International Scientific – Practical Conference „Fashion Identity and Innovation FIAI 2020″

We are going through a major transformation when social, political and even nature changes are directly influencing our business, production and living environments, as well as their further development. Fashion industry is changing also. On the 4th of March the Faculty of Arts and Creative Technologies hosted an international scientific-practical conference “Fashion Identity and Innovation FIAI 2020”. Speakers of the conference reviewed the situation in clothing and textile industry and its development trends not only in Lithuania, but also in the whole European Union by emphasizing that innovative technologies together with new smart materials inevitably create new challenges for fashion business. The audience learned about personal experiences in fashion collection development and search of its own identity, discussed the future role of fashion, the application of social media in it and the impact of fast fashion on the sustainability of clothing industry.

The second part of the event was focused on practical experiences. This included the application of innovative laser and optical technologies in clothing industry, the paths and missteps of non-standard ideas implementation in a well-established and saturated fashion markets, as well as non-typical approach to craftsmen and designer partnership at product development stage. The presentations also raised the question – what is personality identity in the context of fashion, introduced little known form of art Cosplay, which can be both – an escape from everyday life and a new form of personal expression. Conference participants also had the opportunity to know the diverse variety of Indian national costume, regional differences of clothing, jewellery and body decor. Poster presentations presented research activities of students from Kaunas University of Technology, Rezekne Academy of Technology and Vilnius University of Applied Sciences: the possibilities of new product recycling from textile waste; the ways of sustainable fashion product development; the application of innovative technologies in collection development; the creation of origami elements in garment constructions; the analysis of bonded joints as an alternative to traditional clothing production; fashion brandbook – as a representative fashion brand guide.

The international scientific – practical conference “Fashion Identity and Innovation FIAI2020” brought together 129 speakers and participants not only from Lithuania, but also from Latvia, Poland, Czech Republic and India. During the conference scientific and practical experience was shared by the colleagues representing the whole Lithuanian clothing and textile sector, i.e. representatives of industry, social partners, vocational schools, colleges and universities. One of the most important topics, extensively discussed not only in the presentations, but also during friendly discussions was what kind of professionals will fashion industry and business needed in the near future, as nowadays challenges of Industry 4.0 present an urgent need for new knowledge and competencies.