Krystal in London

Spending real money on digital fashion may seem wasteful, but luxury and affordable clothing brands are following this trend, which breaks the boundaries of physical clothing and is more environmentally friendly.

In 2018, Norwegian clothing retail brand Carinthia launched its first purely virtual fashion collection, Neo-EX. The following year, Iridescence, the world’s first blockchain virtual couture, was created and sold for a whopping $9,500, leading the fashion industry into a new realm of virtual clothing.

“Isn’t this a stupid tax? Who would buy a dress that doesn’t exist in reality?” “What’s the difference between this and editing the photo …….” Questions about virtual clothing are pouring in. So how did virtual fashion become a fashion trend and have sustainable value?

WearWant is a global virtual fashion e-commerce brand founded by designer Sue wang that collects and sells virtual fashion products from around the world. In August last year, the company began exploring and experimenting with virtual clothing and is currently selling 70 virtual clothing and virtual fashion products.

How to put on a virtual costume? Sue patiently walked me through the steps of buying WearWant clothing.” Browse the photo guide, click on collections, choose your preferred virtual fashion style and upload a photo (high resolution, well-lit, avoiding other shadows) ) Go to the shopping cart to check that the style and uploaded photo is correct. Check that the styles and uploaded photos are correct. The user will receive an order confirmation from WearWant and within 1-5 working days of placing the order, the user will receive a super cool virtual fashion set.”

When we talked about the philosophy behind the brand, she shared, “I wanted to make virtual fashion less out of reach and provide an approachable and warm experience for the masses. Fashion doesn’t have to be pioneering, and simply showing off your design ideas won’t have a positive impact on virtual fashion.”

Sue, as one of the first consumers of virtual fashion, captures the value of virtual clothing, while understanding the needs and ideas of the public. Because the brand’s design team all come from fashion backgrounds and have up to eight years of experience in the fashion industry, they are somewhat immune and numb to good-looking physical designs, but Sue concluded the first time she saw virtual clothing that the visual expression and sense of fashion delivery overwhelmed the physical garments.

She believes that virtual clothing has no limitations on size, shape or gender and “allows you to wear the past (in vintage collectable clothing) or the future (silhouettes and materials that don’t exist in the real world).” Sue likes the fact that virtual clothing is gender-unrestricted, as the gender-fixed typography of physical clothing is very unfriendly to the non-heterosexual community.

Fashion can truly be free when freed from the confines of the physical world.”

What is driving the expansion of digital fashion cannot be separated from the bad reputation of fast fashion, which is like a demon hiding in the wardrobe, quickly abandoned after the consumer has experienced the pleasure of wearing it. The ever-changing fashion styles have pushed consumers to reorder and update at high frequencies, and “I’m always one dress short in my wardrobe” has become an annoyance to many teenage girls.

 However, the fashion clothing industry has become the second most polluting industry in the world, second only to the petrochemical industry. Recycling has long been a huge problem, with the EPA estimating that the textile recycling industry recycles about 3.8 billion pounds of textile waste each year, but this represents only 15 per cent of all textile waste, while the remaining 85 per cent stays in landfills. The synthetic and mixed fabrics used to make fast-fashion clothing are difficult to break down during the recycling process, not only polluting the environment but also costing hundreds of millions of dollars a year in textile waste disposal.

If brands used digital samples rather than physical samples, they could reduce their carbon footprint by 30% at the design and development stage. Similarly, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) report for a T-shirt found that a digital T-shirt: reduced water consumption from an average of 683 litres to zero and reduced CO2 emissions from 7.8kg to 0.26kg. It is precise because virtual clothing meets the requirements of global sustainability that it is becoming a new fashion trend.

The full penetration of artificial intelligence (AI) in newsrooms around the world has been a phenomenon in recent years, as news media struggle to gain attention and maintain public trust while cutting staff and costs. With artificial intelligence being used to access information, produce news articles and identify trends, is the incorporation of AI an opportunity or a challenge for the news media?

While human journalists are still stunned by breaking news, robot writers are already rapidly describing and analysing data, mining it for further value, and finally writing automated articles in seconds. There is no better way to increase ratings and reduce costs than to automate news production using AI. With automated journalism, broadcasters can research, write and distribute relevant content using AI.

In the publishing media industry, Reuters and Bloomberg News were the first companies to fire editors and journalists following the adoption of AI automation. AI automation accounts for a third of Bloomberg’s news releases, and through automation, Bloomberg News is able to check available financial reports and create newsworthy stories that are relevant to the financial sector. In addition, AI fact-checks this to provide top accuracy over time.

When it comes to video streaming services, Netflix is by far the biggest company to benefit from artificial intelligence, with over 130 million subscribers on different payment plans. It is using machine learning to automate algorithms to “tailor” posters and short previews of relevant original content to users based on their viewing preferences, with a view to achieving a wider reach of content. Deloitte has published a report on the state of AI for companies across the US, in which it specifically mentions the case of Netflix: Netflix found that their users like to search for movies, but if it takes more than 90 seconds to search for and find a movie, they tend to give up while optimizing in-site search with AI technology not only gives users an improved user experience It also allows users to pay faster. According to a report by Deloitte, Netflix could earn an extra $1 billion in just one year thanks to AI improvements to search.

