Reversing Innovation and Saving Lives in Rural India

The previous post on this blog played devil’s advocate with some of the technological innovations that could perhaps be perceived as frivolous and unnecessary in some cases, and potentially negative or harmful in others when used irresponsibly or with little regard to future applications.  However, products like the Lullaby and Embrace baby warmers are perfect examples of the extraordinary benefits that technology can create in our world.

Interestingly, both of these inventions came about as a response to a need for “reverse innovation”, that is the stripping down of a technology to its base and most essential components to create a bare bones product that addresses the same needs as the original, but without all of the cutting edge features-and expensive price tag.  In this case,  both products were designed to keep premature babies warm in India, often a leading cause in infant mortality in developing countries where medical support cannot meet the demand of the population.  India’s population represents a cross section of life throughout the world, with the poor and rich alike giving birth nearly every second.  However, rural mothers with little means faced greater challenges in caring for premature infants, often bringing the babies to urban health centers that simply could not support or afford the lifesaving care the babies would need to survive.

GE developed the Lullaby baby incubator in 2009 to help babies maintain an ideal body temperature, focusing on releasing the product in India, where the highest rate of pre-term infant mortality occurs.  GE saw many of these deaths as preventable and so looked at traditional incubators and simplified the product to be more simple in function and so simple to use that even illiterate care givers could follow the color coded pictorial instructions to operate the device.  The Lullaby is 70% cheaper than traditional models, allowing the product to be more accessible to care centers with little means.

Infant mortality is a huge issue affecting millions of families every year; approximately 20 million babies are born each year, with one million of them dying on their first day of life, according to Save the Children.  The Embrace heated baby cocoon was similarly developed at an even lower cost to provide much needed warmth to premature infants where even the use of an incubator was limited. The Embrace is a heated sleeping-bag like appliance that uses little electricity and is totally portable, allowing mothers and infants to experience vital skin-to-skin bonding which is vital in the recovery and development of the pre-term baby.  This product is part of a non-profit initiative that distributes the warmers to impoverished mothers who simply cannot afford proper care, saving the lives of thousands of babies since its inception.

Not only are these products extremely valuable in terms of performing a vital and life saving function; they interestingly used the process of reverse innovation to solve a problem posed by too little resources and too many needy people.  Perhaps if scientists and innovators can use these products as a catalyst, other simplified products could be developed to further assist people in need more quickly and effectively.  Things we take for granted in the developed world such as clean drinking water and personal water filtration devices, for example, could be streamlined for many people in underdeveloped countries where clean water is a luxury.  These products show us humanity, and technology at its finest; if the third wave of technology can continue to produce products that make peoples lives healthier and happier, the world will be a better place.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-23817127

 

 

How Much is Too Much; Are Human Beings the Newest Product in the Value Chain?

As the technological world gears up for the onset of the third wave of technology, vast new opportunities and unprecedented growth in terms of the capabilities of products present themselves.  The first and second waves of technology have made the world better in terms of streamlining the systems by which products are brought to market, and how these products can benefit our world.  While many of these advancements have brought about the creation of tremendous new products that can make our lives better, this push has changed the mindset of the world.  People are rapidly seeking to apply this third wave of technology to literally everything in the world around us from the mundane to the extraordinary, but perhaps as we stand at the precipice of this third wave of technology, innovators must ask themselves why and at what cost, in addition to how.

 

For example, wearable technology has become a part of mainstream life in many modernized countries today.  Products like Fitbit allow the casual athlete to monitor their fitness level and set fitness and health goals that can help people live more healthy and fulfilling lives.  Wearables have permeated the professional sports arena for decades, with many exciting inventions and innovations that can help prevent injuries in athletes, track diet and sleep patterns, and even enhance fan experience, enabling fans to viscerally experience the excitement of driving a racecar, or measuring the velocity of a soccer ball.

 

Are these advancements really calculated to help improve people’s lives, or are they merely another way big business can capitalize on a trend, and are some of these advancements truly being used with everyone’s best interest in mind? While Fitbit has many wonderful qualities when used correctly, there has been some backlash against the product; a minority of users have abused the product to fuel unhealthy body image tropes and foster an obsession with weight loss and being “thin”.

 

In terms of wearables for professional athletes, while many athletes cite the benefits offered by wearables in the prevention of injuries and the development of performance-enhancing breakthroughs, some athletes worry that a line has been crossed from professional to personal, arguably reducing the athletes to test subjects rather than human beings.  Though seemingly farfetched, perhaps a negative use of wearable technology could be the prediction of a decline in future performance based on the analysis of physical trends, allowing franchises to lowball players when they believe they will no longer be performing at a certain level.

 

You have to break a few eggs if you want to make an omelette, right? Along with the many amazing and potentially life-saving developments in technology ushered in with this third wave of technology there will inevitably be some negative effects.  While the way that this third wave of technology will affect business and the products we use every day presents many exciting opportunities, perhaps people should also be a little wary, citing fast fashion as an example.  Fast fashion is good because the consumer gets fashionable clothing more quickly and cheaply, and it makes billions of dollars for industrialists who know how to use technology to harness the supply chain, right?

