Fashion Industry Tech Disruptions Since Uranus Entered Taurus
When Uranus leaves a sign and enters another, disruption can be expected swiftly. Uranus entered Taurus in May 2018, a peace and comfort-loving sign that likes the natural order of things, that relishes in the certainties and familiarity of life, an energy that abhors disruption and change. Taurus can be an accumulator of material things, too, possessing all the things it values. Taurus can always find success or at least maintain its comforts because it takes the mandatory steps one at a time to patiently build its resources. So when Uranus comes in to clear the clutter and update systems, Taurus gets frustrated.
Taurus does whatever it takes to create stability. It doesn’t want to live with uncertainty. Taurus also rules style, fashion, and good taste and right now, the state of the fashion industry is chaotic, conventional and unkind to its creators and consumers, and has a history of failing to implement ambitious sustainability projects. But there is motion accumulating towards invention and reform. Investment in fashion retail and fashion technology has risen.
A reason for this is the push for sustainability and how Uranus awakens the humanitarian spirit. The sustainable fashion industry expects its market to grow to $9.81 billion in 2025 and $15.17 billion in 2030. That’s a substantial jump, and younger generations are shifting to lower waste lifestyles, and being mindful about materials and labor. These changing values are inefficient and disruptive to the fast fashion sector. Decluttering the waste, cleaning the pollution, and using less natural resources can be opportunities.
Uranus rules inventions, innovation and technology. People have already accepted wearables, 3D scanning, data-informed recommendations, text shopping and resale. Including extended reality, blockchain and crypto- fashion provided using high tech mediums- and artificial intelligence (using machine learning to create more personal relationships). Other areas are product design to become more personalized and influenced by AI assistance.
If there is to be a fashion revolution, mainstays will crumble or surprise us and new companies will pop up out of nowhere. Taurus rules fashion and Uranus rules revolution. Julie Bornstein, one of the founders of The Yes app and former Stitch Fix COO, says improve the customer experience while helping brands thrive at the same time. Uranus represents collaboration.
Taurus enjoys luxury and quality. The bridal dress sector is experiencing shifts towards sustainability, responsible consumption, transparency and waste management. Dressarte is a company addressing these things without losing the production of high-end, custom-made pieces. Manufacturing deals with a lot of waste. Euveka, a company that created scalable and connected robot mannequins, reduces the production of defective garments by 40% resulting in reduced returns due to bad sizing by 30%.
As a collective, we’ve experienced a change in values as Uranus currently transits Taurus. The threat to the wedding dress market is that as tech-based companies can provide more customization and affordable pricing, brides can get a much better experience. These customers desire convenience, personalization, affordability and individualized service.
“Due to increasing cost pressures, increasing consumer pressure, and eventual regulator pressure of some form, whoever doesn’t get on the wagon of fixing the foundation, collaborating with others to improve, they will not be part of the game,” says Javier Seara, author of the Global Fashion Agenda’s sustainability-focused report, “The Pulse of the Fashion Industry.” Uranus is for change in outdated systems. More data will identify stubbornness and who’s slow to change. Tech-based companies will also give rise to services that might involve streamlining the fashion supply chain.
Change Making
“The growing concern about sustainability is particularly prominent among younger generations: 83% of millennials in the US value companies implementing programs to improve the environment, according to the Conference Board Global Consumer Confidence survey.” Since evidence shows that shoppers trust reviews and each other (and the least trusted are celebrity influencers) there is an opening for new business models and practices. Birdsong, an ethical fashion business, pays workers in London the London Living Wage to produce garments made from organic cotton which are packed by a charity supporting adults with learning difficulties. Uranus’ transit brings a humanitarian element to the Taurus realm of clothing, style and personal values.
Stylish wearable devices that summon digital assistants, make phone calls and track wearers activities persuade more productivity and wellness over just being a seasonal throw away item. FitBit was a pioneer in the wearable tech market, several fashion and tech brands have tapped into the “connected apparel” space including integrating smart technology into the fabrics of garments themselves. Hexoskin creates non-invasive, machine-washable apparel that tracks body activity and provides health statuses. Their wearables encourage activity intensity, sleep health and stress management. We expect to see more revolutionary changes to our values, how we treat Earth and our bodies as Uranus continues to travel through Taurus until April 2026.
That is the backdrop to Oura, a Finland-based activity and fitness jewelry company. Oura’s mission is help you navigate the vulnerability of health through personal guidance, and a commitment to accuracy, validation, and design. As a movement, Oura wants to help others seek a better quality of life through mindfulness, health as a daily practice and continuous access to information. The company partnered with the NBA to help players detect Covid symptoms and prevent spread of the virus.
This kind of thinking does not come easily to many fashion firms. Taurus doesn’t like change and can stubbornly resist it, but resisting necessary change can be the end of your brand or the implementation of an unwanted defense strategy. Gina Bibby, head of the global fashion-tech practice at law firm Withers says that tech is the reason companies survived through the throws of the pandemic. The companies who already had their focus here only thrived.
Retailers, some of which hold significant market segments and are standard innovators in the industry are being affected. The rise of VR and digitalization are expected to reduce vast inventory, brick and mortar locations and even multiple trips to fitting rooms. Brands are implementing ways of tailoring their selections to even more hollowed-out groups of people. High profile brands are using visual search and shoppable apps such as Israel-based Syte and UK-based Snap Tech. These technologies offer personalization, targeted marketing, discoverability and convenience. Uranus brings shifts in awareness and enlightenment and the fashion industry is being electrified by this energy.
