It is safe to say that fashion students have entered new territories of mobile learning within a field which has predominantly been incredibly hands-on. As many fashion universities have had to shut their door amidst the pandemic, students are being faced with the fear of not being able to finish and showcase their final garment collections. Working from home is especially difficult for fashion design students, who are often reliant on university studio space and equipment to create their graduate pieces. While thankful for the proactive response towards the pandemic by global fashion institutions, students are still adapting to their new learning environment. Proving their resilience throughout these circumstances, a number of universities have used this situation as an opportunity for their students to engage with new, innovative technologies such as CLO; enabling their students to complete their final garment collections in a digital realm as well as to become more familiar with digital tools that will be a necessity in the future apparel industry.
IED is a globally renowned Italian fashion institution, with campuses spread over nine cities globally. The university has a reputation of shaping its courses based on the latest research and most innovative tools in line with the future market demands. Thus, it comes to no surprise that CLO has played a key role in their fashion design program over the past years. Due to their forward-looking curriculum, the current crisis did not put the fashion students’ final presentations on hold. Instead, the students of the three-year course of Fashion Design at IED Torino, used the situation to question themselves about the future of the industry and came to the realization for the necessity of more sustainable and efficient garment development and presentation processes.
Throughout an academic year in which access to the university’s campus and machinery was made impossible due to social distancing, the students used the limitations brought on by the lock down as a chance to experiment with CLO. The talented young designers were able to discover new ways of learning as well as more innovative garment development processes by using CLO and finalized their end-of-year thesis collections with great success. Connecting remotely, the students even directed and created a video showcasing their collection pieces, some of which were physically produced, with the fashion film of their thesis project “Re Union” highlighted above.
The process of their project was digital in every aspect from the design and development stage to the presentation of the collection. Their impressive “Re Union” thesis video showcases the garments worn by real-life models as well as the CLO simulations, highlighting the interconnection of real and virtual universes that characterize the new everyday life. According to the course Coordinator, Alessandra Montanaro, CLO was a fundamental tool in this project and represents the future of the industry. Prisma Tech, our Italian reselling partner has played a vital role in helping the university to implement CLO as well as assisting the students within their CLO projects.
Through change also comes opportunity, especially when preparing students for their professional careers. By implementing innovative design tools such as CLO into their curriculum, universities are paving the way in providing their students the needed knowledge and skills for their future success within the industry. It is inspiring to see how these new capabilities enable students to be even more creative and successful within their studies and far beyond.
Find out more about IED Torino and their programs here. Italian Speakers can also find out more about the project via the Vogue Italia article.