Industry 4.0 vs. Sri Lanka Apparel

Apparel's young leaders to discuss the business of fashion and the transformation in

progress

The fourth industrial revolution is already taking shape propelled by the ubiquitous connectivity of our age, mobile supercomputing, artificial intelligence and genetic editing —things that challenge what it means to be human.

At this pivotal point, the business of fashion is undergoing serious transformation, changing the way we create, communicate and consume wearables. From 3D printing to advances in biomaterials, radical innovations that redefine physical, digital and biological worlds, are driving the future of fashion, with major implications to retailers, brands, manufacturers, supply chain and consumers of wearables. How would this translate to the Lankan apparel industry?

Being one of the world’s most progressive fashion makers, Sri Lanka Apparel has always been at the forefront of what defines the game of wearables at the immediate here-now. Continuing this visionary trait, the industry best brains are convening yet again to discuss how Sri Lanka Apparel will take on tomorrow as it dawns:

This is at the annual South Asian Apparel Leadership Forum, held as part of the Mercedes-

Benz Fashion Week Sri Lanka 2018 this October.

Amongst a powerful line-up of international and local speakers, a must-see panel discussion

comes with some of the apparel industry's most promising young leaders, including the next

generation representing three of Sri Lanka’s biggest apparel businesses who are taking their

own path as they gain the experience to fill legacy roles. This panel of Lankan apparel industry

young leaders will take the stage to share their journey in this transformation; on how to elevate

the game; the challenges in affecting a shift in mindset and the need to ‘unwire’ existing

systems to build competencies that incorporate design, technology and innovation. This panel of

young leaders represents the industry’s freshest dynamic that is not encumbered with old

systems, that is thinking fresh through the lens of new generation, new needs and new

challenges met with new perspectives.

The discussion addresses the decisive need for disrupting the industry as it is now. The

conversation will weave through how the ‘ideal fashion product’ has undergone major shifts as

the consumer world began to demand for improving the quality of human lives without

compromising the environment. This will lead the conversation with young industry leaders will

discuss how the next generation of Lankan apparel big names are beginning to redefine the

industry's  processes, products and even entire business models. Hasib Omar, who is driving

Brandix’s retail brand Moose, will take the new company as an example to demonstrate how

even major manufacturers are beginning to disrupt their set businesses, allowing new ideas,

brands and products to emerge out of existing knowledge, human capital, business networks

and infrastructures. Siddarth Amalean will share how MAS’s dedicated innovation

wing—Twinery—is looking to act as a catalyst of connectivity and interaction among parts,

machines and humans through cutting-edge technologies and thinking that leads to radical new

materials and products that are designed and made in Sri Lanka. Akshay Hirdaramani will

discuss his thoughts on current and future fashion business movements that Hirdaramani will be

leveraging on as opportunities and addressing as challenges. These industry changemakers

discussion will be one that draws up a picture of the future of Sri Lanka’s apparel business,

allowing industry professionals, international buyers, brands and partners to foresee and chart

future collaborations and operations.

Siddharth Amalean

This discussion will also present a rare opportunity to pose questions, discuss ideas and share new viewpoints with the emerging changemakers of apparel, drawing out their best thinking for the audience. Held as part of the eighth South Asian Apparel Leadership Forum, this is the platform to discover innovative solutions to complex issues, building dialogue in the role of design thinking, technology and innovation in apparel, as change-makers of industry.