Global Fashion-Tech Frontiers Explored

Do you know what type of fashion tech is being adopted in different parts of the world?

As the fashion industry radically changes, technological innovations are pushing the limits in manufacturing, retail, production, textile and sustainability. The good news is that the application of disruptive and innovative technologies has gone global, meaning the West is not the only place experiencing radical change and innovation adoption.

Depending on which fashion problems are being addressed, different types of inventions are being adopted in other parts of the world. So, let's spotlight how technologies are being amplified worldwide and which start ups have been leading the charge and making a difference.

AFRICA

Digital tools are all the rage in Africa, especially in Nigeria, where fashion brands rely on digital devices and technology-enabled processes to do business. With innovation being adopted in cities like Johannesburg, Accra and Lagos, new technologies are growing in popularity because they drive more business to the continent.

Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you would have heard of the name Anifa Mvuemba. She is a Congolese designer who mesmerized an entire industry when her 3D models walked down a V.R. catwalk to an audience of millions on the Instagram Live channel. Causing a ripple of awe, Mvuemba, who previously worked with 3D modelling, decided to take a chance on technology and showcase her capsule collection in what some might call a gimmick. However, the gamble proved successful, and Mvuemba then put virtual runways in Ghana, South Africa and Nigeria.?

Mvuemba's move was groundbreaking because she successfully showed the global fashion community the advantages of a digital runway. Yes, producing a 3D virtual runway show can be a painstaking process, but with most of the industry on lockdown, live streaming a collection seems to no longer be a choice but a necessity. On adopting technology Sarah Diouf, founder of Tongoro, a 100% made-in-Africa clothing brand, once said in an interview with Techcabal.com:?"African fashion is rising right now. However, African designers must develop their unique business models and be innovative. To do so, digital is key."?

Besides the evolution of runways being pushed to the forefront by future-thinking African fashion brands, there are also retail-focused startups taking advantage of A.R. technology like Phygital. For example, the Harare-based startup behind Swaggify has come up with the idea of an ecosystem that allows fashion and music stakeholders to turn music video entertainment into viral fashion shopping experiences.?

Through the power of the web, mobile, computer vision and the A.R. cloud, the Swaggify platform has been built to boost revenue for fashion designers/retailers and music artists while allowing consumers to take advantage of the personal physical experience of their favourite artists.?

Today, there is a lot of conversation about investing in technology like??AR/VR fitting rooms. I am happy to see innovation embraced by African designers and businesses; I am even more pleased to see inventors coming forward and ensuring that Africa as a whole will not be left behind. Although the African fashion industry does focus more on retail tech than fashion tech, I have found that on the continent, a lot of the innovation being adopted is about convenience, like payment tech, rather than tech that could be considered indulgent, like fitness trackers. When you look at the needs of the various countries, it makes sense that they turn to technology to help their audience shop better, get a better experience, and have better access to products than investing in technology that tells them their heart rate.

EUROPE

When it comes to innovation in Europe, one could say that this is the place where fashion-tech innovation is thriving. For example, let's take Sweden, a country that has bred several globally successful fashion retailers like H&M. The government has been playing a pivotal role in pioneering the merger of gaming technology and fashion.?

Still, considered an unusual relationship, the Swedish gaming world has not only infiltrated the fashion scene but has also found a way of defining the fashion industry of tomorrow.?

According to Statista, Sweden is one of Europe's largest digital games markets. A hotbed of game development, Sweden is home to some of the world's largest developers and niche developers. In addition, the tech and gaming culture enables fashion brands to reach a new audience, particularly Gen-Z gamers.

Believing that the merger of fashion with gaming is ripe for engagement, Sweden is not only leading the way but also showing fashion businesses how to speed up and simplify the design process. Many Swedish fashion brands are experimenting with generating a real-time visual experience that makes the product more relatable to customers.

Sweden has also brought ethical changes to the fashion industry's supply chain. Swedish startups like Material Exchange are not the only ones trying to find ways to improve fashion's poor sustainability record. Other European companies pushing this agenda forward include UK-based Supply Compass and Dutch company Circularise.?"Our business exploded overnight," says Darren Glenister, chief executive of Material Exchange.

