Once upon a time, two star-crossed lovers—technology and fashion—collided. This relationship changed the course of the fashion industry, intertwining different cultural worlds into one. Due to technology, the clothing industry has grown immensely, from online shopping to AI trend predictions. With the growth and creation of smarter tech, the future of fashion continues to expand. To understand impending advancements in the industry, we have to look at how technology transformed the fashion industry.
Access to Fashion News
The internet’s web index offers numerous resources for fashion news and education. This fast and easy access to informational material helps grow the clothing industry by including the general population in the previously exclusive fashion world. On top of receiving the latest fashion gossip, people have also gained virtual access to significant industrial events, like fashion week, increasing the spectacle’s popularity and ticket sales.
Online Trendsetting
Social platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram open a new branch of fashion jobs, including fashion vloggers, influencers, and online ambassadors. Within each application, a specific fashion-centered community appears. These online fashion fanatics share different design trends, outfit ideas, and styling methods, offering a fresh rotation of looks to try. Due to the extensive online presence, trends spread quickly and constantly change. Anyone with virality can initiate the latest fashion movement.
The Shift in Shopping Culture
Most clothing stores now offer an online shop in addition to their brick-and-mortars. Online shopping requires a new set of procedures to the spending process, differing from in-store experiences. E-commerce mitigates in-person inconveniences, like digging through multiple racks, hunting down a sales assistant, commuting to stores, and waiting at check-out. As with most things turned digital, online spending offers a more convenient way to buy clothes and allows clothing businesses to increase their demographic across various locations. To streamline the online shopping experience even further, people can find and use online shopping guides from the digital fashion community.
The War Between Speed and Ethics
Since clothes are now just a click away, the demand for items increases, requiring the industry to manufacture apparel faster. However, fast fashion’s heightened appearance within the fashion trade also spikes ethical and environmental movements. The surge of demands due to the digital vogue dynasty puts garment factory workers in a more vulnerable position by their higher-ups. To meet the high requests for apparel and produce more money, most companies disregard their laborers, making them do extra work with poor pay and factory conditions. The rise in clothes created also means an influx of fashion waste.
The history of how technology transformed the fashion industry shows us that more changes will likely happen within the clothing enterprise’s future. Like many unforeseen love stories, the bonding between technology and fashion created a new era.
Dianne Pajo is a writer based out of the Chicagoland area with a passion for music, combat sports, and animals. She enjoys competing in amateur boxing and kickboxing, but in her other leisure time, you can find her performing music around the city. She is also a dog mom of 2.
