It may only be the second week of 2024, but fashion week is already dominating the conversation across luxury. While Milan Men’s Fashion Week kicked off this Friday, brands are already looking ahead at the upcoming womenswear season for next month — a parade that has evolved into an opportunity to play with new tech-driven concepts.
Copenhagen Fashion Week is getting in early. The calendar has announced a new partnership alongside Web3 leader and Farfetch Dream Assembly participant Spin.Fashion, which is rooted in making the runway more responsible and circular.
In other news, Victoria’s Secret is deploying artificial intelligence (AI) to refine its online shopping experience. The brand will implement Google Cloud’s proprietary AI technologies to assist shoppers. It also plans on introducing AI internally to help streamline its processes.
Copenhagen Fashion Week teams up with Spin.Fashion on sustainability-led project#
What happened: Copenhagen Fashion Week (CPHFW) has joined forces with Spin.Fashion to explore the role of phygital design in a more circular, sustainable fashion system.
During the upcoming CPHFW schedule, Spin.Fashion will take over the CPHFW "NewTalent" showroom to digitize runway looks from emerging Nordic talent, where it will showcase the capabilities of blockchain-based supply chain traceability, digital product passports, AR, and VR for interacting with fashion.
Why it matters: Copenhagen takes the title as the most green fashion week on the calendar. By partnering with Spin.Fashion, a known advocate of a more circular fashion industry, CPHFW is able to uphold its eco-friendly reputation.
Calendar hotspots like Paris and New York could learn from their lesser-hyped counterpart. While the four major fashion weeks have shown no hesitation in exploring next-gen tech, they are tentative when it comes to diving into how its potential can be applied to the real-world sustainability crisis.
Victoria’s Secret turns to emerging tech to bolster shopping experience#
What happened: Infamous lingerie label Victoria’s Secret has teamed up with Google Cloud to deploy its AI-enabled tools, both internally and consumer-facing. Machine-learning technology will bolster the brand’s e-commerce presence as well as streamline its internal processes of production and trend forecasting.
Why it matters: As a brand notorious for its problematic past, sizing conundrums, and a more-recent comeback flop, turning to emerging tech may be a saving grace to regain consumer confidence. Harnessing AI to assist consumers with sizes and product recommendation queries is a priority.
In 2023, machine-learning tech surfaced as a promising answer to e-commerce's age-old pain point of overly generalized, run-of-the-mill size and product guides. This shift is poised to accelerate even further in 2024, with e-commerce powerhouses like Amazon now deploying AI-enabled tools to address size discrepancies and reduce towering return rates.
What happened: Altava, the fashion-tech startup backed by LVMH's La Maison des Startups program, has launched an AI-powered virtual item creation platform, designed to empower the fashion designers of tomorrow.
The boutique provides a comprehensive suite of tools, such as Design Lab and Maker AI, for aspiring creatives looking to experiment with 3D fashion objects and generative AI. As part of the release, Altava has also appointed New-York based creative director, designer, and artist Kaimin as its first ambassador.
Why it matters: With pain points still evident across the entire spectrum of emerging tech, this latest venture from Altava aims to break down the barriers of technological expertise, empowering those with even the most basic digital fashion knowledge to sharpen their skills.
The platform will also teach designers how to monetize their creations across virtual worlds and capitalize on the industry's growth, as the multi-million digital fashion market continues to swell. With more comprehensive resources cropping up, including Brand New Vision's ME:ID, the next generation of fashion visionaries is being primed for success in Web3.