Fashion innovation agency

The Fashion Innovation Agency (FIA) is a part of London College of Fashion's Business and Innovation offering, focusing on connecting fashion brands with unique talent in fashion, arts, and popular culture. Established with the aim of supporting designers in monetizing their businesses and fostering collaborations, FIA explores and applies emerging technologies to disrupt existing practices in the fashion and retail industries. The agency's work primarily revolves around three pillars: Making, Showing, and Retailing. FIA investigates technologies that are expected to be implemented within three to five years, creating prototypes and proof of concepts that demonstrate how these technologies can change the way fashion brands make, showcase, and sell their collections.

FIA's projects span a wide range of technological applications in fashion. For instance, they have worked on creating interactive garments, such as the world's first interactive skirt designed in collaboration with Fyodor Golan and Nokia. The agency has also delved into digital human stylists, leveraging Microsoft's Azure 3D capture process and Reactive Reality's Pictofit Technology to create personalized digital avatars that can provide outfit recommendations based on users' preferences, schedules, and even weather conditions. In October 2020, FIA launched a project that allowed users to create their own AI-powered digital human stylist, capable of learning and predicting style preferences.

Key customers and partnerships

FIA has collaborated with numerous renowned brands and institutions. They have partnered with Microsoft on multiple projects, including the Microsoft Accelerator program, which involved student teams developing ideas using technologies like the HoloLens headset and cloud computing. The agency has also worked with UGG Australia, facilitating a partnership between the brand and design duo Agi & Sam for London Collections: Men, marking UGG's first catwalk appearance.

FIA has collaborated with Reactive Reality and Microsoft to create a personalized digital human stylist. They have also worked with Nails Inc and Preen, as well as M&S, to encourage innovative thinking in retail. The agency has participated in events such as the V&A Digital Design Weekend, where they showcased their "Pose XR" activation, demonstrating volumetric capture technology. These partnerships and projects highlight FIA's role in bridging the gap between fashion and technology industries, accelerating innovation in the fashion sector.