Week 1 – Fashion and Technology

Week 1 of my project was fairly simple, as I was still waiting on the proper clearances to begin working within the office at Kohl’s Digital Center, where my advisor would connect me with people in charge of the various projects in clothing manufacturing, design, and e-commerce that are achieved through both software and hard technologies. With their help, I will find out how companies maintain transparency when manufacturing clothes, how they use AI and data analytics to come up with designs and produce adequate quantities while minimizing overstock problems, and how they perfect their platforms through which they market and sell these clothes; I will be learning this through guided research of other companies with the scientists and engineers at the Digital Center, as well as how Kohl’s does some of these things themselves (for a deeper, experiential understanding of these technologies and their applications in the sartorial world).

I have also begun reading Overdressed, a book by leading critic of fast fashion Elizabeth L. Cline detailing the troubling world of overproduction in the clothing industry. Hopefully, I can detail the solutions being taken to address these issues and even take a part in developing these solutions myself!