What will people wear in the future?

Innovation in fashion is sparking radical change. In the future clothes could be computers, made with materials designed and grown in a lab. Film supported by ‪@TheWoolmarkCompany‬
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A new wave of innovation is fuelling a radical change in fashion. Wearable technology, data, automation and lab-grown materials will have a major impact on what people will be wearing in the future.
Since the birth of sewing and weaving, technology has always led developments in fashion. The Industrial Revolution mechanized manufacturing enabling mass production. In the 1960s synthetic materials like polyester took off, creating new possibilities for fashion.
Now the convergence of new technologies is opening up previously unimaginable possibilities. Self-styled fashion scientist Dr Amanda Parkes is in the vanguard of the industry's latest reinvention. She heads up innovation at FT labs, a venture capital firm that invests primarily in disruptive fashion tech startups. Among these startups the race is on to find the next generation of renewable materials that can be grown in a lab. Traditional silk is produced from insect larvae that form cocoons, most commonly silkworms. But rather than relying on these insects bolt threads is creating silk in test tubes. Bio fabricated materials remove the need for animals and insects and they are a more sustainable and efficient way of producing raw materials.
Other companies are creating leather alternatives. Rather than using animals scientists are creating bio fabricated materials from pineapple leaves and even mushrooms. The convergence of fashion and technology also provides opportunities to transform not just clothes but the people wearing them.
Myant is a company that's pioneering the creation of clothing that can monitor your every move. So called smart fabrics are being touted as the next frontier of wearable technology. Yarns are paired with electronic sensors so that essential data can be captured from the human body. To create clothing that can monitor the wearer's health and fitness, Myant has brought together teams of people that have not traditionally worked under the same roof. Smart fabrics could radically change consumers relationships with the clothes they wear but as technology increases the pace of change, how can the industry keep track of what consumers really want?
Francesca Muston is the head of retail at WGSN, the world's leading fashion forecasting agency. The staff here use big data to analyze political, social, and environmental trends in order to predict the hot new looks of tomorrow. Technology is driving an explosion in consumer choice as well as the bewildering array of clothing design and creation. To keep up the industry is also turning to technology. Machine learning technologies are now central to fashion forecasting, quickly spotting patterns among the ever-growing volume of data.
From biotechnology to demographic shifts predicting trends is no longer an art it's becoming a science.
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[@fairholmka]

I really like the idea of the clothing industry moving away from using animals.

[@Azknowledgethirsty]

Animals are too slow, this will be greener, faster and cheaper

[@talon1084]

@BeGood 2Me But mass producing animals for their skin gives us a bit of an unfair advantage in that competition, does it not?

[@texanboiii562]

Karen Fairholm haha!! What’s your reaction when they engage in cannibalism? 😂 are you gonna ask for a policy that’ll arrest bad behaved animals?

[@starchannel123]

BeGood 2Me You have issues and I wonder why you hate animals. We need can protect wildlife and use them in moderation. There's no need to abuse them.

[@neyouxddd2371]

@@starchannel123 humans are animals too, ashole

[@baroncaba]

we just want clothes that'll last a long time, not fast fashion

[@aiai-j7i]

I really like the idea of mushroom leather versus all that "vegan leather" used now, i.e. pleather! Only a small percentage is derived from natural materials, most is PVC and polyurethane.

[@Alexander-tu3iv]

I'm sceptical of how effective AI and big data is at predicting trends. It reminds me of Henry Fords quote "had I asked what the people wanted they would have said faster horses" People don't know what they want until they have seen especially when it comes to clothing.

[@benjif2424]

Without standardization (like mobile phones, voice controlled Bluetooth speakers,...) smart appliances only succeed in niche markets. Smart clothing is 95% hype, not a massive movement.

[@kirdnehh]

Benji F for now

[@benjif2424]

@@kirdnehh with that logic anything could be the next big wave. Just like ever since 1980 everyone said in a decade ai will be smarter than humans. Technology does not follow hype, it follows economics.

[@vksepe]

@@benjif2424 The internet of things is growing though. 1/5 have smart assistants in the home in the United States for example. Logically the next step would be wearables.

[@benjif2424]

@@vksepe Wearables have had a hard time, because they are only practicle for niche-areas. Fitness trackers work for an arguably large group, but other than that I don`t see big potential. I can`t predict what the next Bolt will train with, but most people will not be wearing anything revolutionary in the next decade. I believe medicine has the greatest potential to make money with wearables, but they are already doing that (and have been for quite some time), so nothing revolutionary there either.

[@anomaly9156]

​@@benjif2424 Wouldn't something like temperature control be popular if it gets cheap? At least in the areas with extreme climates. Since that is a big reason why people wear clothes...

[@aguamenti1175]

I believe that the current technologies for creating clothes have reached a new level and this is really impressive.

[@44sd6546sdf]

more of these kind of series pls, quite informational.

[@vlado2701]

Your information and video about enticing prospects will not disappoint anyone I want faster to the future ! Thank You dear The Economist !

[@FreyaEinde]

All hail the jumpsuit era! 100% here for it.

