As the dust settles after the 2024 season of Transformation Conference, I wanted to clarify the multiple insights gathered at our flagship activity. Having done it now for four years, expanding from Stockholm to Helsinki to – most recently – Copenhagen, it has become a tent pole event, not just in the confines of our own company, but dare I way for an increasingly bigger part of the fashion-tech ecosystem in the Nordics.
I’ve thanked our collaborators and sponsors before and will do so again as we prepare to press publish all of the video recordings from the sessions. For now, I wanted to share my five biggest takeaways from this year’s Transformation Conferences.
Don’t take these as the most critical insights. Once we start rolling out the content, we will get deep into topics like legislation, specific technologies, and the trajectory of the fashion industry. But here is my first download on what went down in our Norci capitals this summer.
1. Fashion needs to learn how to speak tech
One common comment from all the tech companies present is how hard it is to find people to speak to at fashion companies. Is it the sustainability person? The commercial department? The CFO? CEO? Hardly ever is there a Chief Technology Officer present at fashion companies. As proven by many of the case studies presented at the conference, the issue of getting more data into the supply chain will require multiple roles in multiple departments to work together.s “We have to break the silos”, said Linda Pimmeshofer.
2. Without data, there will be no change
Several of our partners this year, from Centric Software to Impulso to GS1 Sweden, highlighted that without sufficient data, it’s impossible to bring about the change that sustainability advocates, the European Commission, and the wider industry are asking for. This goes from traceability of supply chains to ordering the right garments for your target group or getting sufficient retailer feedback. “We are acting in the dark”, as David Thunmarker, senior advisor at Impulso, put it.
3. It’s not rocket science, it’s implementation
Many of the technologies required to bring about the change that the industry needs are, by no stretch of the imagination… complex. It’s mostly about basic materials, distribution, and sales performance data. The problem is connecting all the stakeholders in the supply chain and finding smooth internal practices for it to work. Which brings me to my next point….
4. Tech needs to learn how to speak fashion
Yes, it’s the reverse lesson from Number 1, but no less critical. While it’s true that fashion brands need to up their tech knowledge game, the tech industry also needs to learn more about how the fashion industry operates. Fashion may have a veneer of modernity and visionary creativity, but behind the scenes, it is a century-old industry with limited willpower to change and sometimes strange ways of working. Did someone say fax machines, still?
5. More connection is needed
This takeaway is shamelessly self-gratulatory, but I honestly believe it’s true. We need more connective tissue between fashion and tech because there is no alternative. Judging by this year’s attentive crowd, with more fashion brand representatives than ever in the audience, forward-leaning, and eager to learn more, it seems we are on the right track.
Finally, for these five reasons and many more, we will double down on our coverage of what we at Scandinavian MIND call Fashion Transformation, both here in the news feed, our podcast, and our upcoming event schedule. You won’t have to wait until next year’s Transformation Conference to get more insights from us on stage. We are already planning several smaller events, dubbed Transformation Talks, starting with Stockholm this fall.
Stay tuned.