A huge backlash against the fast fashion industry recently had consumers questioning the true cost of their inexpensive fast fashion garments in terms of widespread pollution, unsustainable environmental practices, and dangerous and unethical humanitarian conditions.  Fast fashion, and even social media arguably, can also negatively impact the way human beings perceive satisfaction and value.  If everything we own has little monetary value and can be easily replaced, then what is the worth of the product in the first place?  Do people really need to own as many clothes as they do, which can be easily discarded when the newest manufactured trend comes along and big manufacturers tell them that they must get the newest and best?  This hollow pursuit of an idealized vision of prosperity or fashionability seems like a ploy created by an industry where everything is faster, faster, faster in order to encourage the consumer to spend money more quickly.  Though seemingly innocent, this trend is obviously negatively impacting our environment and the working conditions of millions of textile workers all over the world, and in a less dangerous way is creating ennui within the consumer.  Will this system continue as it is, as things must and do go on?

 

As technology advances, we must too evolve with it to seek to use, and not misuse, technology for its greatest and most fundamental purpose, to improve the lives of humans and our world around us.  What do wearables in the sports sector have to do with this? Well, when the “product” in the value chain becomes the human being, in this case the athlete, we must question the motives of not the inventors, but the end users of the products, the large corporations that perhaps might misuse these amazing products.  And in the future as more and more innovative breakthroughs in technology change the way athletes play the game, will the charm and the humanity of the game be compromised as lines are blurred? For example, the world was outraged when it was revealed that star cyclist Lance Armstrong had used performance enhancing drugs to win multiple cycling competitions.  Arguably, one day will performance enhancing wearable technology be the new steroids?

 

Obviously, we cannot turn our backs and close our eyes as this third wave of technology approaches because there may be some negative effects.  Many amazing and life-changing inventions are at the tips of our collective fingers.  However, we can learn from the effects of fast fashion on our world and on our psyches and strive to use technology in a respectful and responsible way.

https://hbr.org/2014/11/how-smart-connected-products-are-transforming-competition

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/aug/09/wearable-technology-sports-athletes-personal-lives

China’s Changing Role as a Global Manufacturer Spells Big Business, and Opportunities, for the Rest of the World

Many Americans have most likely never heard of Flex.  As one of the major electronics manufacturers in the world, it is likely that many of those same Americans use or own many products that Flex developed or had a part of in some sense.  Flex produces electronics parts and products for global brands such as Apple, Microsoft, and Ford, and has a supplier base that is 14,000 strong.  Like many other companies, Flex is looking to expand its base in Southeast Asia to react to shifting dynamics in China and Southeast Asia that will have major implications for global manufacturing.  With the role that China plays in global manufacturing changing in a very significant way, many companies will need to reevaluate how they view Asia, both as a manufacturing base and as one of the fastest growing consumer bases in the world.

As its name implies, Flex relies on a flexible manufacturing model, strategic partnerships with innovators and up-and-coming designers and creators, and the technology to react, and react quickly, to needs it sees in a rapidly evolving marketplace.  Flex uses this same approach to streamline its own manufacturing process; it created a real-time collaborative software system called Flex Pulse to allow faster communication and greater connectivity within its supplier base.  Flex also has an incubator to help companies bring smart wearables to the market, a key area it says has great potential for growth in the market. It recently announced the collaboration between Flex and Enable Injections to produce high volume biologics smart wearable injectors; Flex already produces many of the fitness and wearable devices that are currently in the market.  As the Chinese market is rapidly changing, Flex and many other brands are using flexible business models to quickly adapt to shifts in the Chinese consumer, and greater shifts in manufacturing that will have global ramifications.

Part of China’s dominance of global manufacturing is due to its large labor force, and proximity to other markets, namely Japan, allowing it to churn out products at a very cheap price for foreign companies. Many Western pundits viewed China as the “hands” of the operation, cheaply manufacturing products that were conceptualized by foreign innovators for export to foreign markets, but as the minimum wage has continuously increased in China, so have the expectations, and potential, of the Chinese consumer. Flex is looking within this labor force to find many of the world’s next big ideas; the company partners with Chinese universities to cultivate innovation from the college level.  As more entrepreneurs emerge from this  market, it will be interesting to see how the face of manufacturing in China evolves to react to this change.

Since the 1960’s, China has played an integral part in the emergence as Asia as a manufacturing powerhouse.  Japan first began exporting electronics and goods, utilizing the large, cheap labor force in China as well as other nearby countries to assemble these goods, then exported them all over the world.  However, increasingly Chinese companies are owning more parts of the supply chain process, namely design and marketing, allowing them to react to trends in domestic consumption, designing products for the Chinese consumer, rather than just being a cog in the wheel for foreign entities.  More and more companies, both Chinese and foreign, are looking within China as a consumer rather than only a producer, companies like Flex, who can react quickly and already have a diverse supply chain base that allows them to respond on a local level, will be able to capitalize on this enormous emerging group of new consumers.

Flex is looking elsewhere, too.  For many years, the increasing minimum labor wage in China has mistakenly frightened foreign investors into thinking that manufacturing would leave China for the world’s next, and cheaper, emerging labor force.  AS some manufacturing will inevitably shift out of China, new types of manufacturing will flourish in the void, addressing the needs of an increasingly savvy consumer.  This shift in the consumer is largely due to smartphones; the way the consumer receives information and can make purchases online means that 600 million Chinese smartphone owners can become very powerful purchasers.  As cheaper production may move out, there will be an increasing need, much like in America, for innovators who use a service based business model, like Uber for example.  Innovators are able to use smartphones to connect a very large consumer base with services and products, and  understanding how this convergence of technology and human interaction lives and breathes is integral to surviving in  this new emerging marketplace.

