Just a week from now, Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka will host the first Fashionolgy Summit, an international event discussing technology and innovation for the fashion industry. The full-day event will be held on Monday, 12th February 2018 at the International Convention Center, Bashundhara (ICCB) in Dhaka.
“Today, technology has become a big part of everyone’s daily life. The fashion and apparel industry is no exception to this. The global production and supply model that has been in existence for decades in the apparel industry has been replaced by fast fashion. We are bringing the most inspiring and innovative thinkers from across the globe under one roof. Our goal is to initiate the much needed conversations on technology, digitisation and innovation inside the apparel industry,” said Mostafiz Uddin, CEO and founder of Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE), the event organiser, when speaking to the Dhaka Tribune.
The Fashiononly Summit is the first event of its kind on garment technology and will bring together the next generation of global fashion experts and Bangladeshi apparel manufacturers in a discussion upon the latest trends that have arisen inside a tech-driven fashion industry. The summit’s aim is to familiarize Bangladeshi manufacturers with the latest technology currently trending within the garment industry, to address any questions they may have and to encourage them to use it.
A total of 16 renowned speakers from 10 countries are expected, among them Jonathan Zornow, inventor of sewing robot Sewbo; Pradeep David, general manager of Universal Robots South Asia and a pioneer of Cobot concept; Vikas Raykar, an expert on cognitive fashion at IBM Watson; David Birnbaum, strategic advisor to the World Bank; Sunil Shewakramani, executive vice president of Li & Fung India Pvt Ltd; and Muchaneta Kapfunde, founder and editor-in-chief of digital magazine Fashnerd.
The speakers will come together and share their experience and knowledge in four seminars titled “Factory of the Future”, “Smart Wearables (Fusion of Fashion and Tech)”, “Eco and Sustainable Innovation” and “On Demand Manufacturing and Mass Customization”. BAE will also arrange the first ever Digital Tech Fashion Show, which will round off the event.
Exhibitors like Bengal Plastics Ltd., Eton Systems, Juki Smart Solutions, Lectra, Sindabad and Tukatech will present the latest in garment technology and innovation while global initiative Fashion for Good will show how the industry can be improved in terms of environmental and social standards and achieving responsible and sustainable fashion practices.
Industry experts like Michael T. Fralix, president and CEO of [TC2]; Frederic Gaillard, vice president of Lectra; Danit Peleg, founder and creative director of 3D Printed Fashion; Richard Oliver, CEO of Theunseen; Ram Sareen, founder and CEO of Tukatech; Amanda Cosco, founder of Electric Runway; Magnus Sundgren, CTO of Eton Systems; Sonia Bashir Kabir, managing director of Microsoft Bangladesh, Eva Van Der Brugge and Pim Kneepkens, innovation manager of Fashion for Good will also be present at the event.
The summit is sponsored by the C&A Foundation, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Pacific Jeans, Flowater and others.
