Due to the rapid consumption of fashion consumers, clothes are ending up in landfills and the chemicals from factors such as the dyes in the textiles are causing significant environmental damage.
According to the Guardian: “Fast fashion retailers have come under fire from environmental campaigners for encouraging a market that sees around 300,000 tonnes of clothes dumped in UK landfills each year.”
As a result of the fashion world polluting our planet, there has been an influx of new sustainable initiatives around ways of not only manufacturing garments but also consuming garments, including renting clothing. Companies such as online platform, Endless Wardrobe, allow the consumer to return the item and avoids the possibility of it ending up in landfill.
Another incredible innovation is digital fashion, through avatars.
In 2018, the garment simulation technologists Clo 3D began to take the fashion world by storm, working with Balenciaga, Mango and Levis, to name just a few. After reading an article about a fraudster stealing an embroidered bomber jacket from Sadie Clayton, Clo reached out and offered to collaborate and recreate the garment in a digital form. This project was then picked up by The Fabricant, a digital fashion house, to complete the collaboration.
The Fabricant has an excellent creative execution, offering phygital experiences and their own digital couture line.
People may ask how the digital clothing can be utilized. One example is that they are used and exchanged in virtual realities. Another more environmentally conscious, from a fashion production perspective, is that they are created to showcase the line/new season of a brand, without having to physically create the samples for tradeshows.
As well as digital clothing being on the rise, digital models/influencers are also becoming popular. Brands are hiring digital bodies to promote their brand, it’s sustainability and innovation which the creative industry thrives upon. Shudu was the pioneer of the digital supermodels. Being the first kind of her sort and having modelled for Louboutin, she is really taking the digital fashion industry by storm.