Introduction
The following macro areas have been identified by our Benchmarking Report, as areas that may represent a direction for future development of the fashion-tech sector. They serve as indicators representing the macro areas of the future products and processes, resulting from observations and analysis of emerging issues in latest research. More specifically, they are represented by case studies for potential applications of the products that are designed and prototyped today as future scenarios by current stakeholders in the field.
Those case studies are related to the areas of wearable technologies, smart textiles or digital manufacturing at the intersection of fashion-tech. Most of the materials, techniques, products or technologies are the result of the meeting of different fields, such as medicine, architecture, gaming, robotics and automotive, while being far from the world of fashion design. The future directions are assessed based on parameters related to marketing, design and engineering to indicate their level of maturity, technology and marketability.
MATURITY
level of sophistication and development process of the product/process
MARKETABILITY
ability to be sold or marketed; attractiveness to potential employers or clients
TECHNOLOGY
technology readiness level: which phase of development the product/process is in; availability for industrial production
Of interest to
PROFESSIONALS
Informing about emerging issues, what types of skills are necessary, what types of professional figures are essential
COMPANIES
Informing about the evolution of the processes
RESEARCH CENTRES
Informing about the possible applications of the “inventions” developed but are lacking an application area
Future Directions
CULTURE DRIVEN WEARABLES:
art, technology and interaction
HYPER-BODY:
connecting senses and materials
