FashionTech Berlin last week opened my eyes up to the latest in how the fashion industry is approaching the increased use of technology. A wide range of aspects were covered ranging from smart textiles to using technology to improve the retail experience. One of the surprising aspects for me was seeing how Deutsche Telekom were embracing the opportunity for the combination of fashion and technology through their Fashion Fusion competition. It looks at encouraging the development of pioneering ideas and helping to move 12 finalists to the prototype stage. It is refreshing seeing a telecoms company understanding and encouraging the impact technology is having across our lifestyles.
The deep dive session on smart textiles showed the progress that a had been made in the underlying textiles that are being used. During my session I covered the importance of personalisation and I think these smart textiles bring an important element to that.
- Thimo Schwenzfeir showcased sublimation printing on a pair of shoes that enables you to download an image that the fabric on your shoes will show.
- The coat below incorporates an E-ink section in the pocket bringing a more editable dimension to a piece of clothing.
There were many examples of technology very visibly being used - but it was some of the more subtle versions that really caught my eye. The image above of LEDs built into an evening bag – I thought the combination of crystals and LEDs created a subtle bling.
Technology is bringing greater flexibility to the retail sector. The one piece that stood out for me was dynamic sales tags that Agata Sadowska from Mariella Labels covered. Showing how technology can help in the price competitive retail space bringing easy to manage update digital tags using E-ink linked back to a centralise communications point. Enabling retail to update all their pricing at one time, or offer ‘happy hour’ special price offers. This flexibility and centralised change point enables consistency as well as a more dynamic approach to pricing through the adoption of technology.