Technology Archives - Page 3 of 4

September 16, 2023

Consultancy & jury for Lola Liza Fashion School

Ann advised Lola Liza to set up their Fashion school and was part of the jury.

As a Belgian retailer with in-house designers and expertise in creation, Lola Liza finds it important to keep an eye on new talent and offer them a platform. The LolaLiza Fashion School is a competition open to anyone with ambition in the world of fashion.

After a first selection based on their portfolio, 10 candidates get the assignment to design three different dresses that fit the LolaLiza DNA. The participant who was able to convince the jury the most sees their dresses actually go into production and sale.

Ann advised the Lola Lisa team on the set up, criteria and communication. She was also part of the jury of the first edition, next to Elodie Doret, Catherine Kosters, Emilie Vandepoel, Cathy Pill, Myra Nurski.

The winners of the first edition are Liesl De Ridder, Femke Thijs and Nanook Cools.

September 14, 2023

Ann partnerships manager for Future Front Row, the digital fashion show

FUTURE FRONT ROW, the holographic catwalk you don’t want to miss

As our lives become increasingly digitized, many people are already crafting a digital representation of themselves online. FUTURE FRONT ROW has the mission to illuminate the potentials of this virtual space through an immersive digital fashion runway in a physical setting.

By deliberately designing Future Front Row to mirror the hallmarks of iconic high fashion runways, we’re making a bold statement: digital fashion doesn’t just belong to the future; it’s claiming its rightful place alongside traditional couture.

Our mission is about more than aesthetics; it’s about accessibility. FUTURE FRONT ROW democratizes digital fashion, pulling it from niche corners and placing it front and center for all to experience. By providing a stage for digital fashion designers, many of whom have never had the opportunity to present their work in a tangible setting, we’re ensuring a more inclusive and diverse fashion future.

It’s a visual and experiential testament to where the future of fashion is headed, as the lines between our online personas and physical selves continue to blur.

The narrative of FUTURE FRONT ROW is one of evolution and revolution. As society pivots from tangible to intangible modes of self-expression, fashion — an age-old medium of identity — is poised for digital transformation. Through the digital runway, attendees witness the journey of fashion from its material roots to its digital future. The significance lies in its mirror to our evolving identities: as we craft digital representations of ourselves online, fashion evolves alongside to cater to these new digital personas.

As a sustainable alternative to traditional fashion shows, it can also offer a more inlcusive and creative view on fashion today, opening up to a broad audience. At Felix Meritis we welcomed over 700 visitors in september ’23 to see the show by Augmented Weaving, Avolve, Dress X, The Fabricant, Polygon Dressing, Code Couture, Suzanne Vos & MUTANI.

Ann Claes & Future Front Row

Ann is partnerships manager and supports the founders Antonio Talarico and Isabelle Udo to bring their concept abroad. After a succesful launch at Amsterdam Fashion Week we are preparing for a next edition. Do reach out if you see opportunities to partner or bring Future Front Row near you!

September 13, 2023

Webinar with Ryan Gill and Ann, How to sell your work as NFT?

Ann Claes interviews Ryan Gill, founder and CEO of Crucible and Open Meta for Flanders DC. In this webinar you will get insights on how to sell your work with NFT’s but also a good basic introduction to the concept.

NFT’s – non fungible tokens- have been a hot topic in recent months. Is this the new way to trade digital creations and a new channel to promote your creations? Discover together with Ryan Gill in this webinar what NFT’s can mean for you and whether you as a creative entrepreneur should use it.

For this webinar Ann Claes goes into conversation with Ryan Gill. Ryan is the founder and CEO of Crucible, an open source software company looking to the future where you can use your digital identity across all platforms. His whole career he has been moving between technology and finance. Blockchain technology and crypto-economic design have no secrets to him. The perfect speaker to introduce us into this new universe.

September 12, 2023

Webinar on AR and Metaverse for Flanders DC

Ann Claes is curator and moderator for this webinar on Augmented Reality and metaverse applications for the creative industry.

During this webinar of Flanders DC we delve deeper into the technologies Augmented Reality (AR) with PLAYAR and metaverse with Howest. We show the possible influence and opportunities for the fashion and design sector using concrete examples. We also explain what the business potential can be per application, with a strong focus on experience and retail.

Bas Gezelle is one of the owners and strategy lead of AR agency PLAYAR. They develop augmented reality experiences for brands on all social media platforms and on the web. From stores that get an immersive experience, trying on virtual fashion to other products that come to life virtually.

Digital Transformation Valorization Manager Kurt Callewaert explains Howest’s initiatives and ambitions within Web3 and Metaverse. Researcher and business consultant Jonathan Maes takes you through the immense potential of the metaverse using a real life use case.

