The team inside our fashion tech innovation lab, Foundry Powered by IFA Paris, often meet with individuals trying to enter the world of fashion tech.

However, these two industries speak very different languages. For example, fashion brands understand how to create collections, talk mood boards and what next seasons’ trends will be; but faced with the task of embedding more digital technologies into their processes and there’s often blank faces or a freak out.

Then there’s the opposite. A genius digital technologist may be trying to convince a potential client to integrate a solution into their brand only to be met with push back because there’s a lack of understanding of the potential upside of using it. Therefore, how does one trying to work in fashion tech perfect both languages?

Here are some suggestions:

Join a fashion tech community such as the DeFine Network:
It often delivers bootcamp sessions on fashion tech led by experts in the fields of fashion and technology. It’s a great way to obtain foundational knowledge and network with likeminded enthusiasts.

Attend fashion tech startup pitch days:
The Startup Club is one organisation that hosts fashion tech themed pitch days where a panel of fashion, technology and investors critique startup pitches. By attending or pitching an idea, you’ll soon learn the terminology that the professionals use.

Attend a fashion tech week:
Although they don’t happen that often, there are a few in Europe. For example, Fashion Tech Week that happens in Paris each year, or Fashion Tech Berlin that happens twice a year.

Sign up for one of our fashion tech courses at IFA Paris:
BA Fashion Technology or the Future Fashion Tech Short Course that takes place inside our fashion tech innovation lab, or on our new online distance learning platform IFA Paris – Learn Online starting from this next academic year. This is the ultimate deep dive to get you fluent in the languages of fashion and technology.