[@idib1739]

I'd like my clothes to stay dumb.

[@user-fu1ln4uy6q]

Same

[@dennissepulveda6118]

Correct

[@obieplayz5255]

Clothes, shoes and hats like the last hundred years

[@iamdavidmofc]

This is only talking about consumers and the market. But what about solutions to challenges?

[@thartwig26]

Although super creepy... super fascinating too!

[@billi706]

A.I is already controlling us with fashion.

[@DansGamin]

I feel like it will take a couple of years for this stuff to really take off

[@Hoyts_Hillside_Farm]

Tip of the hat to the editor. This was a sweet cut for "news"

[@scorpianking004]

I think people will wear completely transparent clothes which will protect them from heat/cold/rain and at the same time they can attract opposite sex better than now as the social/saxual/moral taboos will be decreased in society in future.

[@sanketparab3243]

worst.....we are wearing masks

[@eapenkurian4134]

One day Government will have a control on our boxers.

[@lroongin7752]

the capitalist margin between the poor and the rich will be so much further apart. im saying make it to the rich side

[@malmalhi007]

an excellent learning video.!!!

[@ultravioletcanary]

DAAAAAAMMNN WHAT AN AMAZING VIDEO!!! FLOW, EDITING, SCRIPT!!

[@marcpadilla1094]

Once all the preliminary culling for peak human perfection is reached, I think form and function in the most basic sense will be the idea behind fashion.Uniformity.

[@sleepyunclejoe6020]

Can you imagine working outdoors and saying "yeah man my jacket is made out of mushrooms"

[@celiaballesteros3648]

Or 🐛

[@wolfattacker1]

Clothes.

[@bradywade7123]

I felt super futuristic when I got my Apple Watch 😂

[@finalboss6973]

I feel super futuristic watching an device. Jk btw teleportation already exists.

[@rzor1911]

Same in my room xD led setup

[@huajie666liu8]

What new forms of business models may I ask?

[@guxdefux]

not a word on most consequential aspect: automated sewing robots. but hey the graphics are flashy so... good job!

[@VicharB]

Mechanical watches - the best wear, no matter the progress in tech. :)

[@Ollychamberlain]

We’ll be printing our own clothes

[@fashionforcause1753]

Polyster has revolutionised the apparel industry .

[@ryanrodrigues6127]

Good work.

[@timedrip9178]

I want some Tron shit to happen. Make glowing clothing

[@richardmurphy9006]

You don't want a computer in my jocks

[@user-fu1ln4uy6q]

🤣 ikr

[@rea8585]

Data is the new $

[@siyersiyer]

Read the video title, Correct answer is: Clothes.

[@marinyt2660]

Very nice video

[@user-ml3hm5pv1p]

impressive

[@demigodtherapper483]

I don't know about others but I will wear infinity gauntlet 😎😎!!

[@0777coco]

huh. I don't know if I like this, but chances are I won't even realise it once it's become popular.

[@MrMentalz2]

It won’t matter if it takes forever and I’m old af 😩

[@timespacetechnologiestek7750]

growth by products

[@michaelboylan5308]

Clothes, Probably

[@ingislakur]

What happened to the Silver Jumpsuit theory ?

[@Myparentsplace]

4 years later... I want my spider silk jeans... With my pineapple leaf/leather jacket 😂 lol

[@ethanmackler1892]

I like the first thing not the second.

[@curtiscarpenter9881]

Superconductivity that is what we need in the UK?

[@meyoweeyaaw3418]

i hope it can be recycled.. coz if not its gonna be a problem like traditional clothes ends up piled in landpits..

[@fundaycooking6168]

Digital fabric is the futuristic

[@Myparentsplace]

Also.. my smart shoes can't update, so I have to put them on myself... Can we get this problem fixed please? Lol

[@jarensontillman6234]

the challenge will be to try to and fit amanda parkes into advanced clothes in the future.

[@keilafleischbein59]

Probably clothes

[@jarronthompson1573]

❤

[@arrjay2410]

Predicting Trends becoming a "Science"? How Untrendy.

[@sv-bd5em]

I just don’t understand what’s the point of collecting all this data about your body. Like do you ever analyze it? Unless you’re a professional athlete? Also can’t a smart watch do all of that already?

[@farkasabel]

you are not gathering for yourself. you are gathering for companies to bombard you with targeted adds.

[@Roar902]

Imagine having clothes that prevent you an heart stroke

[@davincicode2997]

you could detect and treat illnesses before you feel any of the symptoms for example.

[@binozia-old-2031]

You can give the info to your doctor to see if you have any symptoms of an illness allowing you to cure it before it becomes a problem

[@crazieeez]

@@binozia-old-2031 You need data of others to provide more accurate diagnosis. Most people going to the doctor's office are too sick to talk. How can a doctor help you if you are too sick to talk? Doctors rely on your symptoms data and data of others to provide an accurate remedy to your problem. Otherwise, if a doctor had to guess, it may take up to 20 guesses and by then you will be dead. I prefer to have accurate data and provide one and only one solution that works.

