Embracing digital 3D technology in sustainable fashion design education

Today, our prevailing system of the fashion industry has become extraordinarily energy-consuming and wasteful. The lengthy process has created a large spectrum of resource waste with a detrimental environmental impact. Transitioning this current production process to a more efficient and sustainable one by embracing digital technology has become an urgent requirement for the fashion industry. In response to such pressure, many brands and practitioners have started a series of initiatives to improve their performance by implementing digital innovations in their core business. The Covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly accelerated this transformation. With the pandemic continuing to have political and economic turmoil worldwide, affecting trade and altering consumer behaviour, the entire fashion industry has admitted that digitalisation is crucial for operational resilience against this backdrop. With the rising sustainability awareness, the 3D digital tool is becoming an essential part of fashion digitalisation. More and more companies have begun to adopt 3D digital pattern-making, prototyping, and sampling to replace the traditional pattern-toile-sample alteration process to speed up the garment development cycle and reduce production costs. In 2020, due to the sudden pandemic outbreak, international mobility stalled, and sample production got cancelled or postponed, further stimulating the urgent need for online research and development. The changing way of making clothes will also significantly contribute to sustainable and digital advancement in apparel manufacturing. However, despite the industry’s unremitting attempts, our fashion design education, one of the most vital aspects supporting the current industry paradigm, has not yet taken its responsibilities thoroughly enough. Many researchers have already addressed the necessity to evoke an unconventional curriculum in fashion design for sustainability. Practitioners are also calling on partnerships between various stakeholders to bridge the university-industry gap, adopting new forms of teaching and learning within emerging practices. This paper explores the visions of major stakeholders on the current and future situation of sustainable fashion education in the digital era. Through the methodology of literature review and case study, the paper discusses how digitalisation could significantly impact the fashion education realm. Currently, the presence of digital technologies in fashion education has proved very scattered and delayed. The authors wish that the reflections around the topic may contribute to generating updated fashion design pedagogical norms and forging a continuous co-creation and co-evolution for both industrial and academic realities.