6. Industrial Structure Of The Future

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As we have seen in the previous chapters, it is possible to forecast the future based on fashion. Now, let us imagine a future society where we have easy access to the clothes perfectly tailored to meet our needs.

Are we going to care less about fashion since it will be so easy to dress up? Is VR going to be a common part of our lives by then? Which comes first? Maybe at the same time? Let us carefully examine each possibility.

Nowadays, many people may use zoom and Snap Camera together as a makeup whilter, but in the past, Shiseido has promoted projects like the one above.

Case #1
Efficiency/ convenience, and subtle differentiation

What if taking care of not only your clothing but also make-up, hair care, and weight maintenance became extremely easy with the rapid technological innovation? What if we could save time and energy on these everyday routines? I believe we would steer away from treating clothes as a symbol of wealth or a proof of social acceptability. Meaning, we would stop identifying ourselves with our social status and begin to differentiate our genuine selves.

First, let us think about why we tidy ourselves up and dress well in the first place. It is partly because we want to show off our financial stability and sociality. Such luxury requires time and energy. However, tidiness and stylish attire would no longer speak for such status, if virtually anyone could easily groom themselves and dress well.

Yet, even if this prediction were to come true, it is impossible that we entirely stop dressing up, considering we would still have the desire to express our individuality through what we wear.

Therefore, I imagine that many people would start to wear something extremely simple like the ancient Greek chiton. Rational, convenient style that allows people to differentiate in small details will prevail.

While they would feel the urge to express their individuality as the society gets more and more diverse, there would be no need to showcase themselves excessively either. There is no doubt that this tendency will grow as time goes by.

Ancient Greeks’ Chiton was designed efficiently by eliminating the need of cutting out a sewing pattern. It offers various ways of styling depending on how the drapes are formed around the waist

Incentives for being well-groomed are closely tied to the changes in the society.

Case #2:
Technological innovation raises the value of the physical world and inspires changes on our physical body.

How are we going to dress when VR becomes a common part of our daily lives? If VR were to replace our life in the physical world, it would need to provide us with a holistic experience that incorporate all of the five senses, instead of just the vision. Besides, the more common VR becomes, the more value the “real world” will hold. Therefore, I imagine that virtual space will be treated the way the internet is treated now.

In such virtual space, we will be able to manipulate our body however we want. Hence, in virtual space, the idea to make-up or dress-up may gradually fade out.

Furthermore, In the future society where technology is highly advanced, we might choose to modify some parts of our physical body like a cyborg. For example, it might be considered cool to switch to high-tech artificial legs depending on the scene which allows you to walk in different speed or jump to various heights. It is also possible that we will enjoy changing the color and pattern on the surface of an artificial leg by programming, as if choosing a legwear. As this type of modification becomes common, we might start to see an artificial leg that does not look like a human leg. The role of our body can change with time just as that of clothing did. With this change, even our bodily functions can be altered.

Open-source electronic prosthetic hand developed by exiii Inc. Not only the functions but also the beauty is the main characteristic.

Markus Rehm, a long jumper who won first place defeating non-handicapped jumpers in German Athletics Championships. Some experts predict that jumpers with prosthetic legs will dominate over non-handicapped jumpers in the near future.

Even if it becomes technologically possible to modify some parts of our body, most people would not try unless it becomes socially acceptable. Therefore, the dominance of the virtual world over the physical world and social acceptance towards human augmentation will not happen before it becomes extremely easy to dress up.

With the technological advancement and the change in social structure, fashion industry will change. This change, then, affects the way people dress as well as our bodily structure. Change will not happen overnight. Things tend to change very gradually by accumulating a series of small shifts while keeping some parts of the old structure and images as well.

Finally, we are moving on to the final chapter. I will start it off with the topic of how human history will come in full circle and how future finds itself IN THE PAST.

If we trace the history, we notice various types of body modifications in various cultures. Given this fact, our transformation into cyborgs is not necessarily a ridiculous prediction. A women who reduced her waist size to 30 cm using a corset.

Neil Harbisson, the first person in the world with an antenna implanted in his skull, is legally recognized as a cyborg by the British government.

JACQUARD, a collaborative project between Google and Levi’s. This jacket is a wearable touch panel, so to speak. Wearable technology is one of the first type of human augmentation.

Lecture by Aimee Mullins, a model and a para-athlete, makes us rethink about the definition of beauty.

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