[@KR-nv3ru]

Really loose clothes to fit over all those folds of fat...? 🤔

[@anthonycallen1355]

Future Fud Systems

[@donovandelaney3171]

The 1930's saw the future of fashion. So did the 60's.

[@hairball9674]

One thing is for sure, people will still be wearing Levi's. Classic look.

[@farkasabel]

Leathers, metals, bones.

[@michaelboylan5308]

Clothes

[@binozia-old-2031]

There will be some black swan event that will change what we will wear eg phones

[@netizencapet]

The greatest clothes, much like the greatest anything, in terms of aesthetic depth and taste, have come and gone. One thinks of the Qing dynasty's imperial dragon robes, the height of Jacobean embroidery, the elaborate beadwork and jewelry of the Massai people of Kenya/Tanzania. Unless AI can minutely analyze and redeploy the skill and design prowess of past masters and allow future humans to draw upon and extend their mastery, their visions and discretion will not be surpassed...not by a long shot. The same applies to facade work, architecture, sculpture, etc.

[@thomasciarlariello3228]

Earl K. Bergey fashions?

[@davidfreeburn8592]

Spiders for silk and mushrooms for leather...i hate to be that guy who is poisoned by a red back spider silk whilst inadvertently high on magic mushroom leather 😂😂😂🤷

[@CugelTheClever458]

No thanks. I will stick to my OG stuff.

[@teeI0ck]

Manjistha Seeburn

[@PIXELSURPRISE]

I hope this gets rid of Rayon because that's been very bad for everyone who makes it.

[@danielwalker5918]

Ok, blah blah technology, but what was that dope music track underneath the smart fabric segment?

[@patriciomaldonado1533]

Una de carne mi pana😈🤛🏿

[@ElysiaWillandxD]

What’s the solution for all that pollution?

[@zandaroos553]

Biofibers will be good tho with our vast overproduction of cowskins, we should just be going back to real leather.

[@DOC7ORT]

Fashionista scientists...

[@futurekillerful]

Something from the 1800s

[@jalogrono]

Smart boxers🤣

[@capicuaaa]

MAKE CLOTHES SUSTAINABLE!

[@archanajaiswal5390]

Digital Clothes

[@auro1986]

less clothes more technology? what about body shaming?

[@taufanandriansyah7174]

874.000.000.000.000.000.000.000$

[@quinnoshaughnessy]

why is every one so o6sessed with the idea of their clothes relaying personal information a6out them to a 6unch of face-less corporate executives? i want *_my_* clothes to *just* 6e clothes --nothing else.

[@erickcartman832]

People before the car image the future of horse and carriage that can glide in the air , to to predict the future is not possible, out of millions of people that guess one or two have to be right and for some reason they are experts for life because of a luck guess

[@aps-c1766]

SOUND GOOD DOEST WORK

[@souljaboi6933]

People are gonna regret this inventions, because a simple life is so much better.

[@feverishyak]

I AM NOT WEARIN NO MUSHROOM SHIRT SMH

[@birususama827]

People probably dress like cosplay

[@purpleshrinebeat]

hackable underwaer.....great...

[@user-fu1ln4uy6q]

Yeah 😖

[@gblake5560]

Fashion is evil. Clothes should keep you warm or key off the elements be comfortable and cover your nakedness. Anything more id vanity and brainwashing

[@simonnuman6840]

G Blake “brainwashing” and yet you’re on your a device which was marketed to make you feel like your life is worthless without internet.

[@psd993]

Literally all of culture and food from the dawn of civilization is tied to identity, vanity and personal expression. It's not some capitalist conspiracy. History wasn't filled with people drinking a beige smoothie for nutrition and brown rags for clothes.

[@fredocorleone3280]

Pretty obvious to me -> fat clothes that make people look skinnier.

[@mrblueberry4864]

And this inst un ethicall...?

[@huevo_estrellado5195]

Nole entiendo ni madres

[@hugglescake]

With "The new 🌎 order," everyone will be wearing Mao jackets.

[@_TheRam]

Nothing!

[@joelrosado1459]

First

[@sortof3337]

If you have a 🔨 everything becomes nail. They literally use AI in everything. Like, I am selling AI enhanced kittens which can perform normal 🐈 duties, plus predict your future.

[@iamdmc]

She's not a scientist

[@isabellehunt126]

have a nice day

[@IMJACKMADDEN]

XXXL

[@metrotrujillo]

Hopefully women stop wearing High Heels, stop deforming their feet, back, bone structure.

[@TylerSolvestri]

Yeah, they have to wear some epic crocs you know 😎😩👌🏼

[@dewolff6937]

Women choose to do so

[@bysaharrana]

Masks

[@kajalkangra9423]

Men clothes will be same... But women will become nude🤣🤣🤣

[@deepak95reddy78]

Clothing and eating should be moved away from animals

[@JonBrou]

We are in the last days. People, accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior now before it is too late!

[@TheCreator919]

you are completely delusional, these are blatant marketing attempts