For London Tech Week, Black Neon Digital and Fashion Roundtable hosted a panel event on Human Connectivity, Ethics and Fashion, discussing the importance of empathy and authentic connection and communication whilst interactions transition from the physical to the digital space. The shift from IRL to URL is happening across all aspects of life; it has become increasingly difficult to go through a day without using technology. Responding to the challenges and opportunities created by the fourth industrial revolution, the government launched the UK Industrial Strategy in 2018. (Image via Black Neon Digital.)
Read MoreThe EAC report is also wrong on the point that "Short lead times means that wash tests and wearer trials are often not feasible, with implications for garment quality". This is nonsense. Every single fabric has to be tested and approved. We make up to 10,000 garments a week and we have had to test every single fabric and if it fails the tests then quite simply we can’t use them.
Read MoreOn a wet miserable February evening, a sell out crowd gathered at GCU to hear an illustrious group of speakers talk about Fashion-Tech, Disrupting business models, AI Innovations and Fashion Futures. Quite an agenda, but all with the desire to be inclusive, informative, and disruptive. Fashion has always been the enfant terrible of the business world. However, lets not forget that it provides the UK with £32 bn GDP which is over 20 times more than fisheries at £1.6bn GDP. Where is our minister for fashion, I ask?
Read MoreFor me fashion has always had a key opportunity to create a more sustainable future because it’s the closest thing we wear to our bodies without us realising, becoming our second skin. Personally, I believe that our bodies are our greatest technologies. I looked at how we could use secretion to form second skins as well as natural health indicators. Not only does the industry need to change, but we also need to transform the way the consumer shops and thinks about clothing. One of the biggest issues is over-consumption, so by trying to prolong garments that can grow and change with us I hope to expand their life-span.
Read MoreWith UK tech businesses are growing 2X faster than non digital businesses according to TechNation, to not take notice of the numerous and diverse needs to grow that business in a market where a unique USP is a key indicator of success seems not only counter-initiative, it is also clearly bad for businesses, including our UK fashion industry which leads in global FashTech innovations, with companies such as Farfetch, Matchesfashion and Net-A-Porter headquartered in London. Especially vital in a post-Brexit landscape where immigration has played a huge factor in political decision making. If we do not have the domicile talent, how can we hope to shape the global industry of the future?
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