This morning, I tuned into a YouTube Live hosted by Digital Fashion Week, and wow!! What a session. The event was a Masterclass titled "Design Smarter. Not Harder." It featured none other than Adriana Pereira founder of
For those unfamiliar, The Fabricant is a pioneering digital fashion house based in Amsterdam, creating hyper-realistic, 3D garments that exist entirely in the digital world. Since 2018, they’ve been redefining what fashion means in virtual spaces; merging sustainability, self-expression, and cutting-edge technology. From collaborations with global brands to the development of AI-powered creation tools, their work offers a blueprint for where fashion is headed.
The session was moderated by Clare Tattersall, founder of Digital Fashion Week, which is quickly becoming a global hub for innovation at the intersection of fashion, technology, and Web3. With events in New York, London, and Paris, DFW is known for its hybrid runways, immersive exhibitions, and hands-on education for future-minded creatives.
What stood out to me in today’s session was the emphasis on creative efficiency: how designers can integrate AI, digital pattern-making, and 3D workflows to accelerate product development while expanding artistic potential. But this wasn’t just theory; it was a real, behind-the-scenes look at how The Fabricant operates and how designers of all levels can tap into these tools today.
As a sustainable fashion advocate and someone who was there when digital pattern-making software first emerged, I was especially excited to see how far the technology has come. What we’re witnessing now is the next evolution: from ideation, sketching, and digital draping, all in one seamless pipeline. You can even visualize how a garment will fall on a virtual body right after sketching, which revolutionizes the sample-making process by eliminating unnecessary waste both in fabric and time.
Of course, it’s not a perfect process for newcomers, but it's one that every designer should be carefully considering and researching. This is not just a trend, it’s a smart, scalable solution that will continue to evolve and make the designer’s workflow more fluid, precise, and sustainable. “Design smarter” isn’t just a tagline, it’s a necessity in today’s fast-evolving fashion industry.
I walked away feeling inspired, energized, and ready to explore the new creative possibilities this tech opens up. As an entrepreneur always researching emerging technologies, I was genuinely blown away. And as a consultant, I felt a responsibility to share what I saw because too often, mid-tier and small fashion businesses operate in silos, disconnected from tools that could radically enhance their work.
If you’re a designer, creative technologist, or just curious about where fashion is headed, I highly recommend checking out the session. The future of fashion isn’t waiting, it’s already here.
Sincerely,
🎥 Here’s the YouTube link:
The Fabricant website:
Digital Fashion Week New York website:
Three weeks ago, I had the opportunity to return to my alma mater, Fashion Institute of Technology, for the Digital Fashion Week NYC Symposium. Since discovering Web3 in mid-2021, I’ve prioritized attending digital fashion events to stay updated on the intersection of technology, fashion, and retail. This event was especially meaningful as it brought me back to FIT.
Over the past three years, I’ve conducted extensive research on this topic and gained significant insights. However, I’ve also observed resistance to adoption. That’s why hosting this event at a fashion university, open to both students and professionals, was so impactful, it brought together a diverse and engaged audience.
During the symposium, I realized that I was already familiar with most of the information being discussed, but it was valuable for validation and for hearing different perspectives. One key takeaway stood out to me: the European Union has enacted a law requiring all garments to have a Digital Product Passport (DPP).
I’ve had countless discussions with U.S. clients about integrating NFC chips in clothing, but no adoption. The fashion industry, often perceived as glamorous, operates on tight margins, us garmentos like to refer to this as a nickels and dimes business. Companies are always hesitant to invest and adopt new technology unless they can quantify a clear return on investment. This hesitation becomes even more counterproductive as the traditional pay-per-click (PPC) advertising model becomes increasingly unsustainable. When companies like TEMU spend a billion dollars annually on Facebook and Instagram ads, it drives up PPC costs for all brands, making it harder to compete.
Given these challenges, I see community building as the logical next step for brands to drive word-of-mouth awareness, making NFC-enabled clothing an obvious opportunity. That’s why the EU’s DPP initiative is exciting. While the target of the legislation is to promote supply chain transparency, for those who understand the technology potential, it offers even more. With the rise of secondhand clothing sales, the DPP can help track transactions, verify authenticity, and, when paired with NFTs, enable brands to airdrop discounts directly to consumers’ digital wallets.
Think about it, once an item is sold, brands typically lose direct interaction with the customer. But with a DPP and NFT integration, brands can not only track ownership changes but also provide incentives, creating a new level of engagement and value beyond the initial sale.
If you like to find out more, please feel free to reach out! @lawrenceroman
Digital Fashion Week takes place across major fashion cities in parallel with traditional fashion weeks, serving as a lens into the future of fashion. It merges thought leadership, innovation, and creativity, redefining the fashion industry by eliminating barriers between the runway and the audience. By integrating cutting-edge Web 3.0 technology with top independent designers, Digital Fashion Week creates immersive phygital experiences, blending IRL and URL interactions.
10:00 AM - Doors Open
10:30 AM - Welcome
11:00 AM - 11:30 AM - Future-Proofing Industry: Partnering with Educators for Next-Gen Innovators
11:45 AM - Fashion Across the Gaming Spectrum (Moderator: CJ Yeh, FIT)
12:30 PM - Building Your Fashion Business in Gaming (Workshop)
1:15 PM - Unlocking the Future: The Digital Product Passport Advantage
2:00 PM - 1-Click Digital Product Passports
2:45 PM - What Retail Customers Want: Engagement
3:30 PM - Best Practices for Digital Product Pricing
4:15 PM - Retail Success Begins at Design Conception
One crucial discussion centered on the gap in adoption between large and small brands. While major brands can invest in dedicated innovation teams, smaller brands often struggle due to budget constraints.
The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is a European Union regulation under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), requiring a digital record for products sold in the EU.
Provides data on a product’s environmental impact, materials, and manufacturing
Helps consumers make informed, sustainable choices
Encourages ethical and eco-friendly product development
Companies must provide a DPP for all EU-sold products
The DPP must be accurate, complete, and up-to-date
It must be machine-readable (e.g., QR code) and linked to a unique product ID
Information must cover durability, reusability, and repairability
Fashion brands
Textile manufacturers
Companies selling in the EU, including those based in the U.S.
Enhances transparency and sustainability
Supports ethical production and consumer awareness
Differentiates brands in competitive retail markets
