Published by Lisa Lang

The Future of Fashion and Mobility is: Collective

Illustrations by Kate Kilpatrick-Galbraith

Being in a state of contradiction is a human condition. It is different from artificial intelligence, which has a binary way of thinking led by yes or no and with consistency. Humans can get caught by opposing emotions and behaviours, such as feeling alone in a room full of people.

On the one hand we want anonymity and freedom — as we have already seen on the first part of our trend report — on the other hand, we want to be part of a community. The sense of collectiveness is what leads to constituting a family, to being part of a tribe: we need to be part of something. We have developed this next chapter about the collective, the third path to the journey through the future of fashion and mobility.

The Fashion Future and Mobility Trend Report, a deep study on future long-term trends from four angles — freedom, power, collective, and exclusive — created in collaboration with trend forecaster Cécile Poignant.

Being in the collective is about the ability to connect and build a network. It is about the city surrounding us as a living organism, transmitting and propagating our energy as part of this mesh. A way to translate our movements into energy for this network is having garments from a material that react to our movements or with the temperature of your body, for instance. This idea of this collective system working on behalf of everyone is being interpreted in the present as the sharing economy.

The sharing model

The sharing economy or the “Uberization” model established a peer-to-peer exchange and it is all around the world. Bike-sharing, car-sharing, electric-moped sharing and scooter sharing are all concepts that are shifting our perceptions of mobility. Individuals no longer need the personal ownership of goods when they can share those with others. It is a way of being sustainable, generating fewer materials, to save money and to avoid the high initial investment to buy vehicles. This understanding makes it easier to understand why the sharing economy has become so popular among young people.

In the future, there will be concepts similar to Mobuno by xoio and IUM (Institute of Urban Mobility), small vehicles that can fit together and become a hub. If you need a ride, you just take one of them. This autonomous ride-sharing vehicle works with mobile devices, pacts in tighter spaces than automobiles, and can be shared or used individually. The Mobuno provides the same degree of mobility experienced with normal automobiles but requires much less space — eliminating some of the urban congestion.

Reducing traffic jams in cities is becoming a focus for architects. The firm Woods Bagot proposed the project More LA which re-examines how the city would look if parking spaces would be used for more productive purposes.

Automakers are also re-thinking the design for automobiles in the future. Renault held a competition for students at the Central Saint Martins to redesign the car of tomorrow. Students were asked to consider autonomous and modular car designs for the rapidly changing urban infrastructure. The winning design resembled a “levitating bubble-shaped vehicle” covered in glass.

Smart cities and the future of community

Most of us are already impacted by Smart cities. It is estimated that 55% of the global population lived in a city in 2017. That number is expected to grow to 68% by 2050 according to UN reports.

But what makes a city a Smart city?

A Smart city uses technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) to collect data and in turn, improve upon the lives of its citizens and visitors. Smart cities have the ability to change traffic patterns to reduce congestion and directly impact mobility. They have the ability to report potholes, measure energy usage, air quality, and seamlessly connect these data points to provide useful information and take action – in theory.

The whole concept of the collective will happen in smart cities, a space thought to streamline sharing initiatives for better sociability. Restructuring living spaces and utilizing shared ones can create a stronger sense of collectivity. Technology can also combat increasing loneliness by establishing offline connections to create a greater sense of community in the future.

Energy would become an important currency and way to exchange. Current technologies as the Internet of Things (IoT) will grow bigger and be widely applied as ways to communicate. We picture a scenario where metallic zips will be the new antenna and functional details will transform our garments in the IoT.

FashionTech will play a large role in a Smart city. The IoT will make it easy for your doors to unlock and open when you approach them. Upgraded wifi services will provide more exact GPS locations. For older adults who are wearing life alert systems, their wearable devices could provide faster calls for help.

We discussed innovative developments related to mobility in a collective scenario. In the next chapter, we are to explore how this trend reflects on fashion and what it means for consumers.

If you would like to read the entire report now, please contact us via hello@thepowerhouse.group