“Shouldn’t it be something more progressive than design and style changes…shouldn’t there be innovation that alters the entire concept of clothing”.

The Next Black, is a documentary produced by the German company AEG (German General Electricity Company) that observes the future of the fashion industry within six different perspectives but with the common denominator of innovation and change in the industry such as we know it, in order to understand what is next.

The future is in technological, sustainable or biological solutions that can create new kinds of development in the fashion industry:

Studio XO, fashion + technology through 3d and programming. “It Is pure design engineering that happens to be dress up like fashion,” says Nancy Tilbury referring to her creations that have been part of the wardrobe of various artists such as Lady Gaga and Black Eyed Peas.

Adidas, technology and personal data develop sports shirts that improve the athlete’s performance by measuring the heart rate.

Bio Couture, textile processes through similar brewing methods. The recipe? Green tea + vinegar + sugar + yeast + bacteria = “The future will be farming the bacteria into the kind of cloth we want.” says Suzann Lee.

Patagonia, reduce consumption through its three “R’s” Reduce, Recycle, Reuse. Reduce the environmental impact, recycle your clothes and re use every possible piece of cloth.

Yeh Group, aims to reduce the environmental impact created by textile dyeing processes, developing a procedure that requires no water, uses less power and is completely dry.

Ifixit hopes that in the future we will be able to repair both our clothes and our object in order to avoid mass consumption, this through workshops and services they provide.

Visions just like these, whether technological, biological or environmental, attempt to take the concept of fashion beyond where it has been all these years. “There is no time for R&D in fashion,” says Suzann Lee of Bio Couture and that is exactly what is questioned through hers and each of these companies’ innovation and vision.

We can think of a future where our clothes have the ability to change according to our pace of life, where we can cultivate them, model and give shape them or even produce the garments we want, ourselves.