Foreword

In April 2020, Ava, the virtual influencer first surfaced on Instagram. With platinum blonde hair, olive-tanned skin and a penchant for cropped tops and Gen Z fashion, Ava (@avagram.ai) was Singapore’s first virtual fashion influencer. 

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In August 2020, Republiqe was conceived by James Gaubert. Based in Singapore, the local fashion house sells digital garments, outfits designed not to be worn but to be rendered on images of people. As crazy as it sounds, as of March 2021, the label now has an Instagram of over 2,000 followers - a substantial following, comparable to that of an average local blogshop retailer. 

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If these sound like something from Black Mirror’s anthropologic episodes, the cyberpunk wastelands of Young Adult novels, or literature like The Giver where tech heralds the future, you’re absolutely right. It’s no secret that our minds are easily tickled when imagining the future, and with Ava, Republiqe and more just starting out, it feels like the future is closer than we imagine.

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Tailored For The Future explores the exciting possibilities in the fashion industry. With clothes made for the Internet and inspired by the Internet, fashion influencers that don’t even exist but have hordes of followers, and Artificial Intelligence that could predict the next big trend - these stories invoke a sense of wonder. 

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And tying it up, we spotlight a local fashion business putting two and two together. They lead the charge towards a fashion world led and supported by technology, and show that these aren’t just ideas that run wild, but are grounded in reality and have real-world benefits to be reaped.

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It all sounds crazy, but it’s already here.