{ "title": "Our lectures at PolyU School of Fashion on digital transformation, innovation and AI in the fashion industry" , "date": 1681118888 , "content": [ [ "" ] , [ "p", "Over the course of the past few years, we have been regularly invited by leaders of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Fashion and Textiles, to lecture on the topic of digital, AI and how to combine innovation with craft, in front of fashion business students from the MA Global Fashion Management). Key messages that we share during our sessions are:" ] , [ "ul", [ "All activities inside a fashion business can benefit from innovation & AI, from creative direction to operations and marketing." , "Transformative innovation derives both from creating synergies across the company and from delivering efficiencies inside individual capabilities. The way to identify synergies is to work on a holistic view of the company business operating model. For that, efforts start with visibility and documentation. Localised improvements also don't come without challenges, too often hindered by a bourgeois ambition of just working the same, only more comfortably." , "Big companies don't necessarily have an advantage, as they are typically entangled in complex processes and capex optimisation. Small to Medium Businesses and new players have no large past investments to write off and more freedom to experiment at scale. The ability to be agile, invest surgically and quickly sort success from failure, is crucial." , "Beyond fashion, there are many other different industries to get inspired (and to hire) from." , "Companies have no choice but to embrace innovation, as an emerging community of fashionTech and data-centric players is coming to disrupt them. The same evolution law of joke-then-fear-then-adoption goes with innovation and innovative competitors. Tech bros have identified the industry as a target. Technology-centric players like Shein should be analysed cold and the reasons of their success understood." ] ] , [ "hr" ], [ "pc", "On the creative side" ] , [ "p", "We use the double diamond as a simple narrative framework to illustrate how AI helps enrich and accelerate each step of the creative process:" ] , [ "ul", [ "Artificial Intelligence serves as an excellent "creative companion". AI agents are obedient and unassuming. They never tire, never grow frustrated, and possess extensive knowledge across a wide array of subjects. These attributes prove invaluable during the exploratory phases of "discovery" and "development". We typically illustrate this using our Karesansui dress project, and how we utilized generative AI tools to interpret and analyze an art competition brief, and subsequently assist in drafting designs and all documentation related to the submission of our art piece for an international competition." , "AI's famous lack of innate creativity can be turned to one's advantage. That AI doesn't anticipate nor diverge makes it great at maintaining stylistic consistency in derivative content. We extensively employ this approach in our runway shows at Hong Kong Fashion Week: thanks to AI, the visual style that we design can be applied on stage, in invitations, across social media, in our press release, and even as wallpaper on our devices." , "Intellectual property is a complex issue that creatives should not dismiss or skip. We urge students to remain vigilant regarding regulations (though predominantly US-centric, TheFashionLaw.com is a reputable source). Fashion brands and creators are increasingly cognizant of the importance of safeguarding and nurturing their creative assets." ] ] , [ "more-p", "There is an increasing market offering of AI tools for creatives, that come with a promise to respect your intellectual property rights: awen, style3D or firefly are a few examples. These generally come at a price but data privacy is not a luxury that only large brands can afford. We at atelierYVF like many other brands operate our own private AI platform and leverage it for all sorts of tasks and automation. This doesn't necessarily require a lot of investment and can help protect your rights and work." ] , [ "p", "Our standpoint for creatives: AI aids creatives in reallocating their time, enabling them to focus more on designing original concepts and less on producing copious amounts of derivative content. Familiarity with AI tools along with an understanding of their capabilities and limitations, and the ability to direct software engineers, can truly help cultivate more engaging creative pursuits." ] , [ "hr" ], [ "pc", "On the business operations side" ] , [ "p", "Digital & AI can be leveraged in various capacities across all business functions, from financial planning to supply, distribution, customer engagement, and marketing at large. At each step technology helps reduce waste, improve efficiency, decrease costs, explore new opportunities, accelerate change and protect the brand." ] , [ "p", "The fashion industry has historically been pretty weak at hiring technologists. Mentalities do change and we see an increasing number of brands investing significantly in technology and innovation. Technology budgets are set to more than double in the next decade (McKinsey 2022). This evolution doesn't come without its own challenges:" ] , [ "ul", [ "" , "The result of decades of underinvestment is that the fashion industry is mostly invisible to science majors, beyond fiber chemistry and the industrialisation of yarn & fabric manufacturing. The industry has well-known success stories — Sydney Toledano, the former CEO of Dior, is a graduate engineer from famous École Centrale Paris — and companies are now making efforts to hire more science majors. The Inside LVMH certificate has one of its three main pillars dedicated to Operations & Supply Chain, with content very obviously targeting engineers. My own alma mater, EPITA, asked me to be interviewed by Le Figaro Étudiant, a major students' journal, to promote the idea of Computer Science majors working in the Fashion & luxury." , "The under-exposure and lack of internal talent forces the industry to hire externally from brands specialising in technology, automotive, financial services etc. Many of these — eg, private banking — share the same clientele and by experience, only limited adaptation efforts are required to cross over and embrace the specific challenges of our industry: data and operations in luxury contexts, increasingly complex customer data and product traceability regulatory constraints, plus the casual over-centralisation, disputes over innovation ownership, and poor change management." , "The luxury industry has a very ambiguous relationship with innovation. We love creating FOMO with our customers, but hate it when it hits us. A decade ago, conservatism and stubborn refusal to embrace digital risked the industry its control over the luxury market (BCG, 2016). The rise of independent craft-centric, small scale, quiet luxury brands should not be underestimated." ] ] , [ "more-p", "Despite all the backlash, I have an intimate conviction that the metaverse is not dead. The experience of early luxury digital endeavours is that digital native companies typically get the lion's share in terms of market and revenue, over traditional luxury brands. It will take not only significant work and investment to make money there, but also to genuinely embrace a digital culture and mindset that cannot be faked. Yet like so many disruptions, there are many opportunities for agile, highly innovative projects at small scale that boutique brands can harness. All you need is commitment, organisation and focus." ] , [ "p", "Our standpoint for business and science majors: the challenges faced by the fashion and luxury industry are real, substantive, and complex. Don't miss them out!" ] , [ "hr" ] , [ "img-hidden", [ "events-polyu-innovation-202309-01.jpg", "events-polyu-innovation-202309-02.jpg", "events-polyu-innovation-202309-03.jpg", "events-polyu-innovation-202309-04.jpg", "events-polyu-innovation-202309-05.jpg" ] ] , [ "img-hidden", [ "events-polyu-innovation-202303-02.jpg", "events-polyu-innovation-202303-03.jpg", "events-polyu-innovation-202303-04.jpg", "events-polyu-innovation-202303-05.jpg" ], [ "events-polyu-innovation-202303-06.jpg" ] ] , [ "img-hidden", [ "events-polyu-innovation-202303-08.jpg", "events-polyu-innovation-202303-01.jpg", "events-polyu-innovation-202303-07.jpg" ]] , [ "img-hidden", [ "events-polyu-innovation-202402-01.jpg", "events-polyu-innovation-202402-02.jpg", "events-polyu-innovation-202402-04.jpg" ] ] , [ "p", "We would like to thank Dr. Liu, former Assistant Dean at PolyU SFT, Prof. Magnus Lam and Prof. Jeanne Tan for inviting us and giving us this fabulous opportunity to share our experience with talented students." ] ] , "author": "Alex VB" }