Fashion Function & Aesthetic - Essay Example

Fashion Function & Aesthetic Digital Technologies and Innovative Materials for Fashion Applications (Stella McCartney Case Study) ID No.: Introduction Clothing may have been a way of covering our bodies or a form of protection from weather but not anymore. Different stages in the development of human race have been marked with different ways of dressing. Even in today’s world as one progress in age, the choice of clothes he or she wears change. Even movement from one place to another seems to have a considerable influence to the choice of clothing one makes. It is evident then, that people’s way of dressing can be used define their personality, culture, belief, social status and so much more (Maeda, 2000). The idea of fashion originated from people seeking to define personality by their choice of clothes. This however changes as the advancement in technology since our way of life is directly impacted. The influence of technology in our lives, though manifest in various aspects, seems to be more distinct on fashion trends. With the arrival of digital technology came new ways of making clothes, new style of clothing and basically new inspiration for the fashion industry. An obvious observation is that fashion and technology have had a relationship dating back since times in history. Each technological evolution brings with it influence in the fashion industry and it has not been any different with the digital technology. A lot of digital influences are being experienced in the fashion industry right from inspiration, production, trend setting, down to the consumer experience. The fashion industry continues to experience transformation in fabrication, designing and promotion in ways beyond remarkable. Thanks to digital technology, sewable electronic designers are making a garment with incredible abilities and fashion promotion and branding have been all redefined through social media networks. Digital technology has been adopted by leading fashion houses in the world to promote brands and enhance the consumers shopping experience. Certain websites have launched applications that help online shoppers get fitting garments with the aid of robotic mannequins that take measurements and mimic body shapes. Renowned designers like Basso and Brooke have also applied Digital printing technology to place prints directly into the fabric. The technology has made fabric printing more precise, efficient, and it saves on time (Tyler, 2005). Still other firms have adopted computerized sewing. With a computer program attached to a sewing machine, it becomes faster to take and adjust measurements, color, and pattern (Breward, 2003). The processes become more effective and efficient by saving time, energy, and other resources. While we expect to see breathe taking innovation with Smartclothes anytime in the near future, this study is restricted to identifying simple ways in which fashion designers have utilized existing technology to better the operation of their trade and the innovative ideas that has enabled them make strides towards their goals or expectations. It will also seek to evaluate the benefit of such actions of designers to the society. This study therefore, takes inspiration from the advances of technology and its influence in the fashion industry. It sets out to evaluate the extent to which fashion establishments have adopted digital technology and innovative material application and how much benefit these facilities have gained. A case study of Stella Mc Cartney has been selected for comprehensive study and evaluation. Stella McCartney Brand Stella McCartney is a UK based fashion label with interest ranging from designer clothes, kids clothing, sportswear, and fragrance. The brand designer owner is Stella McCartney, a fashion designer born in 1971 in the UK. Stella McCartney graduated from Central St Martins in 1995() and was appointed the creative director of Paris fashion house Chloe in 1997. It was not until 2001 that she launched her fashion house; Stella McCartneys jointly with Kering. Her first collection was showed in Paris in 2001 but has been distributed all over the world since then (Ungs, 2004). The brand has grown exponentially since its debut and has expanded its interests to perfume, skin care, lingerie and kids collection. One outstanding observation is Stella McCartneys commitment to sustainability that is evident in the entire brands collection. Stella McCartney brand has a no leather Policy, and all their design collection are made from eco-friendly organic and recyclable fabric and low impact dyes. The designers have to be creative and innovative enough to identify other available options in order to sustain the non-cruelty rule. The companys team of designers works hard to identify alternative materials in place of leather and fill the color limitation presented by the type of dye restriction (Dafydd, 2008). Stella McCartney brand has also had a long-time partnership with Adidas. Mc Cartney brand is known for exceptional feminine tailoring that is incorporated in Adidas sports designs for women sportswear collection (Jang, 2006). The use of technology to enhance high performance in various sporting activities band the choice of sustainable and innovative materials in the designs makes the partnership a remarkable combination and case study (Thinkrunway, 2013). The companys sustainability has pushed it to look for alternative ways, and hence innovation has been exploited in all its processes. Right from materials extraction, production, manufacturing, packaging transport maintenance, even use and recycling, innovation is highly encouraged in the company. One of the most distinct innovative materials applied by Stella Mc Cartney is the Eco-alter Nappa as Biosynthetic leather replacement. The company has also made considerable strides as far as use of digital technology goes (Stella McCartney, 2015) Apart from Stella