When the European digital community unites at DMEXCO in Cologne on September 20 and 21, digitalization in the fashion industry will also take center stage. Koelnmesse is joining forces with Deutsches Mode-Institut (DMI) this year to host the “Digital Fashion – The Phygital Network” business event for the very first time. The new format will center around the topics of e-commerce, personalization, customer experience, digital marketing, sustainability, and transparency in the fashion industry, not only covering digital fashion in virtual worlds, but also focusing on the fast-growing market of digital solutions for the design and production of physical clothes. In this respect, the fashion industry is facing significant challenges due to changes in supply chains, new sales channels (D2C and social commerce), and consumers’ higher expectations in terms of the environmental and social sustainability of products. These challenges can only be successfully overcome by taking digitalization to the next level.
The digital fashion elements will include a dedicated expo area, an experience area for presenting demo cases, and a networking lounge for the industry. Visitors can also look forward to a specially curated conference program on the Tech Stage and masterclasses on the topic of digital fashion. The new event is mainly targeted at fashion industry professionals who play a part in the digital value chain.
Carl Tillessen, Managing Director of DMI: “Not only existing digital solutions for designing, producing, and selling physical clothes, but also the emerging range of purely digital fashion require a marketplace that promotes networking and provides a platform for presentation. No marketplace of this kind has existed until now, whether on a national or international scale or on a B2B or B2C level. We’re therefore very pleased to launch this new platform together with Koelnmesse as part of DMEXCO 2023.”
“Digitalization presents enormous opportunities for optimizing business processes and improving the customer experience in the fashion industry. Companies that seize these opportunities will be able to adapt to evolving market conditions and stay competitive,” says Prof. Dominik Matyka, Chief Advisor of DMEXCO.
Dirk Freytag, President of the German Association for the Digital Economy (BVDW): “By hosting ‘Digital Fashion – The Phygital Network’, we’re delighted to be creating a space at DMEXCO for digitalization in the fashion industry. At the BVDW, we actively help shape future-oriented and innovative developments – a mission that is highlighted by our recent initiatives in the fields of retail media, the metaverse, artificial intelligence, and now digital fashion.”
About Deutsches Mode-Institut (DMI)
DMI is one of the oldest and leading trend offices in the world. We inform our customers about the essential trends in the areas of:
Colors, fashion, interior, packaging, cosmetics, materials, retail, visual merchandising, consumer behavior, zeitgeist, impulses, women’s wear, men’s wear, children’s wear, fabrics, knit, patterns and prints, shoes, bags, denim, bodywear, swimwear, sleepwear, accessories.
Every company is different, has its own history, its own range, its own brand essence, its own target group. Accordingly, decision-makers and creative people in these companies want and need to be informed and inspired in an individual way.
All of these diverse needs can be met at DMI with an equally diverse range of information and inspiration – from digital files to print products with material samples, from live events to streaming offers, from major events to individual in-house advice.