Other countries will likely follow suit. India, Myanmar, the Philippines, and other southeast Asian countries will benefit from some types of manufacturers choosing to leave China for cheaper shores.  In turn, these markets are huge in terms of potential new smartphone users who will emerge as large, growing markets.  As manufacturers like Flex seek new ways to not only reach these consumers but forge new and exciting products that merge technology with fashion, it will be very interesting to see how other companies choose to address these new and powerful consumers.  As more and more fashion companies look to business models like Flex’s or Zara’s, in another ten years, American designers may well be designing products intended for consumption by the formerly cheap factory laborers, or their children, that no so long ago were making products for those same companies.

http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21646180-rising-chinese-wages-will-only-strengthen-asias-hold-manufacturing-tightening-grip

http://news.flextronics.com/newsroom/news-overview/default.aspx

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/07/30/contract-manufacturer-flex-plans-southeast-asia-push/

 

Instant Gratification; Online Instant Retailer Everlane’s Strategy to Produce Moderately Priced Luxury Fashion Delivered at a Fast-Fashion Pace

I found this article extremely interesting…Everlane’s business model is extremely unique and appears to be resonating with customers.  The product itself in fairly uninspiring, but is simple and of good quality; I believe it is the unique concept of transparency in terms of cost, cost/value relation, and an extremely fast delivery to the consumer that in the end is bringing the brand success.  It will be interesting to see if other retailers will hop on the bandwagon; though many retailers are online only, very few offer same day delivery and total transparency in terms of cost and production.  In today’s era of an extremely competitive marketplace with brands fighting to engage increasingly well-educated consumers, this type of business model may be the future.

By only offering their product online and direct to customers, Everlane has been able to eliminate the cost of the “middle man” and then pass that savings on to the consumer.  On most styles on the website, there is an option to view the true cost of the garment, even broken down categorically into labor, materials, transit costs, and even mark-up, which provides the customer a rare glimpse into all of the components that typically go into the price of a garment.  This revolutionary concept builds trust with the consumer; the website also provides information about each factory that makes specific product categories, further building trust with the consumer in terms of ethical sourcing and production.

Perhaps most appealing to the consumer is the option to order online in select locations and have a purchase delivered within a few hours the same day.  Today’s jaded, busy consumer may make a purchasing decision based on this factor alone; why order from another source when Everlane can offer a similar product of comparable value at a lower cost, ethically produced, and delivered in the same day?

http://www.vogue.com/13283183/everlane-fashion-tech-company/

 

 

The Fit Issue; How Technology Will Help Retailers Tackle Returns

The world is getting smaller and smaller every day.  This interconnectedness in an ever increasingly global community, and marketplace, means that retailers must continuously seek ways to engage and return a diverse customer group and foster consumer loyalty.  Online retailing presents many unique challenges, and retailers must adapt quickly to understand how to respond to these challenges in an extremely competitive landscape.  Innovations in technology can help streamline one of the biggest issues for retailers with an online presence; the issue of fit.

Online shopping is one of the fastest growing segments in retail; a business that is projected to account for 9% of total retail sales in 2016, or $372 billion dollars in the U.S. alone, according to a recent report, “U.S. Online Retail Forecast, 2011 to 2016,” a study by Forrester analyst Sucharita Mulpuru.  To put this in perspective, in 2011 online shoppers spent about $202 billion dollars; in five years alone online sales have grown exponentially, and research indicates this trend will continue as more and more brands seek to engage customers online.  There is big money to be made online, but with this opportunity comes a catch 22; approximately 30% of online purchases are returned, largely due to fit issues.  Until retailers are able to resolve some of these issues, returns will continue to erode margin in a very significant way, and are also extremely damaging in terms of value perception and loyalty in the customer base.

Since the advent of online shopping, companies have developed new technology to try to combat some of these issues, with varying degrees of success.  However, considering that online shopping has been around for approximately fifteen years or so, a return rate of 30% is an abysmal statistic and testament to the cold hard fact that something just isn’t working.  Retailers need to understand on a deeper level why customers are returning such a large percentage of online purchases due to fit, and how to meaningfully implement systems to combat these challenges in order to really effect meaningful change.

What are these fit issues, and why haven’t giant corporations with millions of dollars readily available to conduct research been able to tackle this thorny problem in a significant way? This dilemma is multifaceted, and is exacerbated by an extremely diverse group of consumers, and body types, due to doing business in a global marketplace.  As always, the failure to truly understand the mindset and desires of the consumer, coupled with the failure to successfully implement the technology that can streamline the process, are two huge stumbling blocks in making online retail more profitable.

So, just how important is fit, and how can technology help resolve the problems posed?  This month, Gap reported a 2% drop in revenue in February alone due to fit and production issues plaguing one of its key brands, Banana Republic.  As brands like the Gap continue to expand and increase ownership in larger parts of the value chain, they face unique challenges in finding ways to streamline the global design production process and deliver a quality product on time.  With design teams based in New York, product development and sales teams in California, and an Asian production base, technology is obviously supremely important in connecting and supporting the Gap’s crosspartners and teams that need to collaborate across time zones and oceans.  Increasing the speed and quality of communication are key functions of technology that can help streamline brands like the Gap and reduce the issues currently costing the company millions.

Companies like Lectra, one of the most widely implemented patternmaking and production programs used in the industry, are seeking ways to solve this issue.  Lectra developed a virtual prototyping technology that can meaningfully enable brands like the Gap to better manage their product lifecycle. The program, Modaris, allows design and product development teams to collaborate on a 3D prototype, enabling them to envision in real time proportion, color, fabric, and fit, thus reducing the proto cycle, saving money and time.  Another function links the 3D proto to both the pattern for that particular design, as well as an online library of pattern blocks and slopers, ensuring that the brand’s proprietary fit and consistency will be present from the earliest stages of the product’s lifecycle.

