HUAYU Liu

The blog I chose to review was the first blog from Chun-pi HSIEH. The first thing I need to say is that the topic and title of her blog are very attractive to me. When the audience does not know what the content is, often, the title is the most eye-catching place. “How emerging technology creates a sustainable future to our lives? . We all know that sustainable development has always been the ultimate goal of human beings on earth, and it is also a hot topic in the fashion industry. Her choice of a fashion hot topic as the theme is undoubtedly the most beautiful part.

In her Blog, I saw the general direction of future fashion, and she actively cited numerous examples to show that emerging technologies can create the future. Similarly, I am a fan of emerging technologies, and in my first Blog post I wrote on the same topic, and ventured to assume the future direction of the fashion industry and came to a similar conclusion that emerging technologies will be an integral part of the future fashion industry. In her first part of “fashion trend prediction”, I saw the power of AI system and the role that AI will play in guiding and predicting fashion in the future. Of course, when it comes to fashion, I think AI has more advantages than disadvantages. But this reminds me that the dominance of artificial intelligence in the future is too strong to cause humans to be too passive, which is equivalent to humans creating a god, but unable to control the god. Individual privacy will be exposed to artificial intelligence, which can freely read the data transmitted by humans over the network. Nothing is certain about the future, but I have always had one point, and that is that human beings must remain creative. Creativity is the only thing artificial intelligence can’t learn. It’s our innate talent. In the future era of big rampant data, the computing function of the computer is much more potent than the human brain; creation is our only strength, is the only weapon to break the artificial intelligence defense line.

In retrospect, I fully agree with her core point that emerging technologies can indeed create a sustainable future. Because in the current era, we urgently need the development of artificial intelligence to promote the progress and development of the industry. Because they can bring us more convenient services and accurate data. These figures are based on real data from millions of images taken around the world to make predictions that don’t waste resources.

In conclusion, In her blog, I saw her thinking about the sustainable future, which is very worthy of everyone, especially In the fashion industry. This is social responsibility because there is only one earth; we need to use our creativity to change the world and make it better.

As a student from Creative Direction for Fashion, ideas and creativity always comes first. In my eyes, a person without ideas is like a body without a soul or a ship without sails in the sea. Many of the students in our course are very talented and thoughtful. In terms of thinking about innovation in general, I think we are relatively good at it, and I think it is easier to absorb new things or new ideas. But we need to stretch more from reality and think about what can happen. Since taking The Better Lives class, I’ve gained some insight into the changing trends of fashion in the future. We need to innovate and work harder to learn and develop so that the fashion industry can progress faster. 

My chosen course in The Better Lives unit is contemporary portrait photography. Combined with some of the lectures that have been given before, my previous definition of fashion has been altered. Before the fashion industry, many people thought it was very realistic and damaging to the earth’s environment. Fashion, as I see it now, is free, futuristic, full of possibilities. In Lecture 3: Emerging Technologies in Fashion, Nick mentioned a lot of topics about Emerging Technologies in the future, which also triggered my thinking on my project. There are many styles of photography, and how photographers express themselves vary. But my favorite is also the work with the theme of emerging technology, because the future is not yet here, so artists can express what will happen in the future in a virtual form. I recently watched an American TV series called the “Westworld”, which is about the direct relationship between artificial intelligence and human beings. Because I think this kind of work makes the audience think about human nature. For example, does an object have the right to exist when it has consciousness? Can you call it life? After I listened to the lecture in Better Lives, it opened a new world of ideas about the future world for me. There is also a huge amount of cinematic art in the market today, such as “The Matrix,” “Blade Runner,” and so on. These films all use the theme of emerging technology to describe the story of the future. Therefore, I am also very interested in emerging technologies, which can be used in Fashion Media and bring different feelings and understandings to the audience. I am hopeful that the fashion industry will be a diverse, sustainable and world-changing one.  

At the same time, we have witnessed the changes in the fashion industry brought by technology. I believe that technology will change humanity in the future. Through the study of this unit, I understand more clearly that we are now in the future, but we still need to do more. 