September 12, 2023

Columns Ann on Technology for Belgian newspaper de Tijd

Ann shares her personal view on what is happening around her, shifts in innovation she sees happening or novelties to discover with a monthly column for the Technology section of Belgian newspaper de Tijd.

Some of them you can find here in English on the website, others exclusively in Dutch on their platform and printed version.

September 7, 2023

ATV : Networking event Web32 fills Waagnatie with enthusiasts of the digital world

Web32 took place in the Waagnatie, a networking event for enthusiasts of everything to do with blockchains, NFTs and everything the digital world has to offer.

ATV, Thursday, June 9, 2022

In addition to networking, you could listen to experts who are actively working on modern technology and digitalization. But the event was also for people who had never heard of things like the metaverse or virtual reality. You could get to know it all at interactive stands that appealed to the imagination.

September 7, 2023

Ter Zake on VRT : what is the metaverse?

“Digital identity almost as important as real one”: what is the metaverse?

Ter Zake & VRT News : Diving deeper into current affairs. With guests and reports that determine the news on the basis of sharp, critical and illuminating interviews.

August 31, 2023

Column by Ann for De Tijd : Handbag with a passport

The fashion industry grapples with numerous challenges, but technology offers a pathway to addressing these issues.

May 12, 2023, De Tijd

For many, fashion stands as a cornerstone of their identity. Ever-evolving trends serve as mirrors reflecting societal changes, nurturing the dreams of many. Within its realm thrives a community brimming with passionate individuals, wielding creativity and beauty as their tools.

Regrettably, a darker underbelly exists – rampant overconsumption, hazardous materials, and exploitative production practices. This somber reality has propelled the industry toward a sustainability crusade spanning several years. Urgent recalibration is imperative, as underscored by the words of British fashion luminary, Vivienne Westwood: “Buy less, choose well, make it last.”

Despite its seasonal innovation, the fashion domain clings to conservatism. In tandem with calls for transparency and behavioral shifts, technology emerges as a potent ally in accelerating sustainability.

Data analysis empowers smarter procurement and production decisions. Innovative tools like Shavatar, ContourLab, and Zalando’s virtual fitting room aid online shoppers in accurately assessing sizes and body types. This not only slashes return rates but also augments customer satisfaction.

Renowned sustainable fashion expert Jasmien Wynants laments in the book ‘Groeien Broeken aan Bomen?’ that every passing second globally witnesses a voluminous dump of textiles, incinerated or discarded onto wastelands. These precious resources merit reincarnation.

Coachtopia, an offshoot of fashion powerhouse Coach, morphs this cycle into an engaging escapade. With a TikTok frenzy and an enthusiastic Gen Z community, discarded materials and excesses are transformed into novel products, primed for recycling.

Each item bears an NFC chip that, upon a phone’s touch, unveils a digital dossier – divulging insights into materials, design, and ecological footprint. This passport also charts the product’s journey, whether it undergoes repair, reuse, or reinvention.

The startup EON champions these digital product passports, leveraging blockchain for transparent verification and monitoring. Teaming up with esteemed French luxury brand Chloé, EON streamlines the process of sharing product information on second-hand platforms. This democratizes the process of buying and selling high-end items.

Buoyed by the new EU textile strategy, the eventual incorporation of digital product passports into legislation looms. This development holds immense promise. Let’s infuse these passports with ingenious concepts, aspirations, and narratives. Alternatively, envision embracing virtual fashion, an innovation with minimal ecological repercussions. This avenue might wield the most resounding influence. While I wholeheartedly embrace every stride toward a cleaner fashion industry through innovation, technology undoubtedly remains its linchpin, propelling it toward a pristine future.

August 31, 2023

Interview for De Tijd on MUTANI : Antwerp fashion rebels embrace metaverse and blockchain

De Tijd, Roland Legrand December 2, 2021

The Antwerp start-up MUTANI helps creative fashion makers conquer digital worlds. A first collection will be launched on a digital marketplace on Friday

MUTANI bringing the most far out fashion to the cyberscene

The Australian Shayli Harrison moved to Antwerp in 2013 to study at the famous Fashion Academy. She graduated in 2018 and in the meantime she had started working with 3D printing, 3D scanning and virtual reality (VR). She participated in the exhibition Dissidence in the Hasselt House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture Z33. This dissidence is also of great importance to her start-up Mutani (pronounced like ‘mutiny’, rebellion) that was founded in February.

