he first ever fashion and tech event in Bangladesh, the second largest ready-made garment (RMG) exporting country in the world, was held at the capital of Dhaka on February 12th, 2018.
Mr. Mostafiz Uddin, the Founder & CEO of the internationally much acclaimed Bangladesh Denim Expo, organized the Summit with the theme “Stepping into Future Today”.
How can the apparel factories of Bangladesh prepare for the transformation into the Industry 4.0? What skills and abilities are required to successfully cope with the transition from Industry 3.0 to Industry 4.0? Such compelling topics were discussed in the first ever fashion and tech event in the country was to bridge the gap between the Present and future of Bangladesh’s apparel and textile industry.
A total of 17 speakers from across the world, including the US, the Netherlands, France, the UK, Japan, and India discussed the latest apparel products, technologies, and Innovations at the summit focusing on shaping the future of the industry.
A total of four sessions were held in the summit – read all about it below.
About 450 participants in decision-making positions from the key industry stakeholders like manufacturers, buyers, trade bodies, development partners, etc attended the Summit.
Mr. Mostafiz Uddin said: “Our objective was to invite the most inspiring and innovative thinkers as well as exhibitors from across the globe to initiate the much-needed conversations including technology, digitization, and innovation in the apparel and fashion industry.”
Just to mention a few participants: Ambassador, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Bangladesh.
Leoni Cuelenaere, President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI).
Md. Shafiul Islam (Mohiuddin), Immediate Past President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association ( BGMEA).
Md. Atiqul Islam, Director of Pacific Jeans, the title sponsor of the event, Syed Mohammed Tanvir spoke at the closing ceremony of Bangladesh Fashionology Summit. praising the initiative as very timely and effective to transform Bangladesh as a next-gen apparel manufacturing hub.
The first ever Fashion Tech Runway Show in the country was also hosted during the Bangladesh Fashionology Summit. Designers from the Netherlands, Spain, the US, Brazil, France, the UK, and India showcased their latest digital tech collections at the fashion tech runway show. Smart wearables, 3D printed, and LED embedded glow show collections were some of the futuristic fashion tech creations displayed at the runway show.
“Smart and tech imbedded Wearables are the future of fashion. As seeing is believing, we organized the Fashion Tech Runway Show during the summit to inspire the industry to step into the future,” Mr. Mostafiz Uddin added.
Speakers of Bangladesh Fashionology Summit Sessions:
Session 01: Factory of the Future
1. Mr. Pradeep David, General Manager of Universal Robots South Asia who is the pioneer of the concept of Cobots — the robots who can work along with humans to achieve better efficiency.
2. Mr. Jonathan Zornow who invented Sewbo or the robot who can automate the sewing of garments.
3. Mr. Frederic Gaillard, Vice President of Lectra and who is currently leading a project on industry 4.0 and its corresponding challenges around digitalization and data integration.
4. Mr. Shuuichi Utena, Juki Japan Ltd.
Session 02: Virtual Prototyping and Digitalization of the Apparel Supply Chain
1. Mr. Ram Sareen, Founder and CEO of Tukatech, the globally leading software company in innovative technology for apparel industry.
2. Garment Guru Mr. David Birnbaum, the Strategic Advisor to the World Bank who has to his credit several ground-breaking books on apparel and it’s pricing.
3. Mr. Vikas Raykar, the research scientist and expert on Cognitive Fashion at IBM Watson which is the industry leader in artificial intelligence.
4. Mr. Sunil Shewakramani, the Executive Vice President of Li & Fung India Pvt. Ltd which is a 110 year old apparel supply chain company.
5. Mr. Magnus Sundgren, Chief Technology Officer of Eton Systems.
Session 3: Fashion Tech & Sustainable Innovation
1. Ms. Muchaneta Kapfunde, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Fashnerd, the globally reputed digital magazine that focuses on fashion and lifestyle from technological standpoint.
2. Ms. Eva Van Der Brugge, Innovation Manager of Fashion for Good.
3. Mr. Pim Kneepkens, Innovation Manager of Fashion for Good.
4. Ms. Amanda Cosco, Founder of Electric Runway.
Session 4: Mass Customization & On Demand Manufacturing
1. Mr. Richard Oliver, CEO of Theunseen, the material innovation, R&D, and technology licensing business focusing on blending technology and design.
2. Dr. Michael T. Fralix, the President and CEO of [TC2] and who heads [TC2] initiatives to develop next-generation supply chain technologies.
3. Ms. Danit Peleg, Founder and Creative Director of 3D Printed Fashion who is the pioneer in designing an entirely ready-to-wear fashion collection.