It is estimated that $118.6 billion will be spent on AI globally by 2025, with the media and entertainment (M&E) industry set to spend a further $1,860.9 million by 2025 (up from $329 million in 2019). It is not enough to say that AI is gaining traction in the media industry, but rather that it is becoming mainstream when it comes to integrating AI into media workflows. Media companies have become more efficient in areas such as understanding their audiences and predicting their choices before making appropriate recommendations – all thanks to AI. In fact, AI is a game changer for the industry and is already disrupting existing marketing strategies, streamlining media processes through automation and ultimately driving revenue growth.

For all the great benefits that news automation brings to the economic sustainability of the industry, the result is that AI-driven journalism will require new levels of editorial and institutional oversight.

Francesco Marconi, who was co-head of AI at the Associated Press and was the first head of R&D at the Wall Street Journal, has been working to implement new processes in the editorial department. In his book Newsmakers: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Journalism, he analyses the challenges and opportunities facing AI through case studies, from financial publications using algorithms to write profitability reports to investigative journalists analyzing large data sets to media outlets determining the distribution of news on social media.

“AI is just another tool in the journalism toolbox, like the internet, the telephone and the typewriter; it can enhance rather than automate journalism, enabling journalists to publish more news faster while freeing up time for more in-depth analysis and creation.”

I met a Phoenix Europe correspondent, Xu Liang, not long ago and we talked about whether the profession of journalism would be replaced by AI in the future. She said, “With the continuous mature development of artificial intelligence, AI will become an integral part of journalists’ daily work in China, such as interview collation, foreign language translation, script entry, or virtual anchoring, which are all important aspects that facilitate journalists to work quickly and efficiently.” She added: “But the biggest barrier, human and machine, is emotion. When we do outbound reporting, it’s especially important to be unprepared, to empathize with the interviewees, and to find out the wording and accuracy. We need to not only gather interview material but also do an interview that ‘has warmth’. This is something that AI cannot replace, or at least AI technology at this stage still cannot replace the role of a human being.”

“Any medium has its birth, growth, maturity and demise, and the integration of a new technology does not mean the imminent demise of an old one. The ideal media environment of the future must be one in which artificial intelligence and humans live in harmony.”

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool for journalism, but it is vital that all journalists are made aware of these technologies. JournalismAI, a project by POLIS, a journalism think tank at the London School of Economics and Political Science, in collaboration with the Google News Initiative, aims to educate and inform newsrooms about the potential of AI technology through research and training while fostering an international network of journalism innovators The project aims to educate and inform newsrooms about the potential of AI technology while fostering an international network of news innovators.

Artificial intelligence could have a broad and far-reaching impact on the way news is produced and consumed in the future, with journalists rethinking the way they access news and deliver it to their audiences. At a time when news media are fighting for economic sustainability as well as public trust and relevance, AI could free up journalists to create better news. It can also help the public cope with a world of flooded news and misinformation, and connect them to credible content that is relevant, useful and stimulating to their lives in a convenient way.

In 2021 the UK’s ‘tampon tax’ was abolished and a zero VAT rate was introduced on feminine hygiene products. But amidst soaring inflation and energy costs this year, many people have been forced to prioritize other household essentials. A new survey commissioned by ActionAid UK to mark Menstrual Hygiene Day 2022 has found that nearly one in eight (12%) women in the UK have struggled to buy menstrual products for themselves and/or their dependents in the last six months. In response to this serious problem, schools across the UK are offering menstrual product schemes…

Scotland has passed the Menstrual Products Act to become the first region to provide universal access to women’s menstrual products.

I contacted Will, a student at the University of Edinburgh, on social media and she said, “We can find the link to free period on the school website and receive several free sanitary products provided by Hey girls, delivered directly to our homes by filling in our student email address.” In addition to this, there are full packs of sanitary towels available in every bathroom at the university according to the legislation, “I don’t have to panic and look for a shop to buy sanitary towels when I get my period unexpectedly anymore, it’s a really bad feeling.” She said.

Many schools in England have also joined forces with student organizations and relevant agencies to provide students with menstrual products. I found out that it was a school event to support students during the cost of living crisis, and one of the events has always been to provide feminine hygiene products.” The event was organized by the Vice President of Welfare Taruna Bangia, who, in consultation with key members of the Students’ Union, was successful in securing funding from the University to provide basic sanitary products to students free of charge, based on feedback from students.

The launch of York’s trial to tackle period poverty was made in consultation with the student-led Free the Flow campaign. Although York has previously provided free menstrual products on campus, these were only available on an ad hoc basis at College and Student Union receptions. From April this year, these products will be available from vending machines on busy streets in three locations: the Library foyer, the Spring Lane building and the Ron Cooke Hub continuing throughout the summer term.

“Students across the country face a myriad of financial obstacles, but no one should have to compromise their studies for their periods.” Patrick O’Donnell, President of the York Students’ Union.

My roommate Cecilia, an Imperial student, mentioned in conversation, “Basically free tampons and tampons can be found in the school washrooms and library, even if they are used up and not replenished in time, pads and tampons can be purchased through the vending machines on the ground floor.”

The school’s promotion of the free sanitary products programme not only helps students in menstrual poverty and eases their living expenses. Those girls who feel ashamed of their periods no longer have to clutch their sanitary products tightly in their hands for fear of being seen.

Menstruation is not an option and sanitary towels should not be a “luxury”. They should not be discussed only in the context of the washroom, as if they were somehow taboo. Menstrual programmes and trials in schools will make these issues a thing of the past…

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