Professional Futures

An investigation of future career prospects in the fashion industry.

Image Source: Apparel Resources

The fashion industry is at the cusp of a revolution of sorts. With parts of the industry segueing into the world of digital fashion, NFTs and virtual fashion, new career prospects are cropping up. Niche fields like fashion-tech and innovation are gaining prominence. Sustainability and ethical manufacturing is at the forefront. This piece is an investigation into the future career prospects in the fashion industry that aligns with my strengths and interest.

The Scene: A Future of Fashion Tech

An article titled, "Fashion Technology & Innovation Shape the Future of Fashion"defines innovation as the intersection of fashion and technology. In an overview of the latest fashion and textile innovations it mentions virtual fashion, illuminated embroidery, solar powered fashion, 3D printed fashion and Interactive fashion among others.

As an engineer turned designer, these ideas excite and inspire me. The possibilities of new innovations made possible with the incorporation of technology into fashion are endless.

The Role: Innovation Designer

A report published by UAL unveils the 8 key future jobs in Fashion Tech. These roles comprise of interdisciplinary backgrounds, strong digital and 3D skills and an emphasis on Research & Development. The first among the 8 roles is that of an Innovation Manager. The report defines this as "someone who possesses interdisciplinary skills and an ability to oversee all staff competences, and to strategise, ideate, setup and monitor a programme relating to innovation within a company".

Having worked in R&D , I believe that my prior experience, skill set and interests align with the characteristics of an innovation designer. Conceptualizing, idea generation and innovation are skills I am well versed in, and my interdisciplinary knowledge of tech and fashion complements these skills.

Skills Mapping

An article published in The Moment provides a tool to evaluate and map the key 12 competencies of an Innovation Designer. The Innovation Designer Capability Map is a spider graph that assess the unique combination of capabilities and experiences in the twelve core competencies of an Innovation Designer.

Having mapped my competencies, my strengths lie in the Making and Thinking quadrants, where as there is scope for development in the Business and People quadrants.

In conclusion, the prospect of working as an innovation designer and contributing to cutting edge creations that disrupt the fashion and tech fields is a promising and meaningful avenue for my professional future.