innovation news and archive

ANDAM Innovation Award 2026: Alphalyr illustrates the rise of AI in the fashion value chain

Alphalyr, an AI platform for supply, retail and e-commerce data analysis, is the winner of the ANDAM Innovation Award 2026. The company will receive a grant of 100,000 euros. Pili, which develops bio-based dyes intended to replace petrochemical alternatives, has received the special jury prize. This 2026 edition shows that fashion innovation is...

Fairs

Performance Days Munich remains a 'must' for functional textiles

Performance Days in Munich has once again shown why it is one of the most important meeting points for the international functional textiles industry. The public transport strike in the Bavarian capital did nothing to change this. “The trade fair is well attended,” said Eva Doll, brand strategy manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa...

Fashion

H&M Foundation announces Global Change Award 2026 finalists

The H&M Foundation has announced its top 20 finalists for the 2026 Global Change Award (GCA). Selected from 450 ideas submitted from 81 countries across six continents, the innovations from the 20 early-stage finalists are set to be reviewed by the GCA Expert Panel together with the H&M Foundation team. From the 20 finalists, the panel and team...

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Business

What hampers fashion innovation scaling?

Despite the fashion industry’s current boom in innovations that tackle its biggest problems like textile waste, reliance on fossil fuels, harmful dyes and more, the pace of scaling is trailing behind. In a new report, the denim supply chain platform and think tank Transformers Foundation has identified three main barriers as well as three...

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Business

AI in fashion: H&M’s chief creative officer Jörgen Andersson on the Digital Twin journey

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping the fashion industry. While some companies wait and see, others are taking bold steps forward. At H&M, one of the world’s largest fashion retailers, Chief Creative Officer Jörgen Andersson is exploring how AI can support creativity, most notably through the creation of digital twins. In this...

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Business

Spanish textile industry partners with MagnoLab for innovation and sustainability

The Spanish textile industry is set to expand its focus on innovation and sustainability through a new collaboration agreement with MagnoLab, a leading Italian initiative involving specialized textile companies. As announced on June 10, 2025, by the Textile Industry Confederation (Texfor), along with the Fundació per la Industria del Gremi de...

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Background|Interview

Changemakers in fashion (part 1): Thami Schweichler, founder United Repair Centre

There are countless sustainability initiatives, but who in the fashion industry is truly driving the transition—whether or not their efforts are visible to the broader public? We interview changemakers, consultants, sustainable fashion experts, and activists. What can we learn from their work? In episode 1: Thami Schweichler of United Repair...

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Business

Parley launches new label and incubator to accelerate eco-innovation and design

Parley for the Oceans, the global environmental organisation and impact network, has announced a long-term partnership with the Paris-based Dover Street Market Paris Brand Development (DSMP-BD) to launch a new label and investment incubator to accelerate eco, natural and biofabricated innovations. The new partnership will see Parley launching a...

Background

The future of fashion: is less more?

A confession. My original research question was, “What if the fashion industry simply made less clothes?” (Over)production, reducing speed and seasons could be the answer to almost everything?!, was my thought process. As in: for sustainability in the clothing sector and more broadly: in the pursuit of a circular economy (see text frame below)....

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Fashion|Opinion

Why the Prada space suit matters

The fashion industry, long criticised for its cyclical and often repetitive nature, may have found a truly innovative frontier in the realm of space exploration. This groundbreaking development comes at a time when fashion marketing and design have begun to feel increasingly homogeneous, with brands struggling to differentiate themselves in a...

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Business

'Sustainability Lab': UDIT launches research and development project with Spanish fashion giant Tendam

Determined to support the transformation of fashion from the ground up, Spanish fashion group Tendam has announced the creation of its new Sustainability Lab, a research and development laboratory focused on sustainability, which in collaboration with UDIT University in Madrid and consultancy IDavinci aims to ‘redefine the future of fashion’...

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Fashion

Selected designers named for 2nd annual CFDA | Genesis House AAPI Design + Innovation Grant

The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), together with Genesis, have announced the names of the three designers set to compete in the [second annual CFDA | Genesis House AAPI Design + Innovation Grant].(https://fashionunited.com/education/news/cfda-partners-with-genesis-for-second-annual-aapi-design-innovation-grant/2024061260352) The...