McCartney website where the company staff interacts with customers, it has also launched an I-Pad application with rich content for its technology-savvy clientele. The companys L.I.L.Y luxury fragrance campaign also employs digital technology to communicate conclusively with its fans and customers (Thinkrunway, 2013). To achieve credibility and maintain responsibility in the fashion industry with strict unconventional rules, it takes discipline and a great deal of creativity. This study will explore the further the role of innovative material and digital technology application concerning the operation and management of Stella McCartney Fashion house. In a different twist, technology is itself a fashion trend especially with regard to acquiring up-to date and sophisticated communication devices. As explained by (Katz and Sugiyama, 2005), the medium of communication possesses a sense of fashion in the form of devices in the current society. People tend to wear fashionable attire in order to distinguish themselves from certain group or to identify with particular affiliation, probably a prestigious affiliation. Developing a distinct sense of self identity may also be a reason why people identify with a particular fashion style and not the other. In that sense, communication devices have been used by people to spell out their identity and as a fashion house for the high-end consumer society, Stella McCartney has to keep up-to date and time set trend of its clientele. Innovative Material application Eco-Alter Nappa Stella McCartney brand is involved with design and production of various fashion products including dresses, skin care products, perfumes, shoes, bags, and lingerie. While the brand has been identified as classy and feminine, it is probably its unique approach to design and production of the brands products that makes it extra outstanding and appealing to its fans and customers. The companys commitment to sustainability and responsibility to the environment is one of its most recognized values (Ungs, 2004). Stella McCartney believes in biodegradable materials and all the supplies used in the manufacture of their products are eco-friendly. According to Stella, the clothes designed by her brand are meant to last, not burn and not landfill. The companys policy is, therefore, to create designs that are innovative and leaves no harm to the environment. The fact that the brand does not use leather or fur in their design production means that their products must be unique and of high quality in order to appeal to their clients. Stella McCartney uses bio-synthetic materials in place of leather to make shoes with bio-degradable soles made from bio-plastic materials called APINAT. Bio-degradability refers to the ability of materials to decay. This means that bio-degradable materials decompose and leave no harmful substances in the environment where they end up after use (Vaverkova, et al, 2014). The APINAT material used for the designs of Stella McCartneys collection of shoes and bags is manufactured from materials that are based on biological components. Stella used the same material for creating the Canon camera bag for that she obtained the contract from Canon. APINAT is manufactured by API, a company known for production and distribution of bio-degradable plastic in many countries all over the world. Innovative materials have also been applied in the manufacture of high-end perfumes and other skin care products by Stella McCartney brand. The uniqueness of their products and the values of sustainability, honesty, and responsibility have been adopted by the brand and can be these values explain the brands success. ( New faux leather-Eco-Alter Nappa launched for Autumn 2013. (Source, http://www.stellamccartney.com) Stella McCartney has also partnered with Adidas to design and distribute women sportswear collection. Innovative technology is employed to develop this collection line in order to keep women athletes and sports lovers conveniently motivated to exercise and enjoy games even the weather is not friendly. This line has designed a run jacket that offers users weather protection. A new technology called climalite technology has been applied on in the designing of Stella McCartney addidas collection of vests and leggings. This technology helps its wearer keep comfortable during vigorous activity like sports by continually drawing sweat away from the skin. Still another innovation in this line of sports garments collection is Techfit (Jang, 2006). This is a body hugging tricot helps the wearer retain a posture by supporting the muscles. It is ideal for natural sports. In footwear, a performance-oriented technology has been adopted for the design and production of OrthoLite. This is an open-cell shock absorber capability built a pair sports shoe with an aim of reducing impact in case of jumps and sprints. The free airflow through the material allows for evaporation of moisture, and the inside of the shoe is kept dry and safe. Digital Technology Besides using cutting edge innovative eco-friendly materials for the manufacture of their collection, Stella McCartney has also incorporated digital technology to promote the brand through sophisticated methods. Most notable is the interactive campaign for the celebration of LILY fragrance. At the launch of the fragrance, Gin Lane was employed to install interactive windows at the brands Selfridge stores. These installations use Microsoft (McCartney, 2015) sensors, open framework and combination of hardware to take motion of passers-by and clients, live-edit and transmit to playing videos. Screen windows were installed on the walls, and this unique display created an interactive wall by detecting motion and distance and enabled clients to interact and control the content. The launch also saw the revelation of Aurasma augmented reality Smartphone App through which consumers can access content and interact with Selfridge via their Smartphones