Data as a Sustainable Material for Fashion

Prof. of fashion research and technology Troy Nachtigall online lecture, Data as a Material for Fashion was worth.

My fascination with this lecture started as soon as I learnt that he grew up with an interest in sewing and electronics, and how computational and textile technology seemed pretty obviously intertwined to him. During the lecture it all got clearer how the two subjects has made him to become, what it’s been called until recently, a fashion technologist.

The interest in wearable technology took him to explore further on and carry on research in Wearable Computing with renown fashion houses and at different university campuses. Prof. Troy has also worked with knitted wearable technology companies that have served in preparation for more sustainable forms of living. The list of people involved in his projects run from fashion and interior designers, to architects, chemists and material engineers.

Prof. Troy is a strong believer in something many of us, who are interested in textiles as part of our creative journey want. That means that if there was ever a moment to change fashion, it is now —thanks to Covid. 

Fashion is one of the largest polluters causing a serious negative impact.

And as prof. Troy put it nicely, “In order to change fashion we will need to change some assumptions about what fashion is. Three assumptions can help us understand fashion in a new way:

1. Fashion is any technology that envelops the body.
2. Fashion is made and worn with data as a material.
3. Fashion is the craftsmanship of dress.”

Craftsmanship is married to fashion design as clothing has been made, worn and analysed in the same manner for over the years. So, where is the disrupt? Nowhere really, but today, this disruption could come from technology for fashion to mirror our days: a time that is smart, digital, sustainable, inclusive and diverse.

Below some visuals.

​#fashion #technology #sustainability #research