, overproduction in fashion is a huge problem for several reasons. First, there is the environmental impact brought on by increased clothes waste, usually unsold garments that are often discarded or end up in landfills. The production of textiles is also a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution.

Then there are economic costs. This comes about when overproduction increases the cost of production and distribution, as manufacturers have to spend more on storage and disposal of unsold merchandise. This can result in lower profits for retailers and brands and higher consumer prices.

Overproduction can also result in the exploitation of workers, as they are often forced to work long hours in unsafe conditions to meet production targets. Then there is the fast fashion culture. Overproduction contributes to the fast fashion culture, where clothes are produced quickly and cheaply and are designed to be worn only a few times before being discarded. This unsustainable production and consumption model contributes to environmental degradation and social inequalities.

Lastly, overproduction can result in lower-quality products, as manufacturers are often focused on maximising production volumes and minimising costs rather than producing high-quality goods.

Stabilising through Restructuring

So how is the Fashion Innovation Center's work part of the solution? Although we still find ourselves at the educating stage with most fashion businesses, we are slowly moving towards providing the fashion industry the how rather than helping them understand the why.

When it comes to stabilising and restructuring the current system, some of the approaches that we believe can be used today include adopting circular business models, where products are designed, produced, and consumed to reduce waste and maximise the use of resources. This can include using recycled materials, rental systems, and repair and refurbishment services.

We also champion the implementation of slow fashion, where clothes are produced with a focus on quality, durability, and timeless design rather than following fast-paced trends. This approach can reduce waste and increase the lifespan of clothes.

We also see increased transparency in production and supply chains helping overproduction because it 'encourages' the industry to disclose information on labour standards, environmental practices, and materials sourcing. This can help build consumer trust and improve the industry's overall sustainability practices.

At Fashion Innovation Center, we also push for investment in innovation to help sustain sustainable production methods, materials, and products. This can include using new technologies, such as digital printing, and developing environmentally friendly materials, such as biodegradable textiles.?

Lastly, the fashion industry must collaborate with various stakeholders, including governments, NGOs, and consumers, to develop and implement sustainable solutions to reduce overproduction. We cannot say this enough. Partnering up can help the fashion industry create a more sustainable future for itself and the planet.

Ready To Be Future Fit?

Championing businesses to accomplish the extraordinary, the Fashion Innovation Centre operates like a switchboard between industry, content providers and academia.?

Focusing on accelerating transformation in fashion's ever-changing landscape, the Fashion Innovation Center utilises its digital know-how to define a clear road map developed to help industries implement strategies and business models.

"Fashion Innovation Center's strength is its ability to be an "in-betweener". We are the middle person that helps set up situations with the help of our partners. Therefore, we are always open to working with various industries, not just fashion" explained Timour.?

“The Fashion Innovation Center's end game is to reach a point where our services are no longer needed”

So how do we work? Acting as an innovation partner, we first analyse the company to align the strategies and ensure that it aligns with policy, for example. We also use best practice standards successfully used in other industries and introduce them to the fashion industry. Ultimately, our goal is to put an infrastructure in place that helps your business move forward. Then, working with our partners, we work with several timelines in parallel. By this, we mean that we run tests and research problems simultaneously as we roll out concepts that can be applied now.?

"I understand that the fashion industry is currently pushed into the corner. So the Fashion Innovation Center is trying to decode what the EU is saying and what academia is saying, so we can find a starting point. The challenge is starting. The industry needs to start and make the changes that need to be made," shared Timour.

The Fashion Innovation Center's end game is to reach a point where our services are no longer needed. This hallelujah moment will be when the fashion industry is running greener and collaborating with other industries and academia all by themselves. But, unfortunately, this is not happening yet; our work will be done when this moment happens.?

If you want to stay informed about our projects, follow @fash_innovation; if you want to learn more, visit fashioninnovationcenter.org. If you are ready to take a leap of faith, connect with Fredrik Timour and Kurt Sveg?rd .