Alice Chambers |
Microsoft has collaborated with product digitisation firm EON and fashion designer Priya Ahluwalia to create digital identifiers for customers to learn more about the garments they are buying.
The partners worked with Ahluwalia on her Autumn/Winter 2023 Symphony collection, aiming to make garments traceable, intelligent and interactive. Customers can engage with garments by scanning QR codes on the labels that disclose information such as their origin, production, materials and sustainability details, as well as the music that inspired their design.
“I’ve always been interested in new technologies, how they’re shaping the fashion industry at large, and how we can use them to help grow the Ahluwalia community,” said Priya Ahluwalia, founder and creative director at Ahluwalia. “Digital IDs represent the next step in the evolution of our brand, enabling us to interact with the Ahluwalia community in a new and exciting way that extends beyond the shop floor.”
Ahluwalia is embedding digital IDs into clothing (credit: Microsoft)
The digital IDs are powered by EON’s Product Cloud platform, which is built on Microsoft Azure.
“I was excited to bring two great partners together,” said Maruschka Loubster, director of global brand partnerships at Microsoft. “One of the reasons I wanted to work with both EON and Ahluwalia is the alignment of values that they both stand for. Their innovation fuses what Microsoft aims to do in terms of empowering people through our technology, inspiring creativity and innovating for a better world.
“Our work empowers people to create their own solutions; we utilise AI and Azure Cloud to democratise technology, allowing everyone — from small start-ups to big companies — to achieve their vision.”
The concept of digital ID in fashion means that the stories they represent can continue to be shared from one owner to the next.
“It enables instant resale, contributing to a circular fashion economy,” said Natasha Franck, founder and CEO of EON. “The internet enabled us to buy fashion online, and now with the internet of things (IoT), it’s integrating with physical products. This move connects products to an intelligent and regenerative system, making IoT the link between people and products.”