The Exciting World of Fashion Technology

Technology is and continues to be a huge player in essentially every major industry in the world today. As technology continues to develop and change so do various industries. The fashion industry is no exception, and as fashion technology develops and changes, NYC fashion recruiters are challenged to take notice and get on board. Although the connection between fashion and technology may be somewhat less obvious than say, the connection between technology and the advertising industry, fashion no doubt has been and continues to be heavily influenced by technology. The ongoing relationship between technology and fashion is important and isn’t going anywhere.

Here’s what’s new in the exciting world of fashion technology.

Visual Search

Long gone are the days of flipping through fashion catalogs and reciting item numbers on the phone. These days if you want to buy a new stylish item, it truly is just a couple clicks away. The internet has revolutionized the way people shop, and as a result, consumers are getting closer to being able to have exactly what they want the moment that they want it.

Perhaps the most anticipated new technology in the fashion industry is an innovative “visual search” tool that allows shoppers to find what they need by simply dragging and dropping an image of the desired item. While the traditional search method is extremely useful, sometimes it can be difficult to put into words exactly what a garment is, and with the vastness of the internet, a lot of items can often fit very specific descriptions. Visual search seeks to eliminate the unnecessary searching, save the consumer time, and get right to the specific item that they want. This tool may seem like a luxury right now, but it is quickly becoming an industry standard.

Here are a few different online tools that allow you to use visual search to find exactly what you need:

• Pinterest
  Pinterest, that originally launched their visual search tool in 2015, has a visual search tool that users can use to find an exact clothing item, piece of furniture, or virtually anything else they are interested in buying. To use their tool, tap the search button located on the corner of a pin and draw a box around whatever item in the picture you would like the search to focus on. After selecting the item, Pinterest does a search and provides users with the most similar items on their site and often includes links to places to buy the item. According to Business Insider, Pinterest users are using their visual search function more than 130 million times every month and that number is likely to grow.
• Slyce
  Slyce, on the other hand, is a tool that fashion retailers and New York retail agencies can partner with in order to provide the visual search function to their customers. With investors like Neiman Marcus and JCPenney, Slyce has quickly and efficiently made its way onto the fashion scene. Slyce markets themselves as “the most accurate image recognition technology” available in the world today. Their scanning technology not only works with real-world images, but can also recognize barcodes, coupons, and QR codes.

• Fashwell
  Fashwell, also a company for retailers to outsource to, provides another pretty remarkable product. One thing that makes their visual search function stand out from the rest is that it can use its product detection function with both real-time images taken by consumers but also can identify user-generated images. Fashwell also has a downloadable application available in the Apple Store for everyday shoppers to use.      

Wearable Technology

Something that designers, retailers, and fashion employment agencies alike are taking notice of is the ever-growing use of wearable technology. Wearable technology takes the beauty and fun of fashion and makes it an efficient tool that can benefit your life in some way. While high fashion and runway designers have obviously taken the lead in this area, constantly thinking of outlandish new designs like a gaze-activated dress that knows when someone is looking at it, wearable technology is becoming more and more popular in the everyday fashion world.

• Smart Watches
  More than likely, you’ve heard, and seen, and envied those who have an Apple Watch. While these watches originally appealed to athletic individuals, the appeal has expanded to anyone who considers themselves a person who is always on the go. While Apple may have been one of the firsts to develop a gadget of its caliber, other brands like Garmin and Samsung now have created quite a bit of competition. Both functional and fashionable, these watches have changed the game in wearable technology.

• Smart Jackets
  While you were probably familiar with smart watches, you may not be quite as acquainted with smart jackets. Levi, for example, has partnered with Google to create what from the outside seems like an ordinary jacket but really has incredible functions to help bike riders have a more efficient journey. Some of its features include being able to change the volume of your music or access other mobile apps with a simple touch of the sleeve. Another cool example of tech-innovated outerwear is the CHBL Jammer Coat that makes the person wearing the coat undetectable to devices that may be nearby and as a result can protect credit card information and give the wearer a break from cellphone calls.
• Transforming Shoes
  Another cool item that is making its way onto the scene is shoes with a removable heel. As you can imagine, these shoes are becoming quite popular among women, young and old. Tanya Heath has a variety of luxury shoes with a removable heel, ranging from boots to stilettos and not only can you remove the heel from a shoe, but you can also buy different heels to go with the same shoe!

Personal Styling Assistants

Remember when online shopping was revolutionary? When online shopping stepped onto the fashion scene, it reshaped the way the fashion industry navigated their sales and sales tactics, and as we all know now, we could not imagine a world without online shopping. Now, the fashion industry has taken online shopping a step further with online personal styling assistants. Online personal styling assistants have given NY retail agencies an entirely new job to be able to fill.

• Stitchfix
  Perhaps the most popular online personal styling subscription available today is Stitchfix. Stitchfix, which caters to both men and women, gets users started by having them first fill out a personal style quiz and then based on their answers sends them handpicked items in their price range that they think the user would love. The best part is, whatever you don’t like, you send back and you don’t have to pay for!

• Gwynnie Bee
  Gwynnie Bee is another great personal style subscription service, but what separates Gwynnie Bee from the rest of their competitors is that they cater specifically to women who wear sizes 10-32. They also have a clothing rental service if you’d just like to wear something once or twice and then return it.

The technology of the world is moving quickly and growing swiftly and the fashion industry is more than doing its part in keeping up. As a result of all of this technological innovation in the fashion industry, retail job recruiters are often not only looking for fashion enthusiasts to fill positions but techies as well. We can’t wait to see what great ideas and great clothing will come next in the fashion-tech universe.

Sources:

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-use-pinterest-visual-search-2016-6

http://slyce.it/technology

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