Fashions relationship with Tech
“As a fashion designer, I was always aware that I was not an artist, because I was creating something that was made to be sold, marketed, used, and ultimately discarded”.
Tom Ford
The fashion industry reacts to change, it doesn’t create it. In the 1960s, designers would show their collections twice a year for a select group of women. They would select looks from the show they would like to buy and have to wait months to receive them. The fashion industry was created for the elite, if you weren’t a part of the upper class you didn’t have access. We would like to think that things have changed because people have involved but it is likely that technology was the reason things changed in the early 2000’s. E-commerce has changed the way that companies interact with their customers, allowing anyone access to fashion.
One of the most successful e-commerce stores is Farfetch. According to the New York Times, “The value of goods sold reached $798 million in the three months ending Sept. 30, a 62 percent increase from the same period a year earlier. Gross profit was up 82 percent, edging the 13-year-old company toward profitability in 2021.” Many of the brands that are featured on Farfetch are streetwear brands including off-white and palm angels, customers don’t need gowns anymore. The companies that are able to succeed have to understand who their real customer is. It is estimated that only 10 percent of what is shown on the runway is actually produced to be sold. This can be very misleading for consumers who watch the shows hoping that their favorite pieces are produced. The first time the customer actually gets to see whats available is on the e-commerce website. The physical store often receives the items after it is shown on the e-commerce site because of pre-order. The customer is also able to access more sizes because they are not limited to what is in the store right now.
The fashion industry has been trying to re-create the magic of e-commerce ever since with gimmicks. If something is successful once in fashion, they will keep trying to re-create it until the customer is sick of it. This is one of the downfalls of fashion because there is never a right answer, brands are so afraid of trying something new that they will regurgitate the same ideas over and over again. This is why fashion has not been able to create a successful combination of tech and fashion. The reason e-commerce is successful is because of the simplicity, e-commerce is a way for people to shop privately.
Under the reign of Alessandro Michele, Gucci has created a virtual store for customers. According to Retail Detail, “At the moment, the service is in a trial stage and is only available in the Florence store, but the Italian luxury brand has stated its intention to open five similar stores, in New York, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.” This new venture shows how out of touch brands are with their consumers. They are catering to the wrong customer, the idea of a virtual store is very niche. This is another gimmick to get attention online which is fine but very transparent.
One of the most interesting uses of technology is 3-d printing. There have been many attempts at incorporating 3-d printing in fashion but they haven’t been able to mass produce. According to 3D Printing Industry, “Adidas is releasing the latest Alphaedge 4D in two colors: Core Black Carbon and White Carbon. Both will feature an upper part made with adidas’ Primeknit technology. Primeknit is a breathable woven fabric which is lightweight and gives a shoe sock-like fitting for comfort.” Designers like Iris Van Herpen have created pieces with this technology but if you can’t sell it then it doesn’t matter.
