DEMATERIALISED COLOUR
What if clothes could exist beyond the physical, just like thoughts? Not requiring a single piece of fabric and free even from the pull of gravity, the digital fashion world is full of creative potential. In our latest issue of Viewpoint Colour, Amber Jae Slooten, co-founder and creative director of The Fabricant shared her thoughts on the potential of dematerialised fashion and what this means for colour and materials.
Dematerialised fashion may seem a bit far-fetched at first, a little too futuristic to be a reality anytime soon and for now the remit of dystopian science fiction. After all, we are still physical beings existing IRL and not yet disembodied consciousness floating around the cloud. However, in the wake of global lockdowns and the resulting cancellation of fashion weeks and disrupted production schedules, many are seeing the genre of dematerialised fashion in a new light and realising the potential opportunities not only within the current crisis of the pandemic but the longer-term worldwide environmental and climate crisis. It is not just the potential reduction in material footprint at the consumer level that can be altered by digitisation. Design, sampling, production, communication, fashion weeks - all have a huge material and carbon footprint that could be massively reduced if digitised.
Designs could be finalised in the virtual world, likewise look-books and editorial ‘shoots’, even catwalks shows could take place virtually - negating not only material wastage but also the huge amount of energy and emissions incurred by global travel and shipping. We have already seen several 2020 fashion weeks, including Shanghai and Moscow, migrate to digital venues, with many more including London’s, June menswear show, planning to do the same. Whilst our initial reaction could be to recoil from such a transition - humans are tactile creatures after all and we do tend to romanticise anything analogue as the truest form of creative expression… How much of the consumption and waste within the whole fashion industry is warranted?
“At digital fashion house, The Fabricant, collections are always digital, creating a new era of thought couture. Never, ever physical, they waste nothing but data and exploit nothing but imagination. Imagining a future where fashion will transcend the physical, the fashion house prepares for an eventuality where our digital identity will become part of our physical reality. Dresses can be made of purple shards of light, fluorescent internet cables or even fur – without having to mistreat animals to obtain it. Materials can be so much more elaborate, digitally enriched and layered with deeper meaning.”
“A new sector of digital-only fashion is being created – a new layer of digital identity that can be worn, shared and expressed from anywhere in the world, and can fit any body. The digital body is fluid, not bound by traditional binary gender norms. With fashion currently stuck in a cycle of unsustainable practices, this new digital fashion universe could enable us to still express our identity without impacting the planet.”
“The digital fashion environment opens up new avenues for all stakeholders in the industry, both creatively and in terms of its potential as an emerging market. In this new sector, there’s no need for samples, high retail stock levels or size ranges. It’s sustainable by its very nature. Digital-only fashion has no history, no format and no existing template to follow. From this standpoint, the very idea of physicality and seasonality is not relevant. Digital fashion challenges the norms of the fashion industry and enables a much closer understanding of customers’ reality, as well as a faster response to their needs, any time, anywhere.”
“Fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world, and also one of the last creative sectors to embrace technology. The Fabricant sees the opportunity to use technology to make the industry more sustainable while expanding its creative options in new and unlimited ways. The digital fashion environment opens up new avenues for all stakeholders in the industry, both creatively and in terms of its potential as an emerging market.”
“In this new sector, there’s no need for samples, high retail stock levels or size ranges. It’s sustainable by its very nature. Digital-only fashion has no history, no format and no existing template to follow. From this standpoint, the very idea of physicality and seasonality is not relevant. Digital fashion challenges the norms of the fashion industry and enables a much closer understanding of customers’ reality, as well as a faster response to their needs, any time, anywhere.”
Words → FranklinTill & Amber Jae Slooten, co-founder and creative director, The Fabricant