 

An excellent example of the successful implementation of the Modaris software is British giant Tesco’s proprietary clothing brand, F & F, sold online and throughout their grocery store chains.  Accounting for 11% of F & F’s sales, online shopping has enabled the brand to reach over 70 markets worldwide, and a customer base with diverse clients, and body types, from Eastern Europe to Saudi Arabia to Thailand.  This exposure to an extremely diverse customer base presented the brand with the challenge to fit as consistently as possible the various consumers across borders with a limited range of sizes.  Prior to the implementation of the Modaris software, the brand allowed its many suppliers to create their own patterns based on F & F’s pattern blocks and sizing charts, resulting in the potential for as many different fits as there were suppliers.  For a large retailer sometimes having the same product produced by multiple suppliers, this inconsistency in fit in the same product was disastrous both online and in the store, where the customer often did not have the time to stop shopping for groceries to try on the product.

F & F uploaded their library of patterns with their customized and perfected fit to the database, and their suppliers could use these patterns immediately to create a more accurate first sample that is consistent with the brand’s sizing from the product’s inception.   The software enabled the brand to conduct the first fitting on a virtual avatar, allowing the design team in the UK to receive a correct sample much more quickly.  The implementation of the software and the use of 3D prototyping has been very successful for the brand, contributing to a reduction by 5% of the online return rate in the first year alone, saving the company over 3.75 million pounds, and perhaps of even greater value, the shift reestablished the customer’s confidence in the brand and its perceived value.  In terms of cost reductions in the development process, the company was able to further save another 100,000 pounds in the first year by reducing costs associated with fit models, buyer’s and technician’s time, and courier charges normally spent shipping fit samples back and forth. They were able to reduce the number of fittings from 1.8 to 1.5, shaving one to two weeks off of the leadtime, enabling the brand to sell more at full price, capitalizing on a net margin gain of 4-8%.  Due to the success of the program the brand plans to implement the technology on a larger percentage of styles, projecting an increase of 20-40 million pounds in profit, all due to effectively streamlining their process through this technology.

For large brands like F & F and the Gap, technology like Modaris can mean the difference between functioning and excelling; however, unless these companies actually use the technology they cannot reap its benefits.  For example, most large companies use programs like PLM to manage the product cycle, but fewer companies in the U.S. at least have fully embraced programs like Modaris, perhaps due to the cost of the software, or inability to see how the program could have a real effect on their business.  Whatever the reason, brands can easily reduce the amount of online returns by ensuring that sizing is consistent across all products and markets.

Another equally important factor in reducing the amount of returns is understanding the other factors that cause customers to return clothing besides inconsistencies in fit.  If customers are able to accurately choose the correct size for their unique body from the beginning, or are able to visualize the garment on their body before making an online purchase, they will be exponentially more likely to be satisfied with and keep their purchase.  Several companies launched virtual fitting technology targeted at the consumer back in the early 2000s, but this technology has not been widely embraced and implemented by retailers.  If retailers are able to implement and popularize virtual fitting among its customers, they may further reduce the amount of returns and  increase sales.  In order to do this, retailers must understand first why this initial technology has not been more successful in the first place.

For example, Lands End launched a program on their website, My Virtual Model, that allowed customers to use an avatar to virtually try on clothing. Today, there is no evidence of this capability on their website.  No matter how revolutionary a product or technology is, unless the consumer sees its value it cannot be successful.  Perhaps accessibility played the biggest factor in the failure to launch; consumers at this point have to go to a brick and mortar to have a machine do a full body scan in order to input their avatar online to “try” on clothes.  Back in 2004, perhaps this was too early to try to introduce this technology to the consumer, they may have just not been ready for it.  Today, more and more retailers are implementing 3-D fitting technology for the customer, and the industry may see a shift in the popularity of 3-D fitting as a viable incentive to consumers.

Zugara and Fit.me are two companies offering this technology to brands like Hugo Boss, Nicole Farhi, and Adidas…and Rakuten, a Japanese retailer similar to Amazon in terms of size and profitability, has announced that is too is looking to launch a similar system to enable customers to virtually try on clothing before they buy it.  With more retailers jumping onto the bandwagon, customers may be more willing to try virtual fitting.  However, accessibility may still play a factor in the popularity and success of virtual fitting; if retailers can make it easier for customers to scan or input their measurements they may unlock the key to dramatically reducing returns, and in fact potentially grow sales by allowing the customer to envision products and thus make additional purchases.

For example, online-only Canadian eyewear company BonLook has a function that allows the customer to upload a photograph of their face and virtually try on glasses.  The consumer can then upload a photograph of their face with a credit card for scale held up between their eyes, allowing a technician to view the image and to measure the distance between the consumer’s pupils and thus order the correct-sized lenses.  If technology can be developed that can similarly make it as simple for customers to almost instantly measure their body from home and upload a photo, 3D try-ons could become significantly more accepted and entrenched in the culture of fashion, perhaps finally solving the issue of online returns.

https://www.internetretailer.com/2012/02/27/e-retail-spending-increase-45-2016

https://www.digitalpulse.pwc.com.au/virtual-dressing-rooms/

http://zugara.com/virtual-dressing-room-technology

http://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/gap-reports-2-percent-drop-in-revenue-measure-for-february

http://wwd.com.ezproxy.philau.edu/fashion-news/fashion-features/landsend-com-updates-8216-my-virtual-model-8217-tool-739746/

http://www.wgsn.com.ezproxy.philau.edu/content/board_viewer/#/57642/page/1

http://www.lectra.com/en/fashion-apparel/product-development-modaris

http://www.wgsn.com.ezproxy.philau.edu/content/board_viewer/#/57642/page/1

On the Threshold of a Dream; How Will 3-D Printing Revolutionize the Fashion Industry?