Over the past few weeks, the Better Lives unit has covered several interesting topics that can better suit working sustainably and diversely in the fashion industry. The fashion industry is still relatively wasteful in today’s society, which is far from achieving a truly sustainable attitude. We still need to work hard to make the world a better place. At the same time, we study at the best fashion schools in the world, we are part of the future fashion industry, and we should change the future, to change fashion. 

For the Better Lives unit, I’m majoring in portrait photography. Because I have a great interest in photography, I hope to improve my understanding of the camera through this unit. However, what I gained the most from this unit is not the skills of camera use, but the understanding and perception of the art of photography. I had always thought that technology was a big part photography until I finished a few photography classes. Excellent artistic photography is more about the relationship between the photographer and the subject, as well as the thoughts and ideas the photographer wants to express. The infamous British fashion photographer Tim Walker said that he didn’t use technicalities at first, he just thought of it as a small box for recording, and you could see different things through the box. So just because you’re good with a camera doesn’t mean you’re going to create good work, but your ideas are the foundation of a kind work of art. 

The Better Lives theme of sustainability, diversity and social responsibility has allowed me to see fashion through a different lens. Using sustainability for example, not all fashion shoots require expensive spending on props and sets. Things you can touch in your life can become a great element for photographing, such as some recyclable materials. For example, Cindy Sherman, a famous American portrait photographer is a photographer who does not waste resources. The most important thing is that you only see her in her photographs, and she always photographs herself with subtle variations. The background is just in some ordinary places, not special scenes. I think this is the way the master treats the art in a sustainable way. Therefore, the texture of some recyclable materials, some of which bring different feelings to the audience, can also save a lot of resources, and truly achieve the sustainability of art. 

In the following study and work life, I will also adhere to the concept of sustainability to create fashion. I believe our environment should be compromised to create fashion, because only sustainability can make the world a better place. 

After listening to Lecture 3: Emerging Technologies in fashion, I had some ideas and views on the future of technology in fashion. Lecturer Nick Almond talked about the role that digital technology plays in the fashion industry, and how digital technology can be a sustainable way for the fashion industry. 

A lot of what Nick said struck me because I was also interested in artificial intelligence and digital technology. To better reflect upon this lecture. I will put some of my research and own experiences to illustrate my ideas. 

Emerging technologies can create sustainable fashion in the future

The sustainability of fashion has always been a topic of discussion. Many people believe that fashion is not sustainable because fashion creates a lot of pollution and destroys the earth’s environment. As part of the fashion industry, we know how important sustainability is. But the rise of new technology has injected different blood into fashion, such as virtual digital clothing and artificial intelligence stylists and so on. Presenting reality in virtual form is the most appropriate way in modern times. These technologies have helped the fashion industry become more versatile and work towards achieving the goal of protecting the environment. Technology is an integral part of what can be sustainable and allows the industry to become more diverse. 

Emerging technology is already with us.

With the global outbreak of the coronavirus, we all participate in social distancing and self-isolation as the most effective way of combating the pandemic. Technologies such as smartphones, gaming consoles and computers have made life more bearable under these extreme circumstances, enabling people to learn about the world’s news and communicate with people from different countries at home. Digital products are also increasingly integrated into people’s lives. For example, many fashion brands are using social media as a platform to communicate new season designs, ideas and solutions to consumers online.  

Emerging technologies will be a significant part of the fashion industry in the future. 

Many brands want to create a concept of their sense of the future, but in today’s conditions and resources are  restricted.  Virtual reality can not only recreate the designer’s vision but also financially can save a lot of money. For instance, Angel Chen, a new designer from China, launched her brand online for the first time in 2020 Shanghai fashion week. The theme was inspired by the 1988 film AKIRA, in which the world is set in 2020 to be a cyber wasteland of futuristic technology, with the hero forever racing against time. 3D and Computer Graphics make the background of the show, and the whole atmosphere is based on virtual technology and cyberpunk, which perfectly represents futuristic clothes. Therefore, the designer team skillfully used virtual digital technology to achieve and create things that could not be done in the real world, bringing unprecedented perception and experience to the audience. I think creativity and imagination are the raw materials to shape the future, and the combination of technology and fashion will definitely become the mainstream of the fashion industry.

To conclude, emerging technologies can bring us infinite possibilities in the future, combined with fashion, then fashion will become a sustainable industry in the future.