3 Technologies that Revolutionize the Fashion Industry
Fashion and technology are increasingly linked. Thanks to new technologies, the stages of design, creation and production are completely reorganized. Managing all the material needed for the production line of a garment is now much faster thanks to the tools of sample management. The events have become true shows combining the best of music and technology and providing real-time digital media coverage through traditional media and social networks.
Just like Back to the Future Michael J. Fox, we are constantly surprised by the latest innovations fusion of fashion and technology. The two universes are now perfectly combined and allow fashion brands to accelerate their processes internally thanks to digital tools but also to offer new and unique personalized experiences to their consumers.
Thus, more and more projects are born of the fruit of this union! We have selected 3 examples that affect and transform the entire industry and allow the brands to grasp the stakes and opportunities of Big Data.
The Data to create customized outfits
Not long ago, Google unveiled its partnership with the Swedish giant H & M and their joint project to create a smart and connected clothing “Data Dress”. Via an Android application and thanks to an algorithm designed to recover the information about the users, they could thus design customized clothing and specifically adapted to the tastes of those who wear them.
“We are about to change the fashion industry, valuing the personality and taste of the consumer from the creative process through technology, ” explained by Aleksandar Subosic, co-founder of Ivyrevel, the company’s digital design laboratory. H & M Group.
Google and H & M join forces to create intelligent, connected apparel
How it works? Very easy! Simply register and download the application which through perception tools is able to trace your daily activity over a period of seven days (your daily appointments, the type of places that you frequent regularly, your eating habits, the weather of your city etc.). All these data are then used to create a customized outfit that suits your needs and will cost you a hundred dollars.
The application is still in testing phase although it has been announced that it will be presented and functional by the end of the year. H & M clearly breaks with its traditional approach to “fast fashion” by working on a totally new concept. We will be following this exciting project and look forward to testing this alliance between fashion and technology!
QR codes and RFID technology for an efficient show
If we were to define the “key” moment of a collection and the production cycle of a garment, it would be the official presentation of the collection. This can take place in different forms: opening a store, a private event or a fashion show presenting new trends during the International Fashion Weeks.
These events tend to become the starting point of communication campaigns that can span entire weeks. Therefore, they must be well prepared and executed to provide guests with a unique, personalized experience while putting the product or collection at the heart of the presentation.
Events must now offer a unique and personalized experience to guests
The use of QR codes and RFID technologies to create event invitations offers the perfect opportunity to speed up the check-in process and give a memorable first impression to guests (press, influencers, VIPs …), which all mark aspire! It is precisely these technologies that we use at Launchmetrics.
By placing a QR code on digital or paper invitations, the entire check-in process is optimized, saving you time and efficiency at the crucial time of the guests arrival. Using an iPhone or an iPad, scan the invitations and inform the RP teams of the arrivals in real-time via the events application.
In the case of RFID chips, it is even more practical. A flagship example is the case of Fendi placing invisible labels inside his paper invitations, allowing Karl Lagerfeld’s house to install antennas at the entrance of his parade that identify the chips as they pass through each invited with his invitation and confirms his presence!
What are the advantages? These codes not only facilitate access to the parade, which is much faster for guests, but also helps the brand to manage its timing because this system is synchronized for all organizers of the parade , informed in real-time who passes the stage of the show.
Smart fitting rooms for “ad-hoc” purchases
Purchasing in the physical shop (the very last step of the production chain) is increasingly linked to what is known as the “customer experience”. The biggest retail brands are struggling to bring their customers up to their stores, entertain them and especially offer them a unique and personalized shopping experience. It is at this critical moment in the buying cycle that technology plays a major role as a resource and essential tool for storing customer data.
Memomi , based in Palo Alto, was the pioneering start-up that transformed fitting rooms at Neiman Marcus, with high-tech experiences as early as 2015. Their Memory Mirror gives customers the ability to record the outfits ‘they try, look at them in the mirror and see them in several colors, but also compare one outfit to another and share them with their friends via social networks.
Meanwhile, several companies like Jogotech, working with Mango, or Oak Labs in partnership with the Ralph Lauren store on 5th Avenue, have developed what they call “smart fitting rooms” with touch screens installed on the mirrors present in the cabin, customers can scan an outfit and view information about the sizes, colours, availability and other clothing and accessories that fit well with the outfit, but also seek help and advice to sellers without having to leave his cabin.
These start-ups are convinced that technology is accelerating purchasing processes. Indeed, while 36% of customers who physically go to shops buy something, Paco Underhill, the author of The Science of Shopping, says that this number climbs up to 71% when customers make their attempts in these smart cabins.
Better still, all the information that has been gathered through the purchasing decision of the customer will be of fundamental importance for brands when it comes to identifying new trends with consumers and making strategic choices regarding future collections.
Although few brands that have launched such initiatives are now able to compete with online brands that are able to harvest much more data from their users, we remain confident that the future of “ad-hoc” “In stores depends a lot on this type of technology.
