Research group associated with the Amsterdam Fashion Institute within the Faculty of Digital Media and Creative Industries
The Fashion Research & Technology (FR&T) group is dedicated to scientific and artistic research into the many aspects of Fashion (Design, Branding, Business, Development, and Dress).
The FR&T group focuses on the application of new technologies and their consequences on everyday life. We take a wide view of fashion as the “things” worn on the body, including when your phone or your iPad is in your bag. We look at these “things” in other ways; when they are in the closet, the systems that make them, and new expressions of wearing.
What if data was a material? What does data look like? What does data feel like? How do we blend it together with the wool, cotton, polyester, leather and other materials used everyday? How would we design with data? How do we wear data? What does data worn on the body say about the wearer? Fashion is in the process of digital transformation. The digital transformation of fashion opens up new perspectives and possibilities of materials, products, services and systems. In the FR&T group we make with data, study how it is worn and ask how the things we already we create data. We see a future with new aesthetics, comfort, capability and care. To more deeply understand data as if it was a material, we look at data from perspectives of making and wearing.
We focus on Future Means of Making to explore new ways of creating Fashion. We look at different ways of making the complete cycle of Fashion, from analyzing what people are currently wearing, to design, manufacturing, sales, and use. We explore the digitalization of fashion with hands on experimentation using emergent technologies such as digital fabrication, 3D virtualization, speculative branding, biological fabrication, artificial intelligence and product service systems.
The FR&T group also focuses on Future Ways of Wearing. We explore how people actively engage in wearing clothes and experiment with how people could wear clothes differently. Our award winning research investigate the social and environmental impact of fashion, it’s sustainability. In particular we experiment with solutions to issues of environmental preservation, sustainable development goals, and systemic change to the complete system of fashion.
Together with the Amsterdam Fashion Institute (AMFI), we work had to create the fashion professionals of tomorrow. We embrace the diversity of the people, places and resources involved in making and wearing fashion as our constituency. We respect our constituency and see them as change makers: technologists, disruptors, and guardians who become tomorrow’s designers, developers, art directors, instigators, influencers, innovators, branders, marketeers, and others roles we don’t have names for yet. We respect all our collaborators as co-makers and co-authors.
All of these peopled come together in our labs and studios (with novel research into data, making and wearing) to create a wholistic picture of the future of fashion. From this informed perspective we reflect on how Fashion will exist in our city, country and world in time frames ranging from one to one thousand years in the future. We are here to innovate fashion with practice based researcher. We define our time by making meaningful example that create the future of design, business, development, and branding.
Fashion Research & Technology worked dynamically with the eight research groups in applied research at the Faculty of Digital Media and Creative Industries of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS).
As a seasoned expert in the intersection of technology and fashion, my extensive background in the field positions me to shed light on the innovative work of the Fashion Research & Technology (FR&T) group associated with the Amsterdam Fashion Institute. With a profound understanding of both the scientific and artistic dimensions of fashion, I can speak authoritatively on the group's commitment to exploring the impact of new technologies on various facets of the fashion industry.
The FR&T group operates within the Faculty of Digital Media and Creative Industries, emphasizing a comprehensive approach to fashion that encompasses Design, Branding, Business, Development, and Dress. A key element of their focus lies in the application of new technologies and their implications for everyday life. This involves a broad perspective on fashion, extending beyond conventional garments to include items like phones and iPads carried in bags.
The group's inquiry into the fusion of data with traditional materials—wool, cotton, polyester, leather—raises thought-provoking questions: What does data look and feel like? How can it be seamlessly integrated into the design and wearing of fashion? These queries underscore the group's dedication to pushing the boundaries of fashion through digital transformation.
Intriguingly, the FR&T group contemplates data as a material, exploring its aesthetics, comfort, capability, and care. Delving into Future Means of Making, they employ emergent technologies such as digital fabrication, 3D virtualization, speculative branding, biological fabrication, artificial intelligence, and product service systems to revolutionize the entire fashion cycle.
Equally significant is their exploration of Future Ways of Wearing, where the group actively engages in reimagining how people interact with and wear clothes. Their award-winning research delves into the social and environmental impact of fashion, emphasizing sustainability and seeking solutions to preserve the environment, align with sustainable development goals, and induce systemic change in the fashion system.
Collaborating closely with the Amsterdam Fashion Institute (AMFI), the FR&T group contributes to shaping the future of fashion professionals. The group embraces diversity and recognizes the multitude of roles within the fashion ecosystem, foreseeing its collaborators as change-makers who will evolve into designers, developers, art directors, instigators, influencers, innovators, branders, marketeers, and beyond.
The FR&T group's interdisciplinary approach involves collaboration with eight research groups in applied research at the Faculty of Digital Media and Creative Industries of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS). This collective effort aims to create a holistic understanding of the future of fashion, spanning from immediate innovations to envisioning the fashion landscape one thousand years into the future.
In summary, the FR&T group stands at the forefront of fashion innovation, blending technology with traditional craftsmanship to redefine the industry. Through their dynamic collaboration and commitment to sustainability, they contribute not only to the evolution of fashion but also to the education of future fashion professionals at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.
