London Technology Week 2016: A Glimpse at New British Fashion Tech

This year’s launch event of London Technology Week, Europe’s largest festival of technology, is set to bring together some of the UK’s leading fashion technology designers for a first of its kind fashion technology showcase.

London based fashion designer Brooke Roberts has been commissioned by London & Partners, the Mayor of London’s promotional company, to curate the exhibition which will be displayed at the launch of London Technology Week 2016.

The installation will include a 3D printed wearable garment designed by Modeclix, the world’s first holographic intelligent mannequin from Headworks and a behind the scenes look at London Fashion Week using 360 degree video and content curated by creative communications agency Village.

The showcase will also feature a number of other cutting edge fashion technologies including:

Bruise Suit– Developed by London’s Royal College of Art, the bruise suit is an injury detection suit for disabled athletes with loss of sensation, enabling them to see injuries right when they happen, designed by Dan Garrett, Ming Kong, Lucy Jung, Elena Dieckmann in collaboration with fashion designer Mary Benson. It applies a recyclable pressure-sensitive film to indicate the severity of injuries.
Brooke Roberts– Digitally knitted fashion from medical scans by ex-NHS Radiographer and knitwear designer, Brooke Roberts
Infi-Tex clothing – London based company which have developed men’s’ sensor enabled sports jackets that allow you to play your music through sensors on your clothes. The clothing uses a new class of patented smart pressure sensitive materials which will enable new switches and sensors to be printed onto textiles.
InMoov Robot – Bringing together London’s premier agency for 3D digital experiences in the luxury fashion sector, Holition, and the most exciting open source robot technology to create a central fashion/tech interactive robot. The robot will be draped with a piece of clothing created by Brooke Roberts and projected onto with animated fashion imagery. The projected fashion imagery will be illustrated by Brooke Roberts and animated by Holition.
London Fashion Week 360 Film by Village – Creative Communications Agency, Village launched a series of immersive on-demand 360 degree video content of their work during London Fashion Week to give shoppers an immersive look behind the scenes and help them prioritise experiential purchases that their customers can share on social media. The footage shows a storyboard of early morning starts, pre production set up, backstage access and catwalk buzz at designers Ashish, Peter Jensen, Zandra Rhodes & Holly Fulton Autumn / Winter 2016 Shows.
London hosted its first London Technology Week in 2014 and last year’s festival saw 220 events, attracting over 43,000 attendees from around the world. This year’s launch event will convene leading figures from the technology and wider business community, focussing on London as hub for the convergence of technology with traditional industries.

In the past five years, the number of digital technology businesses in London has increased by over 12,000, with around 40,000 businesses in the capital at present (an increase of 46%). It is forecast the sector will continue to outperform the rest of the UK economy and the number of tech businesses throughout London will increase by 12,500 by 2025, according to research from Oxford Economics.

Separate research from London & Partners revealed venture capital investment into Britain’s technology sector has reached a record high with London-based companies securing around 62% of the $3.6bn raised by UK firms in 20151. Investment into ecommerce and fashion tech companies is strong with major investments into London based companies such as Farfetch ($110m) and Lyst ($40m) in the last few years.

Fashion designer and curator of the fashion tech installation, Brooke Roberts, said: London offers a collaborative and dynamic science, tech and fashion scene. From fashion start-ups, 3D printing and social media, to improving in-store customer experience, brands in London have been leading the way in how to incorporate the latest tech advances into their fashion message. Being appointed Art Director and Curator of the Fashion Tech Installation to launch London Technology Week has allowed me to bring together a diverse group of fashion and technology game-changers to showcase the creative and robust approach we have in London to contributing to the new wave of Fashion Tech. It is through the continuing collaboration of the London fashion and tech scenes that this crossover has become possible, opening the door for more collaborations on a larger scale in the future, limited only by our imaginations.”

Louise Page, Co-Founder, Village: “The communications industry is at an exciting and unprecedented change and London is at the creative hub of a technology revolution Marketing used to be about creating a myth and selling it, now it’s about finding the truth and sharing it.”

Exhibitor and Chief Executive, Holition, Jonathan Chippindale, added “London has always been an innovation centre for both fashion and technology, but crucially it has also been a place where ideas and creativity are valued and nurtured. As an anti-tech technology Studio, Holition has always been more focussed on the experience, the engagement and the digital anthropology between humans and technology, rather than the wires and circuit boards and the algorithms. This installation fits this ethos nicely – although on paper it is a collaboration involving 3D printing, robotics, fashion and projection mapping, it is actually a narrative that discusses the connection between analogue and digital, a story of fashion told through the medium of technology and ultimately a study of what it is to be human.”

Gordon Innes, Chief Executive at London & Partners, the Mayor of London’s promotional company said: “London is a world leader in fashion, creative arts and design. When you combine this with the city’s growing technology sector, it is no surprise to see London at the centre of the fashion technology movement. We are also seeing traditional industries such as music, publishing and advertising disrupted by technology innovations. London is at the heart of this trend and London Technology Week provides a great platform to showcase our creative talent and demonstrate why London is leading the way for the development of convergence technologies. We are delighted to have some London’s best fashion technology innovations on show at the launch event to kick-off the week in style.”

Kevin Pearce, London Technology Week Event Director, UBM EMEA London said:

“London and the UK is world renowned as a leader in the creative industries. From traditional media, advertising and digital agencies, to visual effects, film and TV production and design, fashion and the arts. The thriving creative tech sector is represented throughout this year’s London Technology Week programme, by over 150 events. Making it one of key cornerstones to the week and one of the most popular themes for both national and international attendees.”

Shaun Borstrock and Mark Bloomfield, Modeclix added: “London has historically been the destination for fashion, from the high end designers that started their careers in the capital to the independent boutiques and labels selling fashion, accessories and design that can only be discovered on the city’s streets, London has always inspired a global audience. Now as fashion and technology collide, London continues to be a leading innovator in the fashion space. By encouraging, nurturing and supporting the talent the city attracts a transformative future is unfolding, one where multifaceted disciplines, organisations and individuals are all contributing to define the future of fashion.”