Other Swedish startups that are excelling in this space include Swedish startup Trustrace. The startup has made it possible to trace garments from the cotton field to the hangar in the store. Trustrace analyses the trade's ethics and each garment's environmental impact. Attracting Swedish brands?like Filippa K and Polarn O. Pyret, Trustrace, has made it easier for fashion businesses to be more responsible for accountability, traceability, and supply chain management.

In Finland, the Finnish are also making their mark in this space. Managing to turn textile, cardboard or agricultural waste into a circular, new, natural, premium textile fibre is startup Infinited Fiber. They have been applauded for their environmentally friendly approach, which has wowed the industry. Infinited Fiber's technology has demonstrated that it can turn trash that would otherwise be landfilled or burned into something precious. Moving on to Spain, there is a startup called Jeanologia. It is a Spanish startup using its technology to decrease energy usage by a third, chemical usage by two-thirds, and water consumption by 71%.

When it comes to innovation in the marketplace, there are already quite a few businesses out there changing how we sell and buy fashion products. For example, we have French startup Vestiaire Collective, Lithuanian company Vinted and U.K. startup Thrift+. Other celebrated startup marketplaces include French Lizee, which helps fashion brands and retailers go from selling to renting.?

Finally, let's not forget Popswap, a tinder-like app for your wardrobe and AI-powered retail system German startup Trim, a company that has been empowering fashion brands to move closer to their sustainability targets, so they can offer customized products, reach new customers and reduce returns. Trim's technology enables brands and manufacturers to make clothing in response to real-time sales – quickly, efficiently and sustainably.

Lastly, in Europe, education in fashion tech has become a conversation starter that has made more Universities look into updating their curriculums. Dutch schools like?Design Academy Eindhoven?and the?ArtEZ Academy of Art & Design?are leading the way. They have been churning out left, right, and centre amazing fashion technology designers for a while.?

Quietly making a name for themselves by taking the doubt out of this relative niche subject, Dutch fashion courses not only allow students to think outside the box but encourages them to explore all the beautiful possibilities that technology can offer creative minds. Moreover, with a natural desire to promote individuality, the Netherlands has become famous for nurturing homegrown talents like Iris van Herpen, Pauline van Dongen, Marina Toeters,?Borre Akkersdijk,?Maartje Dijkstra, Aniela Hoitink,?Gert-Jan Spriensma?and?Martijn van der Veen, for naming a few.

THE AMERICAS

The pandemic has forced fashion businesses worldwide to find ways to adapt to the new environment. Accelerated innovations that were once on the back burner have become the light at the end of the tunnel. In America, ethical fashion startups using new technologies have been finding their voice in the industry. One of the brands offering an alternative to fast fashion is a Tennesse-based sustainable fashion brand called?Able. The startup sets itself apart from the rest by promising transparency about its items' production process and fair wages paid to workers worldwide.?

Another spotlighted ethical U.S. brand is?Tradesy. The company is run by fashionistas and technologists, artists and scientists, dreamers and doers. Founded in 2009, the online marketplace has become a reliable place to get secondhand quality goods. Relying on advanced technology to detect fakes, Tradesy has an authenticity rate of 99.7%.?

Another way fashion tech companies in the U.S. have made the headlines is through collaborations. The most celebrated collab so far was Stella McCartney x Bolt Threads. Believing that a sustainable future is something no brand can build alone, the San Francisco-based startup partnered up with Stella McCartney to create the next generation of advanced materials.

Founded in 2010, Bolt's first collaborative product with the fashion house was a one-of-a-kind custom dress made entirely of Bolt Microsilk?.

Another notable Fashion Tech brand based in the states is LOOMIA. Working with clients such as Google, The North Face, Zac Posen, and Calvin Klein, Loomia has built a strong reputation on its innovative engineering technology that delivers comfort, safety, and confidence to the human experience by adding intelligence to everyday objects.?

In South America, payment platforms, and the circular economy, are all the rage, which explains why there has been quite a bit of excitement over Bogota-based company?TPaga. The startup has been busy bringing mobile payments to the country's underbanked population. Popular with taxi drivers and food-delivery workers, the app bypasses banks to make any disbursement or transfer possible. Another payment platform that has been empowering customers is?dLocal. Offering a seamless way for global companies to pay and get paid by its users and workers in emerging markets, dLocal is an Uruguay-based company that processes payments and works as the merchant of record in each market.

