Time to buy new jeans for the digital wardrobe?
NEST is an initiative that works for a sustainable textile and fashion industry. Behind NEST stand four incubators - Borås INK, eXpression Umeå, The Sting and XPlot. The idea behind the program is to cover large parts of Sweden, with incubators from Umeå to Borås and Stockholm (Sting) to XPlot (Lund). Together, they have specialist areas ranging from textile to engineering, which they benefit from when assisting startups in their accelerator program. In addition, they are driving the development towards a sustainable fashion and textile industry through, among other things, the Nest podcast, which highlights various aspects of the industry. In February 2023, the podcast was broadcast from XPlot's and Future By Lund's premises in Lund and the theme was “Fashion Transformation - Digital fashion & gaming”?
The discussion was about how gaming and fashion creation can create value for each other but also for people and the planet. Starring was Blenda Averfalk, Adjutant Academy Malmö, Markku Lorentz, Pengu Studios, Marie Ledendal, Lund University and Frederick Timour, Fashion Innovation Center. The moderator was Simon Hjelte, program manager for NEST and business developer at Borås INK.
The conversation contained many exciting connections and visions. Here are some quick notes on some of many interesting topics that were touched upon. Through the link to the podcast, you can read the entire discussion.
*Many people spend a large portion of the waking hours of the day in front of the computer in a virtual world. You would think that people get lonely in this environment, but in reality you often play games or watch movies together in a digital community. In such a community, digital identity is important, and many people spend a lot of time creating the digital image of themselves. Here, there would be room for the fashion industry to give people fashion as a tool to access when creating their avatar.
* Digital environments are on the rise and it is not obvious that physical value is primary. Smart textiles can provide physical experiences when in digital environments and perhaps even provide a feedback into the game
*Clothing on a person's digital twin can, of course, go beyond the limitations of the physical host so that one can make shoes out of glass, pants out of metal, or a hoodie showing music videos.
* The fashion industry has experience in how clothes can create a sensation in people. Fancy clothes in a digital world can similarly make the person who plays feel different and maybe even play in a different way.
* An interesting note is that smart textiles usually do not appear in visions of the future and therefore we have not become accustomed to thinking about them in the way we do with robots, AI and smart cars. As it is now, the smart clothes of reality are often more advanced than the clothes seen in popular culture.
* The fashion industry could move from selling only clothes to selling a combination of clothes and services or stories. Some major fashion houses collaborate with artists and smaller brands, for example, creating greater engagement on digital platforms. There may also be scope for users to create a content on the platform that the fashion industry can benefit from.
Here are all the Nest live pods collected.
Psst.. Do you have a business idea and want to become part of NEST? Right now, the application is open to NEST Bootcamp, the first step of the NEST catapult program.
More info and application. Applications close on Sunday 26/2 at 23:59.
NEST's live podcast was organized by XPlot in Lund, which is one of four incubators that have started the NEST initiative together with Borås INK, eXpression Umeå and STING in Stockholm to drive the development of a sustainable textile industry.
