FEATURES

In this special feature of Fashion Tech News, we focus on sericulture and silk production to ponder the changes affecting the silk industry. Once upon a time, from the opening of Japan's ports in the early Showa era before World War II, sericulture, which produces the cocoons that serve as the raw material for Japan's raw silk, was a major industry supporting the country's modernization. There was a time when Japan's raw silk boasted the world's top production and export volumes. However, approximately 150 years have passed since the symbolic Tomioka Silk Mill, a symbol of modernization, began operations in 1872 (Meiji 5). The number of sericulture households, which peaked at 2.21 million, has now dwindled to a mere 163. Likewise, raw silk production, which was once over 750,000 bales (1 bale = 60kg), has plummeted to 168 bales. With the advent of synthetic fibres, such as nylon, price competition with cheap foreign raw silk, and the slump in demand for traditional Japanese attire domestically, the share of domestically produced raw silk is less than 1%. Therefore, in this special feature, we will look back at the historical changes related to sericulture and silk production based on data, and consider the issues and potential of sericulture and raw silk in the future, along with voices from the field.

In this special feature on Fashion Tech News, we will consider the evolution of fashion design and the surrounding technology landscape. With the environmental impacts and business challenges that the fashion industry is grappling with, current initiatives involving technology for sustainable solutions and novel fashion designs are being explored. Not only established fashion corporations but also tech companies, startups, and other organizations are gaining more attention each year for their expansive contributions across various sectors. These include AI and tech-assisted apparel production, development of eco-friendly materials using biotechnology, entry into the worlds of the metaverse and digital fashion, and more. In this feature, we will reflect on the 2010s, when these initiatives began to seriously take off, and together with Daijiro Mizuno, a professor at the Center for the Possible Futures of Kyoto Institute of Technology and author of "Sustainable Fashion" published in September this year, we will discuss what the future of fashion design and technology should look like.