When it comes to data-driven fashion,?Amaro?is leading the way. The Brazilian company is a digitally native clothing brand that uses data and logistics to streamline operations. For example, in Rio de Janeiro and S?o Paulo,?Amaro?allowed their customers to have physical "experiences," where they could see the goods in person and order them for delivery online.?

On the sustainability front, a Chile-based startup called?Algramo?is making waves. The social company's objective is to revolutionize daily consumption by adding a digital wallet to the packaging to encourage reuse. In addition, the RFID code on the bottle gives discounts on future purchases, creating an incentive for customers to repeatedly bring the same package back.

ASIA

Have you heard of Samshek, Republiqe, Tropick or Shop Bettr? They are innovative new businesses positioning themselves to lead the way in Asia. For example, shop Bettr has been called "Asia's first fashion tech search-and-shoppable platform for sustainable fashion". The company told Inside Retail that it aimed to?"solve the conscious consumer's three-pronged challenge of not understanding certifications, not wanting to be deceived by greenwashing, and not finding sustainable products that resonate with their style and budget helping sustainable businesses reach the ever-growing conscious community".?

Redefining and disrupting the fashion industry through tech-driven digital clothing and creativity is the digital luxury consumer fashion label Republiqe and Tropick, which is addressing a massive gap in the menswear market in Asia. Tropick's founder Monica Millington explained:?"By creating pieces that are so comfortable and easy to care for, we are setting a new standard for the men's modern wardrobe".

As Asia's fashion ecosystem responds to the evolving customer need, McKinsey's Fashion Scope reported that India's apparel market would be clocked at $59.3 billion by 2022 as companies like Samshek, founded by Samiksha Bajaj, introduce its customers to 3D technology. Samshek is even making plans to bring virtual-try-on to the forefront.

AUSTRALASIA

It is not a surprise that Australia has become the birthplace of many startups and tech companies. Described by Disfold.com as a technologically advanced economy and in a unique position in Asia-Pacific, Australian startups have been making their mark in FinTech, artificial intelligence and e-commerce. Engaging in tech-driven disruption, Australian startups have been bringing innovation to various industries. However, with quite a few of them bragging about "Unicorn" status, fashion tech companies like Good On You (GOY) have been making a name for themselves internationally.

GOY is a sustainability app that provides data on fashion brands and rates them on three parameters: impact on people in the supply chain, environmental impact and animal welfare. GOY has put mainstream fashion players and upcoming sustainable fashion brands on the same platform. Usually, the two cohorts operate in silos.?

As a result, the user journey on the app becomes easy to navigate. For example, users can check how their favourite fashion labels rate. Should that brand have a low rating, the app recommends a list of similar brands that fare better on sustainability criteria. GOY's algorithms also allow for discovering new ethically-driven fashion brands based on one's location and style preferences.

In 2015, when the app launched in Australia sans fanfare, it was downloaded over 10,000 times in the first eight days. After that, the need for a better tool to make shopping decisions stood validated. Since then, the founders- consumer advocate?Gordon Renouf?and corporate social responsibility professional?Sandra Capponi– have taken the startup on a slow course. After that, however, they aim to expand fast-track and grow the existing base of 150,000 users.

Regarding materials produced sustainably, Australian fashion brand KitX has been shining a positive light on alternative materials. Making swimwear from recycled fishnets, KitX is one of the Australian companies committing to eco-solutions. Another one is?Citizen Wolf. They use technology to automate tailoring by using lasers to cut fabric, which reduces waste. In addition, when producing ethically made-to-measure t-shirts, Citizen Wolf uses environmentally friendlier materials like hemp.

Lastly, we can't discuss innovative Australian fashion brands without mentioning?Nudie Jeans. Hoping to reduce its footprint, the denim brand has a take-back recycling and free repairs scheme that encourages consumers to hold on to their jeans for as long as possible. Working towards changing the devastating effect that the denim industry has on the environment and the health of workers, Nudie Jeans hopes to encourage others to?"create circularity in a longer perspective".?