While fall is traditionally known as fashion season, this September there will be more to see in Paris than just runway shows. The International Fashion Academy (IFA) has announced the opening of a fashion tech innovation lab based at its Paris campus. The 4,000+ square-foot space will be the first of its kind in the city, and will contain co-working space, a tech demo room, and a makerspace equipped with cutting-edge technical equipment to support the development of fashion tech solutions. The lab brings together students, startups, and businesses with the aim of enabling innovation in the fashion industry.
As part of the school’s efforts to pioneer fashion tech in France and beyond, the lab is designed to complement IFA Paris’ new program in Fashion Tech Innovation. Students will be educated to become the fashion innovators of tomorrow through world-class teaching and hands-on experience.
“Our role as educators is to dispel stereotypes by making our students aware that technologies such as VR or AI are tools to foster creativity and not to restrict it,” says Jean-Baptiste Andreani, Managing Director of IFA Paris.
The lab will facilitate academic and commercial activity, with participating companies including Coty, Fusalp and Zadig and Voltaire. IBM, leader in digital innovation, will partner with the lab by bringing their expertise and forward-thinking vision to future proof the fashion industry. Lectra and The Bridge Fashion Incubator are other well-known partners, and in line with the lab’s philosophy of interconnectedness, emerging startups like sizing specialists Bodi.me and 3D fashion technology solution provider TG3D Studio will complete the stellar line-up of collaborators.
The lab is due to launch in late September 2019 in tandem with the course Postgraduate Diploma: Fashion Tech Innovation.