Co-founder is Ann Claes, who is senior project manager Fashion at the non-profit organization for the creative sector Flanders DC. ‘The fashion sector is known for rapid innovations in content, but there have been hardly any changes in the way of working over the past sixty or seventy years,’ Claes notes.

The essence

The Antwerp start-up MUTANI wants to offer fashion designers an alternative to earn money with their creativity, in addition to the established channels. MUTANI digitizes the designers’ work and puts it on the blockchain in the form of NFTs. This allows gamers and other users of the metaverse’s digital environments to actually own those digital objects.
A first NFT launch will take place on Friday, with work by an alumnus of the Antwerp Fashion Academy.

That has to change. On it’s site, MUTANI says it is waging a “rebellion against the oppressive and exploitative nature of the fashion industry.” In the metaverse, roughly the entirety of virtual environments, a fashion designer can be unfettered in his creativity. Blockchain technology enables new business models. Young designers are given an alternative to a poorly paid seven-day-a-week job at a major fashion house.

Mutani works with non-fungible tokens (NFTs), registrations on a blockchain that refer to digital or physical objects that can be traded. “Now you can really take ownership of 3D digital objects and use them in different digital spaces,” explains Harrison. She refers to large gaming companies such as Epic Games and Electronic Arts, which are open to blockchain integration. ‘The player gets more autonomy.’

Harrison notes that gamers “work” quite hard to acquire certain objects in the game environment. Now they can finally own it too. ‘Ultimately it’s about self-expression, which is also the case with clothes in the physical world,’ adds Claes.

And fashion designers can attract new audiences with their creativity. Mutani helps them by digitizing their work and making it ready for the digital marketplaces.

Digital activewear

On Friday at 7 p.m., Mutani will unpack with a first NFT launch, also called ‘drop’. These are fashion pieces by Stefan Kartchev, who graduated from the Fashion Academy in 2018. He has worked for the fashion designer Walter van Beirendonck, for the vegan footwear manufacturer Rombaut and for Bioracer, which designs and makes cycling clothing. Kartchev searches for new ways to interpret activewear and explore the limits of the human body.

For sale on digital fashion platform The Dematerialised

Sales are made via the online sales platform The Dematerialised. That platform promises to guarantee transparency and authenticity through LUKSO blockchain technology.

The prices are 150 euros and 250 euros. There is also an exclusive NFT phygital (portmanteau of physical and digital) that the buyer can wear offline. The price for the phygital is 2,000 euros. In addition to payments in crypto coins, The Dematerialized also allows regular money.

‘We bring a wave of creativity that has no equal in digital fashion,’ emphasizes Claes. Although major brands launch digital versions of their products in the virtual worlds of Roblox and Fortnite, Harrison says that these are digital copies of the physical products. They don’t necessarily fit into those virtual worlds. It is her intention that fashion designers can respond with unfettered creativity to the possibilities of the metaverse and the numerous subcultures that reside there.

With the support of the City of Antwerp, Mutani is working on a new project involving six designers. Everything is made with the Unreal Engine, software that allows you to create high-quality digital objects.

Even though Mutani is very critical of the fashion sector, brands have shown interest in their services. Harrison does not reject that. “It can help us do more for independent fashion designers,” she says.

Mutani wants to ‘unburden’ the fashion designers of technical problems. The start-up takes care of digitization with freelance developers spread all over the planet in exchange for a share of the proceeds. “It is crucial that the digital developers are inspired by our creative vision,” says Harrison. The founders of Mutani do not believe that the fashion designer should become a digital designer. ‘It is important for fashion designers to know what the opportunities and that there is an additional business model,’ says Claes. ‘A fashion designer traditionally needs pattern makers, sewing studio and textile experts. Now it’s about developers.’ Mutani bridges the gap between both worlds. At the Antwerp Fashion Academy, Harrison notices interest from students and a number of teachers. She sees potential in a collaboration with the internationally renowned game design and development department of Kortrijk Howest.

July 19, 2023

Speaker at Blockchain4Belgium

Blockchain4Belgium: By the Belgian community for the Belgian community

Blockchain4Belgium is first and foremost the gathering of the Belgian ecosystem composed of more than 1000 belgian experts, industry players, academics, civil society, and public administrations.

We are delighted to invite your for the inaugural launch event of Blockchain4Belgium planned the 30th March at FPS BOSA in Brussels during the European AI Week.

Where you and the ecosystem will be contributing & building the future of Belgium by participating in one of our 7 working groups that will formulate recommendations to the Belgian’s governement.

This event will offer you an excellent opportunity to connect with other members of the community, gain knowledge and insight from experts presentations.

Attendance is virtual, as the event has been soldout in 4 days.

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