Project Title: Fashion and Technology: Displaying the Voice of the Silicon Valley Through Sartorial Language
BASIS Advisor: Dr. Jupin
Internship Location: Kohl's
Onsite Mentor: Mr. Sunil Bhardwaj
Your clothing choices can represent your values. It is important for everyone to be aware of how their clothing came to be, and here in the Bay Area we have a plethora of companies and businesses tackling the astounding issues of overproduction and lack of ethical, sustainable, and efficient manufacturing methods. Working with Kohl’s, I aim to shed light on these solutions—mainly, the applications of blockchain and big data analytics within the fashion industry, alongside collecting wearable technology and garments from local environmentally and socially conscious companies. Styling these clothes in images representative of different aspects of the Bay, I will create a photo-book to synthesize both my research and the clothing solutions and technologies I have discovered.
My Posts
Week 11 – 1st Draft
May 07, 2019
In week 11, I completed the first draft of my photobook. Keeping it succinct turned out to be not as much of an issue as I believed it would be at first; I looked back to my blogs in which I explained certain complex ideas in just a few paragraphs for reference whilst writing the […]
Week 10 – Drafting
Apr 29, 2019
In week 10 I began writing my photobook. Having to synthesize around 8 weeks of work into just a few pages, and still making all the technical parts easy to understand for everyone proved to be a difficult task, as well as trying to match a photograph/outfit with every page of text. This initial drafting […]
Week 9 – Photoshoot
Apr 22, 2019
For the ninth week of my project, I began taking photos of outfits showcasing both different styles and different technologies/techwear around the Bay Area. The outfits are curated by myself, reflecting both designers I endorse for their progressive ideologies and business practices as well as styles inspired by the Silicon Valley tech culture. My goal […]
Week 8 – Techwear
Apr 15, 2019
Following a few weeks focused around mainly software-based technologies and their intersections with the fashion industry, I spent my eighth week trying to learn more about the world of techwear.
Week 7 – Monterey and Las Vegas
Apr 08, 2019
In week 7, I spent 5/7 days out of town between my two regional FRC Robotics tournaments – the Monterey Bay Regional and the Las Vegas regional. Consequently I wasn’t able to make it to the office, but I did do a little research independently. I was interested in learning the specifics behind the algorithms […]
Week 6 – Blockchain Transparency and Authentication
Apr 01, 2019
In week 6 of my project, I focused on learning how blockchain technology can help increase supply chain transparency and aid in proving authenticity of garments. In today’s world, riddled with large corporations outsourcing their production to sketchy and often unethical factories and sweatshops, it has become crucial that we establish a trusted system that […]
Week 5 – Product Strategies
Mar 25, 2019
In week 5 of my project I continued my research on the product strategies of major retailers for their private label/in-house brands. Amazon seemed to be a leader in this area, as their unrivaled capital and leading technologies allow it to market their items in a manner unique to all the other companies. Using Alexa, […]
Week 4 – Data Science and E-Commerce
Mar 20, 2019
In the fourth week of my project, I sat down with some data scientists to learn exactly what it is they do and how they aid in fixing the issues of overproduction and stocking proper quantities. We discussed various projects, such as fixture optimization (how physical stores should be planned out, how to stock them […]
Week 3: Dancing in San Francisco
Mar 11, 2019
Week 3 of my project began with a day trip with a friend from my dance team (who is also very into fashion) to San Francisco. Heading to the local BART near my house at 9 am, we got to SF’s Powell street around 10 and began towards the tech-wear company Ministry of Supply, renown […]
Week 2: AI in Fashion
Mar 05, 2019
In my second week, I got all my clearances to begin working at the digital center. I was given my own key card and Macbook, as well as an account as an official Kohl’s “Consultant.” I set up my timesheet account on Planview and began booking meetings with the engineers and scientists who would guide […]
Week 1 – Fashion and Technology
Mar 05, 2019
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 […]