Textiles Incorporating Traditional Japanese Techniques to the World: ZOZO NEXT's Challenge at SXSW

In March 2022, the world's largest technology festival, "SXSW 2020," will be held in Texas, USA. ZOZO NEXT, an organization within the ZOZO Group responsible for creating new businesses and researching and developing technology, will be making the group's first attempt to exhibit at the SXSW Creative Industries Expo. With the concept to "UNVEIL THE FUTURE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY," this exhibition will explore the future of fashion guided by technology. What new experiences and values surrounding fashion will be proposed?

This time, we will introduce the textile booth. Various works created through "Project Foil," the ZOZO Group's first attempt at textile development, were showcased in "Ambient Weaving – Environment and Textile" held in Kyoto in the spring of 2021. For this exhibition, new works will be unveiled for the first time overseas. We interviewed Yasuaki Kakehi, Associate Professor at the Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, The University of Tokyo, and Satoshi Nakamaru of ZOZO NEXT MATRIX, who lead this project, to hear their thoughts and expectations. (Recorded online on February 24, 2022)