‘Unreal’ haute couture

‘Unreal’ haute couture

Haute couture fashion house in Amsterdam… nothing unusual in that statement it seems…..except that the company in question doesn’t use fabrics (well not ones you can touch anyway) or models or make any garments….but it does design collections and is collaborating with more and more fashion brands.

The Fabricant has been on my radar for a while (since late 2019) and I’ve been telling everyone who’s interested (and plenty of those who aren’t… :-)) that this will be a really significant development for the fashion industry of the future.  Jump forward a few months and the pandemic, lockdowns and restrictions on so many aspects of daily life, and fashion has embraced the likes of The Fabricant’s ‘virtual clothing’ more readily and at greater speeds than first expected.

So, what do they do? Well they talk about showing the world that clothing doesn’t have to be physical to exist.

WE ARE A DIGITAL FASHION HOUSE LEADING THE FASHION INDUSTRY TOWARDS A NEW SECTOR OF DIGITAL-ONLY CLOTHING

“As a company of creative technologists we envision a future where fashion transcends the physical body, and our digital identities permeate daily life to become the new reality. The Fabricant will be a leader in the movement that uploads the human to the next level of existence. We are building a business that prepares for that eventuality.”

But how does digital clothing move things forward and enhance experiences? Some of The Fabricant projects so far have included:

  • Digital body scanning – digital design and fitting that enables more accurate measurements
  • Complete digitisation of the fashion design process – potentially reducing waste and over-stocking of garments through a production-on-demand business model
  • Interactive brand experiences – digital catwalks, look books, videos and imagery to promote concepts and designs without having to produce garment samples
  • Digital couture art – the sale of the world’s first digital only dress on blockchain sold for $9500 recently – a dress that is traceable, tradable and collectible as a piece of digital art
  • Gaming – digital clothing for avatars and digital personas

I get the feeling that these projects are just the tip of the iceberg though and there are more ground-breaking and boundary pushing collabs just around the corner.

So, as fashion is forced to clean up its act when it comes to waste, ethics and traceability, consumers are increasing their online spend and digital engagement with fashion, whilst also considering how to reduce, reuse and recycle, the advent of a more digital approach to every aspect of the fashion industry – concept, design, narrative and manufacture – is surely the future, or even the right now?

Take a closer look at TheFabricant and let me know what you think.

All images by The Fabricant.

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