The first event of the "Mirai Fashion Lab," a research project into the future of fashion, was held on November 25th at the ifs Future Research Institute Miraiken Salon WORK WORK SHOP.
Mirai Fashion Lab is a joint research project launched by ifs Future Research Institute and Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings. Following the zeroth event, guest speakers for the first event included Taizo Son, president of Mistletoe; Kaori Kanamori of THEATRE PRODUCTS; and fashion consultant Nagisa Ichikawa. Moderated by IT journalist and consultant Nobuyuki Hayashi, who also serves as an external researcher at ifs Future Research Institute, the talk session focused on the theme of "Can digital technology bring happiness to fashion?" and discussed what technologies can be used and how they can make fashion more enjoyable. The talk session began with Hayashi introducing the current situation, saying, "The fusion of fashion and technology is progressing in various ways, such as new materials, fitting using 3D scanners, and the creation of one-of-a-kind clothing like NIKE iD, and Japan is leading the way in this trend. An exhibition on fashion and technology at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York also featured many works by COMME des GARÇONS and ISSEY MIYAKE. At the 2017 Spring/Summer Paris Collection, ISSEY MIYAKE unveiled a bag made using e-paper, a material jointly developed with Sony Fashion Entertainment." Ichikawa then commented, "The ISSEY MIYAKE bag, which uses e-paper as a material, shows one example of incorporating technology into fashion." In response, Son said, "In our latest project, we hope to make an impact on society not only through financial investment but also by partnering with companies developing new technologies. We create a variety of products, including the light-emitting Orphe sneakers and the Walkcar, a portable cart that fits inside a bag. Orphe has already started development on a new product with a grant, and we hope to pursue joint development as well. The Walkcar would be even better if it added a fashionable element. One of our current products was originally designed for sports, but a fashion magazine editor happened to see it and said, 'It could be a fashion watch.'" He also introduced examples that could be related to fashion, saying, "Developing Orphe took four years, but everything had to be done behind the scenes, and we had to continue scrapping and building without any references. I wish the fashion industry had something similar to venture capital in the IT industry." Kanamori added, "Until now, we've incorporated technology into exhibitions and sales floors, not into clothing. We need to think outside the cycle of creating new clothes every six months and adopt a different timeline." In the latter half of the talk session, Son reiterated, "I've been told to stop thinking about success in Japan before expanding overseas. I should explain things in English as well as Japanese from the beginning. I need to create something that can be understood by people overseas as well as in Japan. If we can gather 50 works that are viewed by tens of thousands of people in one country, we'll be global. The rest of the world thinks Japan is cooler than we think. Just like crowdfunding, fashion brands should also create videos and other means to promote themselves to the world." He continued, "By using technology, algorithms, and deep learning, we can create surprisingly light objects and interesting shapes that humans could never have imagined. There are still many things we don't fully understand, such as how deep learning machine translation can produce fall/winter outfits, but I think it can be used to support creativity and become a new, right-brained approach. I also think that if fashion companies and technology companies connect, we can create cool events."
