The second day of the FashionTEX festival was all about practice, research and vision. Panels on the possibilities of digital fashion production with the help of artificial intelligence dominated the debate.

As a self-proclaimed ‘fossil’ who learned the craft of fashion design from the ground up, star designer Thomas Rath attracted a lot of attention today. The credo of the famous model judge: “Fashion has become faster, customers want new trends immediately and no longer want to wait for the next season. AI can be a great support, especially for marketing. In the near future, for example, we will no longer need models – these expensive product presentations can soon be completely replaced by avatars.”

The task for the fashion industry now is to deliver something new practically every month. While Germany has had its day as a production location for the international industry, on the one hand, purchasing power is particularly high here, and on the other hand, so is the innovative power of the creators.

At the same time, Saxon fashion designers Sara Linke and Dorothea Michalk emphasized how important individuality is for customers who do not feel catered for by mass production and are more interested in exclusivity. ‘We are very close to our customers and know what they want and what they don’t want,’ said Sara Linke. All three agreed that fashion should still be fun and at the same time allow for the expression of personal individuality.

Photos: Michael Schmidt