wherever they are. The App allows customers to create and share collages made from campaigns through FaceBook, Twitter, and emails and also provides unique Instagram formats to enhance the user mobile experience. According to Azuma (1997), augmented reality is a variation of virtual reality or virtual environment. Augmented reality combines virtual and real objects in real time and is registered in 3D. This technology helps enhance user perception and interaction by conveying virtual information to the user to reality. Aurasma further explains that Augmented Reality (AR) can be utilized more practically in ways such as adding video to printed newspaper pages. According to him, AR can be useful for turning 2-D architectural drawings into 3-D models and providing interactive guides for how to use physical objects in the real world (Aurasma, 2011). The employment of this technology at Stella McCartney place the fashion house not just in touch with the real world but also with the requirement of its clients as they can much easily interpret the data on the websites. Communication and interactivity are also enhanced, and the designers can be more precise with their creativity as the technology helps convey virtual designs more distinctly. The app will also use geo-targeting when a consumer is in the Selfridges area that will activate the interactive tab on the app. When consumers are in-store, they can use the app on their Smartphones or the provided I-Pads to enable a 3D display of a behind-the-scenes video or a large animation of the L.I.L.Y bottle. The brand also created an interactive wall that detected motion and distance on the outside of Selfridges (Azuma, 1997). This smart technology allows passers-by control the content on the wall with their movement and gestures. Stella McCartney has also installed digital signage at their stores across the globe. Arrow themed window installation and BrightSign players display content on 40 screens located in 14 stores worldwide (McCartney, 2015) BrightSign players were selected for these applications for their exceptional reliability and compact footprint. The units are comfortably concealed within the arrow features of the display, and are synchronized wirelessly, eliminating the need for unsightly network cables. In addition to these sophisticated technological progress, Stella McCartney has other Smartphone applications that make online shopping easy and convenient. Clients who cannot access the store can download the app into their Smartphones which will enable them to view models in 3D, make orders and even interact with the staff. Flagship Stella McCartney locations at Bruton Street and Brompton Cross in London, (Source www.brightsign.biz/customers/retail/stella-mccartney) Conclusion The impact that the technology has had on fashion is inescapable. Technology plays a vital role in every stage of fashion production and influences the design choice of material and method of manufacture, distribution, promotion, display and even use of fashion product (Thinkrunway, 2013). This study has been able to evaluate the process and system of a busy world class fashion house and the use of technology and unique application of innovative materials. Most importantly the study has established that the advances in technology have contributed to solving major challenges in the fashion industry. Digital technology has had its most impact focused on communication and with its advancement newer faster and simpler ways of communication come up. It is also important to note that it is becoming necessary for the fashion designers to keep in pace with digital technology in order maintain touch with consumers. Like the fashion industry digital technology is fast paced and changes coming with new innovations are considered trendy and fashionable. The designers therefore have to incorporate this element in their work. The house employed a technology expert Gin Lane to run for the campaign ahead of the fragrance launch and cutting edge devices were installed. The interactive window installed is connected to Microsoft kinetic sensors that respond to clients and passers-by through gesture. Augmented Reality technology is also fitted into the system to help clients interact more effectively through their Smartphone and I-Pads. Stella McCartney has adopted both digital technology and innovative materials application in its operation. Discovering the innovative material Eco-Alter Nappa, APINAT and other organic materials for making has enabled the firm to produce unique product for the high end luxury market. References Azuma, R.T., 1997. Survey of Augmented Reality. Presence, 6 (4), pp. 355-385. Breward, C., F, 2003. Trend mechanisms in contemporary fashion. Design issues, (29)1, p. 67-76. Dafydd, B. N., 2008. The Branding of Ethical Fashion and the Consumer: A Luxury Niche or Mass-market Reality?. Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture, (12) 4 p. 447-468. Jang, E. Y., 2006. An analysis on cases of fashion collaboration strategy. Journal of Fashion Business, (10)6, pp.110-121. Katz, J E., and Sugiyama, S., 2005. Mobile phones as fashion statements: The co-creation of mobile communication’s public meaning. Mobile communications. Springer London, pp.63-81. Maeda, J., 2000. Computation and technology as expressive elements of fashion. Diss. B.S. Art and Design, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Matilda, L., 2009. Stella McCartney: the fashion world’s conscience. Ecologist, [e-journal], 39(4). Available through: Ebsco website http://web.a.ebscohost.com [Accessed 4 may 2015]. Stella McCartney, 2015. Out In The Open Air: Our Latest Performance Technology. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 4 May 2015] Thinkrunway, A., 2013. The Impact of Technology on Fashion Today [online] Available at: [Accessed 4 May 2015] Ungs, T., 2004. Paul McCartney and Stella McCartney. The Rosen Publishing Group, pp. 5-8. Read More