What do fashion, design and tech have to do with each other?
Well, A LOT, based on the GameChangers panel hosted by Dell x Create & Cultivate in Austin this week.
When it comes to innovation and change, technology is enabling better engagement with consumers and brands, as well as creativity and efficiency. Technology is evolving the fashion industry and fashion is influencing technology. Read through for the hot topics of the day and how technology is the future of fashion - in store and online.
THE TECH IMPACT ON THE FASHION INDUSTRY
Speed is of the essence in the modern world and tech helps us get there. “Obviously a lot has changed with the internet,” shared Charcy Evers, a fashion and retail trend analyst. “‘The consumer wants, what she wants, when she wants it, on her own terms. And if she doesn’t get it, you lose her.”
That’s a scary but exciting proposition. Charcy asked the crowd in attendance, “Where does the creativity of the designer end and tech take over?” She also told the crowd, ‘it has to be seamless, or else I’m out the door,” of her experiences with tech. And it’s true.
“Things are working much closer of the speed to market,” but the key is finding the sweet spot. You can jump on something too quick and your customer is not ready for it, or you can miss the boat,” explained Evers.
“Our audience appreciates that done is better than perfect,” Morgan DeBaun, founder of Blavity, shared. “They want it now. We have to keep up with that expectations and let go of our perfection. We learn a lot about our audience just by listening.” There was also the recognition that content creation is a 24/7 job and in order to keep up you need tech that works for you.
“I’m really careful at looking at my analytics and seeing what people are paying attention to,” explained Genevieve Padalecki, the massive blogger behind the platform Now and Gen, who boasts an unheard of 25% engagement rate. “My biggest platform is Instagram because I feel like it’s the most honest and real.”
HOW TECH INFLUENCES FASHION AND VICE VERSA
The two concepts go hand-in-hand. The lines are blurred, if not already merged.
Nicola Honeycutt, Dell’s Principal Designer, told that crowd, “We look to industries like fashion and textiles for trends and inspiration for our color and materials in our products -like the Rose Gold aluminum and Alpine White woven glass fiber in our New Dell XPS 13 laptop. And new colors can actually be invented with advances in technology. It’s pretty amazing.”
The industry is changing fast across the board. Today, two out of three Millennials prefer to shop online rather than go to a physical store, with 80% of Americans having made an online purchase in the last month! We know that millennials are influenced by tech and that their affinity for tech is reshaping the retail space.
As retail and fashion trend analyst Charcy Evers explained, “What’s driving trends today is the innovation that’s happening in technology. With every new innovation the customer’s mind and behavior is altered, so the expectation has changed.” Consumers expect products like the New Dell XPS 13, which combines both fashion innovation and tech in one device.
How do you see fashion and tech coming together in your world? Share in the comments below.