In the Golden Era of silent films, it would have been unimaginable that the cutting edge filmmaking technology of the time would be available in a handheld device that would be universally available to anyone in less than one hundred years. The possible game-changing opportunities 3-D printing technology offers are similarly unfathomable at this point, and much like those early days of the filmmaking industry, perhaps this technology will drastically change the face of fashion, and life as we know it.

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, industries not limited to fashion have seen enormous growth and transition, and with any creative field, automation and mass production are at the same time huge opportunities for innovation, as well as a threat to the role of the artisan and the creator.  Industries and individuals that are able to transition with technology and find ways to harness it to realize creativity are able to grow and evolve with that technology and the demands of an ever more educated consumer or end user.  Conversely, the world has seen a huge resurgence in interest in arts that were dying out, such as hand knitting, hand dying, using natural fibers and so on.  The specter of 3-D printing drastically changing the way the fashion world does business could indeed be a threat to the role of the designer, but as always, there will be huge opportunities on both sides of the spectrum for evolution and innovation in the very way we see fashion.

The fashion industry itself has seen huge turmoil and growth in the last forty years.  Recently Netflix (another innovator in the direct to consumer technological world) streamed “The True Cost”, a documentary exploring the darker side of fast fashion.  In an article written about the documentary on Vogue.com, author Todd Plummer explores the global impact of fast fashion and how it is changing our world, and perhaps not for the better.  In the 1960s, 95% of the U.S. garment industry operated using a domestic production model.  In today’s world, 97% of production is outsourced overseas, employing over 1/6 of the world’s population in one way or another in the fashion industry (Plummer).  In terms of sustainability, fashion, a 2.5 Trillion dollar industry, is the biggest polluter of all industries second only to oil, which is a truly disconcerting fact (Plummer).

This tidal shift from domestic to imported, from “slow” to “fast”, has left the ground shaking.  Many New York and London luxury designers are seeking to show collections that will be available immediately to the consumer, a dramatic shift from the traditional leadtime and process of the production cycle.  This week in Paris, the The Fédération Française de la Couture du Prêt-à-Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode, French fashion’s governing body, announced that they would not follow suit with the idea of in-season shows (WWD.com).  The Federation based its decision on their stance that the French luxury business is thriving as it is currently operating, and that the ultimate decider, the consumer, has not mandated a shift in timing and availability.

The concept of 3-D printing and its capabilities is truly fascinating within this tumultuous world because of its true democratic accessibility and its ability to revolutionize the production process as we know it across many industries. For example, in the past any industry relying on the molded prototype had a lengthy and expensive lifecycle in which a mold was developed, produced, tested, refined, and then put into production. Now, a prototype can be printed nearly immediately, cutting down on developmental costs and time, allowing a very short time from concept to creation.  This allows manufacturers to be able to quickly respond to a need or trend with much less expense.  Some manufacturers are even printing the end product, rather than just the developmental prototype, which will be revolutionary in terms of the traditional system of production and inventory.  Rather than making 10,000 parts the old way, manufacturers can print parts as dictated by demand, drastically reducing waste and overproduction, and hence saving money.

3-D printing also offers many new opportunities in terms of customization and lower production minimums.  Traditionally, prohibitive mold set-up costs meant that manufacturers had production minimums in the hundreds or thousands, making it difficult for smaller competitors to even have the capital to do business.  3-D printing really levels the production playing field in the sense that now almost anyone can print as many or as few units as they wish or need without the cost limitations the old mold system entailed.  Brands like Invisalign have used 3-D printing technology to bypass the mold process by scanning the customer’s mouth and then 3-D printing unique and customized braces for each consumer.  There is no waste and no waiting, and the consumer receives a product that has been designed especially per their specifications.

In the sense of fashion, 3-D printing is still in an experimental phase.  For New York Fashion Week designers Ohne Titel and threeASFOUR showcased 3-D printed designs on the catwalk.  Many of the 3-D designs the fashion world has seen so far have a very futuristic aesthetic and are easily identifiable in terms of appearing “other” or as being “non-textiles”…it will be interesting to see what happens when designers are able to create clothing using 3-D technology that looks, feels and acts like traditional fiber-based textiles.

In terms of current technology, it is quite easy to imagine that all lasts for shoes will be 3-D printed in the very near future.  Footwear, much like the automotive industry for example, relied on creating lasts (from molds) as an initial step in the production process. Because of the long leadtime in terms of development and the prohibitive cost, small designers might be limited to having to choose from “stock” lasts a factory has developed for other clients, or using lasts from past seasons so as not to incur exorbitant development costs.  With 3-D printing capabilities, the designer could have unlimited creativity in terms of designing any number of lasts that are unique and customized to their ideas, aesthetic, and season.  Much like other industries, this ability to bypass the old system of high minimums, high costs, and long leadtimes inherent to the mold system means that many newer, younger, smaller players may enter the field, allowing for increased competition, creativity, and innovation.

