A Ground-Breaking Fashion Tech Innovation Lab Set to Launch at IFA Paris
Autumn 2019, IFA Paris is set to launch a revolutionary fashion tech innovation lab based at its Paris campus in the 19th district. The 400sqm industrial space will be the first of its kind in Paris, containing dynamic co-working spaces, tech demo room and an experimental makerspace equipped with cutting edge technical equipment to support the development of fashion tech solutions. The lab will enable students, start-ups and businesses to work alongside each other – creating the opportunity for them to make extraordinary leaps in fashion and innovation.
As part of the school’s efforts to pioneer fashion tech in France and beyond, the ground- breaking lab is designed to complement IFA Paris’ new program in Fashion Tech Innovation. Individuals will be nurtured to become the next fashion innovators of tomorrow and to do that they need not only world class teaching but hands-on experience through industry collaborations all set to happen within the lab. The fashion tech outputs will be displayed within the elegant tech demo area, which will also play host to industry events. Jean- Baptiste Andreani, Managing Director of IFA Paris, notes:
“Our role as educators is to dispel stereotypes by making our students aware that technologies such as VR or AI are tools to foster creativity and not to restrict it.”
The lab will facilitate academic and commercial activity, such as that with Coty, Fusalp and Zadig & Voltaire. IBM, leader in digital innovation, will partner with the lab by bringing their expertise and forward-thinking vision to future proof the fashion industry. Lectra and The Bridge Fashion Incubator are other well-known partners, and in line with the lab’s philosophy of interconnectedness, emerging startups like sizing specialists Bodi.me and 3D software provider TG3D will complete the stellar line-up of collaborators.
“IBM’s approach, led by the Studios, is dedicated to help our clients in the fashion industry benefit from technologies, whether it concerns the in-store experience, trend analyses, sales optimization, customer knowledge or supply chain optimization. We provide Design Thinking and innovation methodologies to foster co-creation and guarantee the value of the initiatives brought to the market.”
– Arnaud Pelletier, IBM Studios Paris Lead
The lab is due to launch late September 2019 in tandem with the course Postgraduate Diploma: Fashion Tech Innovation.
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