Technology is one of those tools that has impacted almost every industry globally, including the fashion industry.
This hasn’t been any different for fashion. Some people may argue that tech has not directly impacted the fashion industry, but the facts are out there for everyone to see. Anyone who has been in fashion long enough will tell you the magnitude of the impact tech has had on this industry.
In this article, We will share some of the ways tech has impacted the fashion industry. Make sure you read until the end.
Manufacturers can quickly get end-user feedback.
Before the days of social media, blogs, and vlogs, it was a bit hard for manufacturers to know the end user’s opinions about their products.
This made inventing and reinventing new designs in the fashion industry to take longer than it does today. But with platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, manufacturers can quickly know what the end-users want and focus all their efforts on that.
This reduces the chances of coming up with fashions that are not appealing to the end-users.
Wearable tech gadgets are becoming more popular.
People today no longer want to put on a watch that only has the time and date functionalities – they want something that can do more than that. Smartwatches are steadily disrupting the watch industry due to the complexity they add to the watch.
For instance, the apple watch is now used to track sleep, measure body temperature, blood pressure, and many other health parameters.
This data is then used by the iPhone’s health app to make health recommendations to the user. These extra functionalities are what make the difference between an ordinary watch and a smartwatch.
3D printing in manufacturing.
3D printing may not be new technology per se, but its impact has been felt most in recent years. This impact has mainly been due to the integration of computer technology into the whole process of 3D printing.
Fashion accessories (i.e., shoes, belts, bags) now manufactured through 3D printing has dramatically cut the costs and the time required to manufacture such stuff.
Big data has made it easier to come up with the right sizes of clothing.
Back then, the only way of getting people’s sizes was through physically measuring them. However, this method was time-consuming and would, at times, not give a clear picture because it didn’t take care of people with different shapes. Today, software tools can use two images of a person to generate a 3D avatar representing that person’s shape.
With too much data on the internet today, manufacturers now have big databases of people’s different shapes, making it possible for them to make clothing that fits people perfectly without physically measuring them.
It’s easier for designers to showcase their talent today using tools like social media.
If you are a fashion designer, it is much easier today to have your fashions put out there using social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and many more. This is one of the reasons why there are so many designs out there.
eCommerce has changed the way we buy textile products.
One doesn’t have to physically move to different clothing stores, making it much easier to purchase clothes and other fashion accessories. The convenience of not moving has made people develop the urge to buy more, which has led to the textile industry’s rapid growth.
eCommerce platforms also make it possible for someone to look at a wide range of options before deciding on which one to go with. It is also easier to make recommendations through reviews and feedback on this eCommerce platforms.
Virtual reality has made getting wrong sized clothes something of the past.
One of the most significant drawbacks of eCommerce in its early days was people purchasing stuff and receiving something different from what they expected in terms of size and quality. With Virtual Reality (VR), it is now possible to use a 3D avatar of your size and shape to try out clothes and other fashion accessories before purchasing them.
This has made it possible for people to get clothes of their size and those that suit their body shape. However, this technology is still being adopted by different textile eCommerce platforms, and people seem to appreciate it as it improves the accuracy of getting the right size and shape of clothes.
Design software has made it easy to implement different design ideas.
Before the computers and design software tools, if one thought of any design idea, the only way they would showcase it was by drawing it on paper using a pencil. This took time, especially for designs that are a bit sophisticated. However, with design software tools, one can easily have several designs drawn and put into use within a couple of minutes.
Some of the design software tools used today include; Design Dobby, C-Design Fashion, Zedonk software, Evolution Textile Design, and many more. Such software tools have been the reason for the birth of many fashion designs today.
Final thoughts
Technology may not have replaced the need for creativity in the fashion industry or even changed the fact that people will want to see new fashion trends after a certain period.
However, it has boosted the productivity of creatives and manufacturers in the fashion industry. Social platforms have also made the interaction of manufacturers and final users more direct and more comfortable.
When producers have a closer relationship with the final users of the products, new designs that the final users won’t become more accessible.
In the coming years, we expect more and more influence of tech on the fashion industry. Technologies like the internet of things (IoT) and virtual reality will have a significant impact on fashion in the coming years.
Want the latest posts, offers, and exclusive content straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss out again. See more Tech posts here.
