Colèchi talks to Alexandra Smith about ‘post human’ fashion and how it will be influenced by gender and artificial intelligence.
‘Technology is beginning to combine humans with robotics and create a new form. In terms of artificial intelligence and cyborgs, this is being created through the study of humans and how we interconnect with technology (p. 15)’.
What is the title of your work?
Is the Next Step to a Genderless Future the Progression of Post Human Fashion?
What did your research discover about the future of humans and machines in fashion?
I discuss how technology and humans will interconnect. This mainly focuses on the use of artificial intelligence as well as relating it back to the body and how it links to the machine. This exploration is mainly focused on [as] something that is currently happening and [prioritises] prediction rather than true fact. With this I have taken the history and people’s predictions and linked them to designers and fashion movements that are currently happening. Focusing on two texts and two fashion houses and how they showcase this and also link very well together. With that I have taken some historical context as well as present day designers to show the progression of this and what we deal with currently technology wise.
What was your overarching opinion on the interconnection between gender and technology?
The overarching argument was that gender and technology will soon interlink and there will be no going back. It’s the idea that there will be consequences to this post human life and potentially a loss of human ideas but this is our future. AI is the future and this is already being shown within fashion. Gender roles will begin to change and adapt but I believe that in the long term, gender won’t be a thing – we will all be the same. In reality, the future of post-human life is a gender-free society and cyborgs and robots as well as our virtual lives will be our future and all our below generations will know.
What key concepts does your work explore?
First I [explore] the history of post human life and how technology has become something we use in everyday life. This leads onto the cyborg manifest and Gucci – exploring how our style will become genderless in the future. In the last chapter, I explore McQueens iconic robot dress done in the 90’s and how he had this post-human prediction before anyone else. Gender discussion is a very important factor of this and how unisex fashion and gender-free fashion (in my personal opinion) should be the future of this. Post-human life is happening now and will be the future of our industry and life.
‘Feminist theory shows research into cyborgs as well as brands and designers who have decided to adapt to the new technology rather than fighting against it’ (p. 9).
Did you make any key discoveries on the importance of technology, gender and the future of fashion?
The main key discovery was how women are going to be affected by this [technological developments]. After looking into Donna Haraway’s text and Sharlene Naggy Hesse-Biber and Rosi Braidott, they explore how women have tried so hard to prove that their gender should be equal that it may all be taken away. With this, there was a very strong counter argument to how gender is important in the sense of female equality. But there is the question – as we are not in post human life yet – maybe this will be the best thing that could happen for the female and feminine gender?
What did you conclude was technology’s role in the future of gendered fashion?
I concluded that as we progress with technology we are also progressing in eradicating gender. This is mainly because there are claims that the ‘machine’ is ‘man’ but that’s not really possible. Overall it was an idea that gender and technology will interconnect and the human will connect with this too. Fashion will progress with this, virtual life will progress with this and it really is unknown how the posthuman life will affect fashion and lifestyle. Post-human life is happening as we know it and technology will progressively become more and more reliant in our everyday lives.
‘If humans are connected to the machine and the cyborg, what place does the human being have? This questions whether we are in reality or are we moving into an era in which machines will become the living being and gender will be placed within this (p. 15)’.
How do you think your discussion is relevant to the future of fashion culture?
I think my discussion can give a bit of a warning to what is going to happen. In terms of the predictions and the relation to history it gives a good overview of what may happen next. But also an idea of what fashion was like in the 90’s and how they already knew technology would be in the now. Looking at Gucci exploring transhuman and posthuman ideologies, fashion will adapt to tech – covid has shown this already. Fashion culture is so important and so is the use of tech and AI, therefore it will get people ready for what is to come.
Since your undergraduate degree, are there any new findings or trends in fashion technology that you would include if you were to rewrite your work?
Fashion weeks and Covid related work. The way fashion week was online and simulated would’ve been amazing to write about and show how they adapted to use technology instead of humans because that was safe and that was reliable. I think most fashion houses have created clothing with AI prints and that whole trend of the post human fashion and archive fashion would be interesting to explore this post apocalyptic style of fashion in relation to technology and AI.
