Fashion has a reputation as a fickle field. Still, talk to enough
experts on what they see coming in the future, and certain trends and
themes begin to emerge. As New York
Fashion Week comes to a close, I thought it’d be a fun time to try to
peek into the future. To see where the field could be going in the next
five years, I spoke to nine of the smartest people I know working across
fashion today. Here’s what they had to say (spoiler alert: Get ready
for some seriously techie clothes):
Jason Silva, futurist, filmmaker, and host of Brain Games on National Geographic
One
of the things we are seeing more and more is the disappearance of
“computers”. Exponential progress puts more “computational power” into
ever-shrinking densities and dimensions. Today, our smartphones are a
million times smaller and a thousand times more powerful than
warehouse-sized supercomputers 40 years ago. Already, computers have
essentially become fashion accessories. When people buy smartphones,
they are also making fashion statements, design choices, etc. Consider Apple:
They are just as much a fashion and design company as a technology
company. This will continue. Eventually we will have “wearable
computing”. Google‘s
“Project Glass” will put augmented reality computers into eyeglasses.
Imagine the fashion possibilities that will emerge from that! The term
used is “ubiquitous computing”. Computation will be everywhere: it will
be in the fabric of our clothing, it will be our second skin. Fashion
will become high technology.
Rie Yano, co-founder of Material Wrld There
will be more data available online guiding smarter buying decisions for
consumers and selling decisions for brands. Today, you can find market
data around electronic goods and cars based on what year they were
produced, retail price, brand name, version, etc. You don’t see the same
type of data around fashion since fashion is so fickle and with so many
players, there is no industry standard to store such data. As an
example, an item may appear on a brand’s e-commerce site and will
disappear once the season is over. You may find it on other retailer
sites as well as on eBay—but it will be very difficult to track down
that exact item once the season is over. In five years, more data will
be available around each item and its availability, pricing, etc, that
will help guide smarter decisions for consumers and optimize selling
opportunities in various markets for brands.
Hannah Metz, fashion designer and blogger
I
imagine we’ll see a continued democratization of fashion with high-end
lines offering more inexpensive options and more involvement from a
broader audience through social media and blogs. As for trends, since
fashion is so incredibly predictable and self-referencial I reckon we’ll
see a bit of the early aughts referenced in lines to come, though I’m
loath to think it. I’d like to see a return to over-the-top dressing if
only so I could indulge!
Claire Mazur, co-founder of Of A Kind
In the next five years we’ll see the concept of the “trend” lose
importance as the idea of “personal style” takes its place—I think of
trends as being more of a product of the print world and there’s no
doubt we’ve seen the importance of personal style gain a lot of momentum
thanks to the internet.
Jenny Michelsen, CMO and co-founder at Gunnar Optiks
Fashion
and technology already intersect, but over the next five years, I
believe the focus will be on elevating both design and experience.
Consumers will demand more from brands in both sectors to refine all
elements of their trade. We’re are witnessing a ‘diffusion of
innovation’ where companies face logistical constraints, and without
massive strides in infrastructure, innovators will be forced to focus on
elevating form and function–beauty with benefits, if you will. Fashion
may be limitless from an artistic standpoint, but materials,
manufacturing processes, commerce options and ability to showcase the
right products to the right audience will continue to alter the fabric
of the industry–fashion will, to some extent, need to conform to demand
and the changing landscape of social climate. The meshing of fashion and
technology will ultimately result in huge gains for both as they adapt
to consumer’s pursuit for better, more efficient, innovative product
offerings.
Liz Bacelar, founder of DecodedFashion
We’ve finally reached a point in which Fashion and Technology are
merging in an accelerated pace. This year alone we saw two top
designers—one in Paris and another in New York—reveal collections with
3D-printed elements. Manufacturing will be completely altered by
low-cost and high-quality 3D printing. Marketing will be an evolution of
data sets and algorithms. Top design houses that still take orders by
phone, pen and paper will give in to e-commerce and digital tools.
Manufacturing could become more and more US-based, as it will depend on
high-technologies. And augmented reality will be a common tool for
product visualization. Tech
will become the trend that defines the cool, and top fashion leaders
will learn to crave it as we their customers crave each fashion trend.”
Kate Endress, CEO and co-founder of DITTO.com
I
expect we’ll see a huge increase in e-commerce sales. Right now, only
three percent of eyewear purchases occur online, and only eight percent
for clothing and apparel. Virtual fitting technologies will be key to
growing these numbers, especially for categories where fit is really
important like eyewear and fitted apparel. The more accurate these
technologies become, the more confident consumers will feel when making
purchases online and the fewer returns customers will have to deal with
post purchase. As consumers continue to embrace these new technologies
in the next five years, I foresee online eyewear sales reaching 15
percent, and a third of all clothing and apparel purchases to move
online.
David Goldberg, president and co-founder of StyleCaster Media Group
Style
is no longer a dictatorship. In five years, we will see the true impact
of mobile and digital in empowering fans to become experts—experts who
are expressive with their personal style and excited to share it. For
brands, this means they will have to embrace all of their consumers and
the touch points they use to interact with them. Brands overall will
have to become more sophisticated about what is happening with
advertising technology (DSP’s, Data Providers, etc) as well as opening
up more to new forms of content creation and engagement tactics.”
Samantha Pleet, fashion designer
I see fashion five years in the future becoming quite ridiculous.
People will be growing their own dresses, and printing their own suits
at home. Or maybe that is 50 years in the future. Who knows!
www.forbes.com

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