Another fashion sphere that has already seen much change due to the capabilities of 3-D printing is the Jewelry Industry, another sector based on traditional mold-making.  Iconery, a jewelry website showcasing curated collections from multiple designers as well as an in-house line, launched in 2015, bringing the concept of “fast fashion” production to high end jewelry.  Efficient, small batch production means no unwanted overstock and tight turnaround times for new products or replenishment runs.  Customers can also choose to customize each piece in terms of metals and stone colors, size, and price point, creating a unique design that is printed (in metal!) and ready to ship a few short days after the order is placed.  Interestingly, there is little or no mention of this use of 3-D technology on the website, which is surely intentional.  Though the creators of Iconery highlight the amazing ability for customization on their website, perhaps they choose not to mention the role of 3-D printing in order to maintain a more upscale, artisanal image.  Maybe they think their customer is not ready to embrace the idea of 3-D printed jewelry, but either way, this is a truly innovative approach to the manufacture and production of high end jewelry, and surely many other retailers and manufacturers will follow suit, whether in printing prototypes or doing full scale printed production.  Much like with the footwear industry, this innovation will allow less established designers to enter the fray, diversifying the market as we know it.

Once fashion and textiles catch up in the sense of being able to 3-D print clothing that will be more wearable and desirable to a wider, less esoteric audience, the role of the designer will need to drastically shift.  If manufacturers start to incorporate 3-D printed textiles or even fully fashioned garments, the production, buying, and replenishment cycle that currently exists will be turned on its head, perhaps signaling the end of an era, and the start of a new one.  Taking this one step further, if the end consumer is able to have their own personal 3-D printer at their disposal and are able to print their own clothing from the comfort of their homes, who knows what will happen to the traditional fashion world as we know it.

This dilemma, the idea of the consumer being able to print their own clothing, not only challenges the current set up and tenability of the fashion industry and the economy in general, it also poses a very serious threat to intellectual property.  Several years ago, I had an intern that always borrowed print designs from the internet; even though I tried to explain to her that it is unethical to copy someone else’s designs, she just couldn’t grasp the concept of anyone having any type of ownership over a design once it appeared on the internet.  As a professor working with students that for the most part have grown up with the internet, I definitely see some of my students struggling with a similar issue.  In the design world, interpreters and copiers have always knocked off other designers since the very beginning.  Fast fashion retailers like Zara and Forever 21 have made billions copying high end designers from the runways and releasing their knock-offs months before the original designer is able to release their own design.  If consumers are able to see designs online that other designers have spent months developing and then print out a copy of their own from their home, how will the role of the designer remain relevant, and from a business perspective, sustainable?

Though the onset of a 3-D printed landscape offers many benefits to the greater good of humanity, such as the printing of prosthetic limbs for example, until the design world is able to develop a strategy for how personal 3-D will in a sense be regulated, the future can indeed seem a bit scary.  However, as an industry that must be tuned in to the tiniest nuance in terms of the consumer and macrotrends in culture in a larger sense, the fashion industry has constantly evolved and reinvented itself.  It will be very interesting to see how creators, designers, innovators, and manufacturers will evolve in order to make a sensible and sustainable business landscape for the future where 3-D printing will one day become the norm.

http://3dprintingindustry.com/2016/02/18/3d-printing-continues-to-awe-at-nyfw-with-ohne-titels-collection/

http://wwd.com.ezproxy.philau.edu/accessories-news/jewelry/fine-jewelry-iconery-daryl-k-wren-10223029/

http://wwd.com.ezproxy.philau.edu/fashion-news/designer-luxury/paris-says-non-to-in-season-fashion-shows-10365796/

http://www.vogue.com/13294666/the-true-cost-documentary/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ricksmith/2015/06/29/7-ways-3d-printing-is-already-disrupting-global-manufacturing/2/#44d9c43e1989

http://3dprintingindustry.com/2016/02/17/66801/

http://www.iconery.com/pages/about-us

 

 

Survival of the Fittest; Fashion Darwinism and Smart Textiles

Since the earliest days of the Industrial Age, ordinary people and visionaries alike have looked to the future and envisioned a new world populated by inventions beyond any contemporary imaginings of the time.  In 1888, Edward Bellamy wrote Looking Backward, a novel in which the protagonist falls in a deep sleep and awakens in the year 2000; he finds himself in a new socialist utopian society in which there is a free exchange of goods, information, books and music remarkably similar to today’s internet. Many inventions have  been dramatically life changing, but arguably the internet is the biggest game changer, affecting how people communicate, socialize, eat, live, and make decisions as consumers.

Virtually every industry has been affected in atleast some way by the internet, but fashion is undergoing a virtual facelift seemingly every other week to conform to the needs of an ever changing market and climate.  Smart textiles are getting even smarter, more accessible, and in some people’s opinion, too accessible. On the threshold of Spring 2016’s release of “Project Jacquard,” we find ourselves on the edge of a precipice; how will this groundbreaking technology impact our lives for better or worse? All we know is that there won’t be any looking back.

“Project Jacquard” is the collaborative brainchild of two of the world’s industrial titans, each a heavyweight within their own industry, Levi’s and Google.  Both quintessential American pioneers in their own fields, these brands partnered to create one of the first smart textiles that will be targeted to speak to the mass market.  The concept is to create a conductive yarn that literally can be unobtrusively woven into the very fabric of that most American (or Japanese) fabric, denim.  The genesis of the idea is to create technology that can live within the clothing we wear so that we could light a lightbulb or make a call by touching our sleeve, yet will be interwoven in the fabric, thus eliminating the need for any visible external control or “gadget”.  The idea is that technology will be removed as a visible external element, and will become more intrinsic, allowing the consumer to reconnect with the virtual world more organically with this groundbreaking technology. This fascinating development brings up many questions, notably how will this affect the fashion world, and also, why do we need it?

