Fashion-tech visionaries gathered this week in New York for a BoF Professional Summit to assess and debate the industry’s next wave of technological transformation.
Barely has the fashion industry — still shaking off its reputation for being slow to embrace technological innovation — gotten to grips with the first two generations of the web that attention is now turning to web3, the metaverse and the vast array of associated technologies, from augmented reality to blockchain. The pandemic has only accelerated the pace of technological advancements and adoption, threatening to leave brands that haven’t already headed into the metaverse, or embraced decentralised autonomous organisation, in what might soon feel like the Stone Age.
Whatever the technologies brands invest in, there is a new element of the unknown, one that may not lead to the traditional returns on investment they have come to expect and requires a willingness to start experimenting with breakthrough tools that have the potential to radically transform the fashion industry, according to Ommy Akhe, a creative technologist specialising in experiential software and AR prototypes. “Experimentation is key,” she said.
RTFKT co-founder Benoit Pagotto told the Summit that fashion companies should transform their approach to growing their communities. Giving people access to digital assets or tokens such as NFTs, which can increase in value over time, helps customers feel they are contributing to a brand’s growth story, he explained, but adding that brands also need a new mindset.
“Brands need to change completely – the word consumer is over,” he said. “Instead of ‘what can I get from them?,’ ask ‘what can I do for them?’ That’s a big shift.”
To read more from BoF’s Technology Correspondent Marc Bain, sign up for our Weekly Technology Briefing out every Thursday. [Link in bio]
In partnership with @coinbase and @joor
#BoFProfessional
Barely has the fashion industry — still shaking off its reputation for being slow to embrace technological innovation — gotten to grips with the first two generations of the web that attention is now turning to web3, the metaverse and the vast array of associated technologies, from augmented reality to blockchain. The pandemic has only accelerated the pace of technological advancements and adoption, threatening to leave brands that haven’t already headed into the metaverse, or embraced decentralised autonomous organisation, in what might soon feel like the Stone Age.
Whatever the technologies brands invest in, there is a new element of the unknown, one that may not lead to the traditional returns on investment they have come to expect and requires a willingness to start experimenting with breakthrough tools that have the potential to radically transform the fashion industry, according to Ommy Akhe, a creative technologist specialising in experiential software and AR prototypes. “Experimentation is key,” she said.
RTFKT co-founder Benoit Pagotto told the Summit that fashion companies should transform their approach to growing their communities. Giving people access to digital assets or tokens such as NFTs, which can increase in value over time, helps customers feel they are contributing to a brand’s growth story, he explained, but adding that brands also need a new mindset.
“Brands need to change completely – the word consumer is over,” he said. “Instead of ‘what can I get from them?,’ ask ‘what can I do for them?’ That’s a big shift.”
To read more from BoF’s Technology Correspondent Marc Bain, sign up for our Weekly Technology Briefing out every Thursday. [Link in bio]
In partnership with @coinbase and @joor
#BoFProfessional
