Dancing With The Future: Emerging Technology And The Next Generation Of Creative Professionals

Crazy Tempos

It’s remarkable how deep the technology stack for modern creatives has become.  The current baseline expectation for emerging designers is to be proficient in vector-based drawing tools, to be able to do things like; develop compelling visual presentations, be equipped to shoot and process digital photographs, produce and edit video and audio, animate graphics, use 3D programs, organise social media campaigns, and even to build virtual worlds using real-time game engines.

And this is all in addition to the primary expectation to develop all manner of concepts, products and messages with new tools that have radically transformed the nature and purpose of work, how we communicate, and what we care about.

Software and hardware developers are inventing new products at the speed of light while designers, retailers and manufacturers are frantically trying to incorporate those products into the work. As an observer, it is a little like being at a silent disco where everyone is listening to a different musical track. As you can imagine, it can be a little chaotic.

Not that long ago, relatively simple programs like Microsoft Excel and Adobe Illustrator were challenging the conventional norms, processes and expectations across the fashion industry. We are now in a vastly more complicated world. Each new development has added another layer of knowledge, proficiency and agility expected of creative teams.

And now 3D and digital product creation have opened up an entirely new universe of opportunity. Not only are they changing the way designs are ideated, they have also enabled radically innovative approaches to marketing and retail – from static renders to the new frontier of real-time experiences.

As new design tools have become increasingly powerful, enabling a seismic transformation of the entire fashion value chain – simultaneously we are now witnessing the rise of generative AI, which is pulling into sharp focus the question of how to best leverage the skills of smart, talented humans in an increasingly (artificially) intelligent environment.  All of which creates the need for fashion to help define “smart and talented” in this realm and as well as identifying the best ways to cultivate it.

New Dance Moves

From the perspective of education, and the brands in-industry that will be the homes for the next generation of talent, how do we train students and young creators to be productive in this wild, chaotic world of change? It seems to me that we need new dance moves to keep pace with a performance that’s constantly picking up speed, and constantly changing time.

Education, especially, is at an inflection point.  Traditional models of pedagogy and disciplines that have roots in 18th Century ideas surrounding classics and the enlightenment could benefit from some updating. Don’t misunderstand me, I firmly believe that being cognisant of history, philosophy, art and music are essential skills needed by sophisticated, modern creative professionals. This kind of cultural literacy shapes creativity and depth of thinking. But history is just one part of learning to manage a present and a future that are proving to be incredibly hard to predict.  The tools available to the educational enterprise are not just demanding slightly different skills, but challenging the very idea of what it means to create.

Higher education institutions like FIT have begun to recognize and implement new methods that can be added to lecture or direct instruction to enhance class time. Next generation education is focusing more on active learning that frees class time for activities that involve higher-order thinking. We need more models that are constructed around collaborative, trans-disciplinary practice and which build on the human to human interaction – models that embrace the messy, uncertain nature of creativity and innovation, and that truly take account of how technology is challenging the core of those ideas and that promote agility and emotional intelligence.

New Dance Partners

As digital product creation continues to influence the way fashion works, education must embrace transformation, and industry must find a consistent source of skilled talent. It seems both are in need of new dance partners. Partners that understand the ebb and flow of transformation. Partners that understand the complexity of business and evolving workflows. Partners that support change and recognize value. Making this all work, and allowing the real potential of digital transformation to take root, is going to be a complicated pas de deux.

The modern value chain brings the previously siloed roles of designer, marketing and business professional into much closer proximity. Fashion designers are now launching complete collections in virtual worlds with compelling animation, sophisticated lighting and accurate material representation – borrowing tools, skills, and best practices from other industries.

This is an opportune moment, then, for our industry to support a different model of education that leverages experiential learning to maximise value for both the industry and students.  At FIT, our experience has shown that there is tremendous value in project-based education with close faculty supervision of talented students working on industry problems. Having the right partner in an innovation environment is powerful and effective.  It becomes a master class for students and an opportunity for industry to de-risk innovation as they explore new business ideas.

Solo Moves

Currently, one of the most exciting trends is the way that digital product creation is helping to lower barriers of entry for new designers. With advances in virtual prototyping, low volume, domestic manufacturing, combined with access to world markets through social media – individual designers are now able to establish competitive brands without the cost and weight involved in large volume production. Taken together, these possibilities present a fundamentally different model of fashion available to new creators – a model that sidesteps a lot of the legacy of the past.

Designers today can launch digital collections which only trigger physical production on-demand.  This is a powerful step toward fulfilling the promise of a more sustainable fashion industry – one that recognizes the value of individual expression and puts the power at the fingertips of the next generation. It is a strong antidote to the homogenization of mass production and over-optimized marketing. It creates room for the small, customized, and locally produced which helps sustain community on a human scale.

Tradition and Individual Talent

Dancing with the Future requires balance, vision and a commitment to value.  We are constantly being forced to identify which is the baby and which is the bathwater – what is worthy and what we can let go. How much of tradition and craft is valid best practice, and how much needs to pivot? To answer those questions, we need to put as much weight on efficiency as we do on human-centred values, skills, craft, and communities. There is huge value in technology, but also a tendency to focus on its ability to optimize narrowly-defined parameters, which can come at the cost of other important metrics. Just as we think about the waste we create in the process of making a product, we need to take account of the vital skills that can be accidentally optimized away.

While we are grappling with how to assimilate change and improve efficiency through technology, we must also incorporate traditional, artisanal skills and the ways in which they have improved our world. They give us legacy and connection. They are human. They are beautiful.

Any industrial control system strategy that creates an unattainable world of standardized identity and over production – much of which ultimately becomes waste – is in jeopardy of devolving. Steering by following the white line in the road can easily lead to a head on collision.

As we progress with technology, we need to stay mindful that a loss of traditional, artisanal craft will be a significant loss of value for everyone. But at the same time, we have to acknowledge that providing different ways of working, like digital product creation and the compounded benefits and challenges of technology, will rightly challenge how the shape and the scope of craft is thought of in the future.