RUSSIAN FASHION INDUSTRY ATTACHES TO MODERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

13.09.2018 г.
Within the framework of the Business Program of the 5th International Exhibition ‘INTERFABRIC-2018. Autumn’, held in the Expocentre  on August 27-30, the conference ‘Digitalization of the Russian Fashion Industry” was held. The organizers of the event were: Russian Union of Entrepreneurs of Textile and Light Industry, the international fashion project I1LAB, the digital on-line platform “Modniy magazin“, the FashionNet project. According to the participants of the discussion, the digitalization of the domestic fashion industry is a natural process, in which the participants of the domestic fashion industry are becoming increasingly involved. This trend radically changes any industry, retail, interaction of customers and ordinary consumers with producers and trade.   Almost all the participants of the discussion agreed that digital technologies are very expensive and involve a high cost of their implementation. But the payback of these projects depends, first of all, on both consumer demand and the focus of consumers to actively use the products of these technologies. At the same time, they significantly reduce current production and marketing costs. And therefore beneficial to companies and retail. This was noted by Larisa Kamenskaya, partner of I1 Lab, head of the textile agency and brand KAMENSKAYA. Other participants of the conference expressed similar assessments, having also focused attention on the personnel and economic issues of digitalization in the industry. Meanwhile, new technologies and expanding opportunities for digitalization. According to Denis Al Aaraj and Rezvan Stoyan, partners of BEACONIT Proximity Marketing, modern digital technologies allow consumers to order and select, on the basis of their preferences and physiological parameters, almost any time in a matter of hours, any product in the sales network, from manufacturers and model agencies. And even to design forms of clothes, and  accessories. In addition, the digital innovations of this company allow to monitor the demand of a specific group of consumers in real time and, in parallel, to quickly find products that would satisfy the demand of specific consumer groups. A similar focus has the portal platform being developed within the “Modniy magazin“, according to the editor-in-chief Vera Ivanova. But this platform is more convenient for consumers – its regular users. However, such a “high-tech segment of demand,” according to the majority of conference participants, is typical in the Russian Federation for large cities and industrial centers. Although it is they who occupy a leading position in the geography of domestic demand for light industry goods. Therefore, digital technologies are oriented, naturally, to the main geographical “points” of demand. Andrei Zharinov, General Director of Karosport, supported these estimates, and is for simplifying and for greater transparency of customs procedures when importing equipment for digital technologies. Since the dependence in this sphere on imports remains high and, most likely, will remain so in the future. But, as the expert believes, there is no reason to believe that intra- and foreign economic trends will contribute to the growth of demand and, especially, to its assortment. But it is the demand factors that determine the demand for digital technology in both the fashion industry and retail. With what many participants of the forum agreed. Roman Efremov, general director of FashionNet Union, agreed with the above-mentioned estimates and commented on them in detail. At the same time, the new digital technologies, he said, stipulate that when the product changes its location, it is quickly reflected in the blockchain. That, in turn, allows you to reliably determine where clothes have come from, other accessories and what are their main characteristics. And the further development of these technologies, such as, for example, 3D printing and artificial intelligence, will even more change the fashion and retail segments. In addition, the digital transformation of these segments, as noted by Roman Efremov and a number of experts gathered, dictates the rejection of mega areas in these fields, and, therefore, a transition, some kind of, to minimalism with the personalization of consumers. This trend is most occured in developed countries (especially in the USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan) and a number of developing countries (primarily in India, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Turkey, Malaysia, Arab countries of the Persian Gulf). Most likely, the geography of such a trend in the far abroad will be accelerated. For companies that focus on reducing costs for their own or leased real estate and personalizing consumers and other customers, are becoming more competitive. That is, clothing becomes a “technological gadget”, which is more beneficial for customers than having a bonus card.  
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