Is Digital The Future Of Fashion?

Ever since the pandemic started in the year 2020, the world and its ways have undergone an overwhelming change. Technology and digitization are fast infesting in even the smallest of the world’s processes. With virtual being the norm of the day, fashion, too, has made an online turn. Fashion of all kinds are now popularly available online through websites and applications. The steady popularity of virtual fashion has come from its several benefits, such as cheap prices, good quality, and comfortable deliveries.

The advent of the COVID pandemic has only worked to accelerate the digitization of the fashion industry. Now all kinds of clothing labels, including customized bespoke luxury brands that were traditionally slow and resistant to digitization, are making an online appearance. While the digital switch is comprehensive, one can not expect it to completely evade the presence and importance of physical shops that will still be an expectedly important part of the world tomorrow.

A key factor that has paved the way for digitization to become an important norm in the fashion industry is the growing need for sustainability of the industry. Digital fashion is collaborative and creative. With 3D technologies and AR/VR options entering the fashion world, online try-outs and sampling have become an exercisable option. It is now being used for sampling, try-outs, and digital showcases and is thus helping to minimize waste caused by the fashion industry. These digital samples have decreased manufacturing costs and time by eliminating any carbon footprint. This change is truly the way forward, considering technology and sustainability are expectedly the two main pillars of any business growth in the future.

Also, buyers are now in a position to avail more options in customized clothing which has led to a market shift towards bespoke clothing labels as opposed to the traditional dominance of readymade brands in terms of market share. This shift can translate into a possibly high market share for customized fashion in the future.

Further, the 3D and AR/VR technologies have worked to solve the problem of lengthiness and complexity in the buying process of customized bespoke clothing. Now tailored clothing can be availed through online mediums as easily as readymade clothing. This has added substantially to enhancing the demand for customized clothing amongst the customers and will hopefully continue to add to it.

Apart from bolstering customer ease in shopping, technology and digitization have also played a critical role in streamlining the processes on the manufacturer’s side, as well. Also, sustainable fashion startups hold great potential to move the bespoke clothing industry on a sustainable path. Some of the fashion startups are using digital transformation in VR/AR design, 3D Design, virtual fitting rooms, digital clothing, AI buyer prediction, etc to aid their manufacturing processes which increases the precision and efficiency of manifolds.

Lastly, sampling and use of sustainable materials in the clothing manufacturing process has helped cut costs and increase the durability and life of the garment. Fashion brands are now able to model fabrics into precise replicas of 3D garments doing away with the need for many alterations, which facilitates the reduction of material & resource waste.

The pandemic has been a challenging time for all. However, some industries have taken it as an opportunity to truly innovate and level up, and have thus proved that a silver lining can be found in any situation if you have the zeal. One of such industries is the customized clothing industry that has escalated its status and demand by making sizable alterations in the way it operated. Overcoming its traditional resistance to a digital shift, brands of bespoke clothing are now finally making an online appearance and are benefitting immensely from it. Some ways in which digitization has shaped the present and is expected to shape the future of fashion were discussed in the scope of this article.