Much like the development of knit sneaker technology, Project Jacquard offers the potential for a new arena in mainstream fashion.  Once this technology is available to the average consumer and the novelty wears off, it will be interesting to see if it gains traction as something that becomes a new constant.  Given the success of the knit running shoe, or the trend in the need for the latest technology in general, we can probably expect this type of product to soon become a commodity.  If this collaboration really does revolutionize the market place, it is not a far stretch to imagine how competitors across the map will scramble to develop their own version of an unobtrusive smart textile with all of the properties of a traditional textile.

But will this new technology be a success? Time has proven again and again that in the fashion world, success (and survival) hinge on connectivity to the consumer’s needs.  The knit running shoe resonated with consumers for several reasons, comfort and the ability for customization, novelty and cache, and perhaps most notably because this product looked different.  The Flyknit product immediately stood out as a new innovation because they were so visibly different from what a traditional sneaker looks like.  Consumers that wanted to feel trendy or futuristic or whatever could immediately gain new status with this new sneaker on their feet.  Project Jacquard will be a new and interesting experiment, the whole concept is not to create a product that will look any different than it did before.  This product will only succeed if the customer wants to feel different, and in this case feel more connected.

Does the world want to be this connected?

Luxury powerhouse Burberry thinks it does.  Today (February 5, 2015) Burberry announced their new concept of launching fashion shows that will communicate directly and immediately with their consumer.  No longer will their customer see a collection online, and have to wait 5 months to be able to purchase it.  The immediacy of the internet and e-commerce has bred a need-it-now mentality in the consumer in which the former lifecycle of a collection is eons too slow. Typically, collections would be shown six months before product would even hit stores; now consumers are able to view the product on the runway at its premiere via the internet, and experience ennui having to wait (gasp) 6 months for it to be available.  By the time clothing is available, the consumer is already bored with it, and fast retailers such as Zara have been able to respond to the runway trends and produce similar clothes available in 2 (!) weeks.  Flat sales have forced high end designers to seek to constantly reinvent themselves…but perhaps Burberry has hit the nail on the head…it is not the merchandise that needs to change but rather how immediately the consumer can experience and acquire new items.

It seems quite logical that brands like Burberry understand that they need to speak directly to their consumer and address their need for somewhat instant gratification; the idea of Project Jacquard begs a similar question, will today’s jaded consumer even care about or need this technology or will the silence be deafening?  Brands like APC are gaining cult status selling extremely expensive selvage denim woven on traditional looms; their customer needs to feel connected to tradition, quality and heritage, and they aren’t alone.  As always with the swing of the pendulum, there is a backlash to the concept of constant interconnectivity. Studies have linked social media to unhappiness yet fortunes are made by manicured hands unwrapping toys on Youtube.  Whether or not people like it, technology and interconnectivity are not going away.  If designers want to survive, they will need to evolve, whether by adapting to a smart-textile based marketplace, or by offering a more expensive heritage item for those consumers that are not interested.

Doesn’t sound like a big money maker? Perhaps an interesting example could be the music industry, which experienced tremendous upheaval with the advent of downloadable music.  Labels that adapted are still here today, and vinyl sales have skyrocketed, something that was not easy to imagine in the mid-90’s world of compact discs.  Today, the consumer often simultaneously wants to indulge in a quality heritage item, be it a record or a really good pair of jeans, but will still have the need for the practicality offered by a digital-friendly counterpart.  With brands like Google and Levi’s leading the way, the average consumer may be thinking about their clothing in a whole new way this time next year.

The Space Race of the 1950s and 60’s affected the global consciousness and designers such as Courreges, Paco Rabanne, and Pierre Cardin were leaders in exploring the way people of the time envisioned life in a post-Space-exploration age.  Memorably, many television shows similarly explored a life set in the future in which gadgets that seemed farfetched now seem quaint and old fashioned.  Visionary Alexander McQueen explored the role of technology and the digital world within the very fabric of our clothes in his 1999 collection for Givenchy, sending a startling assortment of fiber optic and motherboard-influenced designs down the runway.  As soon as we were able to imagine a very different world through the telescopic lens of technology, we did.  It is interesting to think about how future generations will look back on this nascent era of technology in textiles; perhaps they will view “Project Jacquard” much as we fondly view the fantastical silver mod dresses of the 1960’s. Or perhaps, this is the beginning of a new era.

Overheated! Is Fashion Heading for a Burnout?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelarthur/2015/06/16/google-and-levis-want-to-put-computers-in-your-clothing/#57237b262e8b

Burberry’s Bold Move: To Make Shows Direct to Consumer

 

 

 

Nike; Can the Apple of the Athletic Footwear World Diversify Their Brand in Terms of Social Responsibility?

Nike is one of the world’s most ubiquitous fashion brands; over 97% of Americans recognize the iconic swoosh that has been the intrinsic symbol of cutting edge performance footwear and apparel in the athletic lifestyle world for both actual athletes and non-professionals alike.  Since the brand’s inception, Nike has continuously revolutionized their use of technology, celebrity collaborations and sponsorships, and their domination of the lifestyle streetwear market to create some of the world’s most recognizable and sought after products offered in their sphere.  As the world feels like it changes every nanosecond, it will be interesting to see how Nike adapts in an increasingly digital world.

Historically, Nike has always kept a finger to the pulse of trends in their sector, most notably cashing in on their recognition that trends in running shoes dictated the direction for most other types of footwear in their assortment.  This ability to recognize trends in their consumers’ needs, predict the future, and react with nimble versatility in translating these trends using cutting-edge technology gained them tremendous footing in a very competitive marketplace.  They entered the professional football game in 1971 with a simple by today’s standards black-and-white molded rubber cleat called “The Nike.”  They introduced game-changing new products over the years, from 1976’s Astrograbber to 1997’s revolutionary Batwing Jersey;  41 years later  it was announced that Nike was the NFL’s official outfitter of all 32 teams by 2012.

