FEATURES

In this special feature of Fashion Tech News, we will contemplate the relationship between urban environments and media. Robert E. Park described the patterns of diverse cultures intersecting in cities as a 'mosaic', not simply a collection of people, facilities, or precision work, but a 'state of mind'/ 'assembly of organized attitudes and emotions'. Currently, our surrounding media environment is undergoing digital transformation, resulting in significant changes in urban culture. Various companies are also driving the development of virtual communication platforms, namely metaverses, giving rise to a new ecosystem that departs from traditional urban culture. The effects of these changes may influence the consumption of media content, the deployment of advertisements, and the methods and venues of buying and selling products. In this special feature, we will broadly capture the changes taking place in urban and media environments and consider the past, present, and future of consumer culture and the ecosystem that surrounds it, along with Yutaka Iida, a media researcher and associate professor at the Department of Industrial Sociology, Ritsumeikan University.