blog post #3

MARÍA GONZÁLEZ – PÁRAMO

Before I attended my first better lives session on Emerging Technology, I was extremely unaware of all the existing different technological options that could turn the fashion industry around on a 360º turn. Even though me and mostly all of my classmates are millennials, we are amateurs to the world of coding, blockchain, bitcoin… We know how to work our iPhones and how to access runways, and shoots, nearby fashion events, Vogue youtube tutorials, etc,… yet, we are completely numb to the idea of advanced technology and the vast and remarkable influence it can have on the industry’s outstanding flaw’s such as: sustainability, diversity, equal rights in the work space… I have opened my eyes and seen the advantages of investing in technology in order to be able to control things that are overlooked by humans. VR has been a field in emerging technology which has always called my attention and I can recall wanting to know more about it a few times. In the sessions our teacher, Nick Almond, really opened my mind and talked a few times about Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Intelligence. Many ideas where starting to appear in my mind, and I was also making connections. Immediately, what came to mind was how one of my preferred sectors in the fashion world, runway shows, could be connected to AI, VR and the whole technological field in general. I had heard about young creatives at LCF creating computer designed models and runways in the past and was very interested and keen on seeing if this could be encouraged more and even practiced more. I wanted to reflect more and truly take the session’s information outside of the university room, so I started researching on the Internet in order to see what initiatives and actual projects where out there. Amongst my different findings, I found out that that there was had been many projects where designers would sell virtual online garments and gain a lot of money. On one hand, while this was an idea that excited me given its modernity and technologically advanced side, I was also a little disappointed considering that to me it looked like the hand knitted/woven/printed real life garments would lose their shine and value.
In my better lives project, Emerging Technology in the Fashion Industry, we decided on a final project which was about vintage trends and using data to analyse the needs in different focalised areas in order to produce the needed amounts and be more sustainable. Some methods we learned to use and explored where tools like google trends, social media options such as hashtags, google maps GPS options to situate where demand was coming from etc. I think overall, this project has opened my eyes to the infinite possibilities that lie within the use of technology and advanced engines. I believe that I will start to use these trend tracers in the future in order to find clothing to use in my shoots when using specialised garments so that I don’t contribute negatively by buying in shops and use garments that have already been worn. This could be one sustainable approach on my side based on what I have learnt throughout this project which is directly related to my field of study.