The same year, Nike continued to transform their game with the introduction of another revolutionary item; Flyknit technology.  This breakthrough introduced patented knit technology that allowed them to literally break the traditional mold of shoe craftsmanship as the world has known it, allowing them to create a shoe with virtually no waste and at a fraction of the price.  This shoe was easily customizable, cost a fraction of the price of the traditional cut and sew shoe, and left a smaller imprint ecologically by using recycled materials.  Competitor Adidas developed similar technology with their Primeknit running shoe but were unable to enter the US marketplace until litigation was settled regarding Nike’s patent on the technology, allowing them to corner the knit running shoe market in the States unchallenged until 2014.  Interestingly, many of the new knitted designs featured knit versions of recognized sneaker traits (a knitted toe cap bears close resemblance to its traditional leather cousin, for example).  Perhaps the future will see more innovation in terms not only of what types of products will be reimagined as fully-fashioned knits, but also in the way we see a sneaker in terms of silhouette and characteristics, and not just in the materials from which it is composed.

What is truly fascinating about Nike isn’t just their uncanny ability to predict trends while they are still in an incubator state; their continued drive to excel and set the gold standard for innovation and performance has made them a 14.5 billion/year global titan. Their dominance of their category and their influence on non-athletic fashion is far-reaching.  High fashion leader Alexander Wang riffed on their knit technology in several shows, most notably in his Spring 2015 womenswear collection, introducing an innovative array of knit and mesh-inspired everything from sneaker heels to sweater dresses.  Wang recognized that the modern woman that his brand speaks to is as fascinated by cutting edge technology as any Nike sneakerhead.  This trend made itself felt like seismic shockwaves through the fashion world, reaching into many different categories and market strata, from Gap to J. Crew to Christian Dior.

But why did this trend resonate so strongly with the luxury consumer? Historically the luxury and couture client was interested in being at the very forefront of trends and wanted only the most exclusive types of clothing.  As the world changed with technological innovation from the internet to fiber technology to smartphones, there was a reshaping of what luxury means.  Many luxury brands recognized that the modern woman was someone who needed versatility.  This woman needed to reconcile her personal life with a demanding career, high stress with yoga, green with tech savvy; a truly modern day chameleon as complex as her smartphone.  At the same time, brands like Valentino capitalized on the pendulum swing; as always when there is a massive direction change there is an equally dramatic shift in the opposite direction.  A new appreciation of embroidered, hand-dyed, handmade, eco-friendly designs emerged as an antidote to the perceived de-personalization that can come with increased technology and decreased individuality.

Fashion mega websites like WGSN feature macrotrend forecasts by season. Nowadays, each season there is at least one “green” macrotrend, and at the other end of the spectrum, a trend that addresses our relationship with technology in our personal lives.  These macrotrends have become so integral in our consumer make-up that they are almost totally incorporated in our lives, so much so that calling them trends is almost akin to saying that a trend in summer clothes this year will be that they will be more lightweight than winter clothes. It is a new given.

Fashion is obviously a hugely personal commodity; brands like Nike and Valentino both have become icons because they recognize what their consumers as people crave and desire.  The last five years have also seen a huge shift in the role of responsibility.  Responsibility is the new black.  People carry metal water bottles to reduce their own waste production, while companies like Warby Parker and Tom’s Shoes gained traction by appealing to people’s core values of economic and social responsibility.

It will be interesting to see if Nike will cotton on to this trend of responsibility, not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because it is a shift in the way their consumer thinks.  People want to buy clothes from brands that they “like”…not just in terms of design but in terms of philosophy. Who could forget the labor scandals that rocked industry giants like Walmart and the Gap, causing them to lose serious face and market share, though not irrevocably.  With their new Flyknit technology they certainly have the means to literally print their own money since they are removing much of the cost associated with waste as well as having a human element in the manufacture of shoes, yet are still selling their product at an elevated price.  Instead of just making a profit on all of this extra margin they will be reaping, it would be innovative and surprisingly refreshing to see them launch an initiative to donate one pair to a needy child for each full price pair sold for example.  Nike itself has struggled with its reputation as a manufacturer with several smaller scale whispers in the fashion world about factory regulation and quality, and it would be interesting to see them take the lead in revolutionizing social responsibility in terms of active footwear.

The future remains to be seen, but if anyone can see it, it is Nike.  Hopefully they will continue to understand that today’s consumer is smart and savvy.  They want performance, function, fashion and responsibility.  In terms of the pendulum swing, it might also be interesting to see Nike develop a more green, organic assortment within their brand that emphasizes a more refined take on active footwear that focuses on quality materials with little economic footprint.  Nike has done a great job of entering the fashion sneaker game, but it would be really fascinating to see them swim in more rarefied waters.   I guess only Nike knows what can be next, but I am sure no matter what, it will be interesting.

Clockwise from top: Alexander Wang Spring 2015 RTW knit dress, knit heels, and at bottom, Nike Flyknit Racer

http://www.citylab.com/design/2014/07/the-extraordinary-future-of-shoes/374657/

http://news.nike.com/news/nike-football-illustrated-a-guide-to-game-changing-innovations

http://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/13/magazine/the-swoon-of-the-swoosh.html?pagewanted=all

http://www.wgsn.com/content/board_viewer/#/63402/page/1

http://www.wgsn.com/content/board_viewer/?lang=en#/63421/page/2