Digital Fashion Network (DFN)

今天的时尚供应链是多大洲的，与分散在世界各地的各种元素交织在一起。要使其真正透明、可持续和有效管理，最好的选择，也许是唯一的选择，就是无缝地数字化。尽管工业和社会数字化在2019冠状病毒病大流行期间加快步伐，市场上出现越来越多工业4. 0应用的数字化解决方案，但全球时尚供应链的数字化沿着并没有以同样的深度和速度在同一水平上发生。特别是在孟加拉国、中国、柬埔寨、越南等国家的制造商方面，远远落后于欧美零售商方面的情况。因此，欧美零售商的设计师、时尚买家/采购员和可持续发展专业人士在与亚洲同行合作的同时，也在努力实施和管理数字解决方案，而包括玛莎百货、NEXT、耐克、阿迪达斯、Primark等大牌时装公司的产品的透明度和可持续性一直受到质疑。另一方面，数字时尚不仅限于计算机辅助设计（CAD）和制造（CAM），而是贯穿整个时尚业务，从产品生命周期管理和开发促进可持续发展的新商业模式，到将虚拟和增强现实与时尚联系起来，通过智能解决方案增强消费者体验。它已成为一个多学科的知识领域，吸引了来自时尚设计，商业和技术的学者，研究人员和专业人士的重叠兴趣;计算机科学，软件工程，动画和游戏，人体测量学，供应链管理和工业4.0，大数据和人工智能，以及工业可持续性。认识到问题的复杂性，我们认为需要采取行动，将数字时尚的所有各方聚集在一起，以简化全球时尚供应链沿着创新解决方案的采用和开发。这将通过拟议的数字时尚网络（DFN）来完成。 该网络将由来自行业和学术界的成员组成，涵盖与数字时尚相关的不同学科和地理位置，并在整个项目生命周期内扩展。它将举办多项混合活动，包括四个研讨会，其中一个将由iCo-I在孟加拉国主办，以更好地与时装制造商联系，六个关于数字时装最新创新的在线网络研讨会（每三个月一次），一个关于“数字时装创新”的国际会议，一个PGR的研究论文比赛，一个学生3D设计和插图比赛以及一个在线展览。通过纺织学院的专业系列（CRC出版社和泰勒和弗朗西斯）编辑的一本书，题为“数字时尚创新的进步”，将由上述会议的入围发言者撰写章节。它还旨在提供一个国际研究小组，以便在研究和投标活动中进行项目后合作。DFN将是独一无二的，因为目前还没有这样的网络专门关注数字时尚。该网络将呼应联合国多个可持续发展目标的精神。它将通过促进科学研究和提高发展中国家，特别是孟加拉国纺织和时装工业部门的技术能力，为实现可持续发展目标9的目标9.5做出贡献。它还将通过促进孟加拉国等发展中国家的数字时尚创新，并促进加强其科技能力，以实现更可持续的纺织和时尚生产模式，来补充可持续发展目标12的具体目标12.a。

Today's fashion supply chain is multi-continental and intertwined with diverse elements scattered in all over of the world. The best option, probably the only option, to make it truly transparent, sustainable, and effectively manageable is to digitalise it seamlessly. While industrial and social digitalisation gained pace during the covid-19 pandemic and more and more digital solutions for industry 4.0 applications are appearing on the market, the digitalisation along the global fashion supply chain is not happening at same level at same depth and speed. Specially at the manufacturers' side in the countries like Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, Vietnam and others, it is far behind the situation at retailers' side in Europe and America. As a result, designers, fashion buyers/merchandisers and sustainability professionals at the European and American retailers' side struggle to implement and manage digital solutions while working with their Asian counterparts and the transparency and sustainability about the products from the fashion companies including the big names like Marks & Spencer, NEXT, NIKE, adidas, Primark etc. are always in question. On the other hand, digital fashion is not just limited to computer-aided design (CAD) and manufacturing (CAM), but rather runs throughout the fashion business, from product life cycle management and developing new business models that promote sustainability to connecting virtual and augmenting reality with fashion to enhance consumers' experience through smart solutions. It has emerged as a multidisciplinary field of knowledge that attracts overlapping interests from the academics, researchers and professionals coming from fashion design, business and technology; computer science, software engineering, animation and gaming, anthropometrics, supply chain management and industry 4.0, big data and artificial intelligence, and industrial sustainability. Realising the complexity of the issue, an action is deemed required to bring all parties of digital fashion together to streamline the adoption and development of innovative solutions along the global fashion supply chain. This is to be done through the proposed digital fashion network (DFN). The Network will be formed with members from industry and academia covering diverse disciplines and geographical locations related to the digital fashion and be expanded throughout the project life-time. It will organise several hybrid events including four workshops, one of which will be hosted by iCo-I in Bangladesh to better connect with the fashion manufacturers, six online webinars (one in every three months) on the latest innovations in digital fashion, an international conference on "Digital Fashion Innovation", a research paper competition for PGRs, one 3D design and illustration competition for students and an online exhibition. An edited book titled "Advances in Digital Fashion Innovations" through Textile Institute's Professional series (CRC Press and Taylor & Francis) will be produced with chapter contributions by the shortlisted speakers of the aforesaid conference. It also aimed to deliver an international research group for post-project collaboration in research and bidding activities. DFN will be unique in its kind as no such network focusing specially on digital fashion exists at present. The network will echo the ethos of the multiple United Nation's sustainable development goals (SGDs). It will contribute towards the achievement of the target 9.5 of SDG 9 through promotion of scientific research and upgradation of the technological capabilities of textile and fashion industrial sectors in developing countries in particular Bangladesh. It will also complement the target 12.a of SDG 12 by promoting digital fashion innovations in developing countries, e.g. Bangladesh, and catalysing towards the strengthening of their scientific and technological capacity to move towards more sustainable patterns of textile and fashion production.