When I think of the future of fashion, the first thing that comes to mind's sustainability and transparency. Both come hand in hand and have been a popular topic recently when it comes to fashion.
According to an article by the BBC “What Will Fashion be like 20 years from now?” they believe that we will be able to digitally download our clothes. They claim that this'll be a result of both unethical practices in factories and our over-consumption. Over time more and more people are finding out how fashion brands operate and are questioning how their clothing's made and who it affects in the process. Consumers'll continue to hold companies accountable for their actions, and more consumers will ask for transparency. The fashion industry'll have no other option but to adapt.
Although it may seem far fetched, Bel Jacobs from BBC brings up the fact that “For the virtual generation, the digital collection is just a logical step forward. Fervent players of games like Fortnite, The Sims and Sansar already spend billions on things that aren’t actually there – including clothes.”
Rachel Scott from The Future Laboratory, a trend forecasting, consumer insight and brand strategy consulting agency says that “Increasingly, we will see digital collections and garments free from physical and creative restrictions become part of the fashion landscape,”
Wrapping your head around digitally downloading your outfits may be hard but there is another future innovation that is in the process of changing the future of fashion. It is called Bolt Threads Technology, it is a technology that replicates silk fibers that spiders produce. Essentially it is a material made in a lab but as mentioned on the Bolt Threads website, it “can be produced with less environmental impact than traditional textile manufacturing, with the potential to biodegrade at the end of its useful life.”
It's becoming more apparent that the future of fashion's going to have a lot to do with science and technology. For example another advancement in fashion is called the ZOZO, a body measurement suit created by a Japanese company. This'll cut down the amount of clothes that's produced but is not sold.
Not only's fashion and technology blending to create less waste but according to ThredUp, an online consignment company, stated that the percentage of women over 18 that have shopped second hand has increased since 2017.
They also stated that “More than 1 in 3 Gen Z’ers will buy second hand in 2019.”
If you think about it, it really is a full circle process, we will go back to the times where clothing will fit the consumer well and have a more tailored look for the consumer. The difference's manufacturing will utilize technology to make clothing fit the consumer better and provide more accessibility for everyone. More and more people will recycle their clothing by donating or re-selling and giving the garments a new owner. Fashion'll no longer be something disposable, it'll become something that each person will be able to curate to their personal style over time. Contact Laura at laura@internpursuit.tech.