By Oliver Morgan and Tessa Larcher
Alex Erinle hopes to revolutionise the fashion industry.
The CEO of Thrill Digital, a technological fashion start-up generating 3D experiences for brands and consumers, Alex works as a web product innovator and is a keen photographer and writer. Formerly he was at VT, Conde Nast, and Gistaudio – an upcoming social media.
He recently took part in the Covid and Me: Do We Still Care What We Wear? fashion debate at London Metropolitan University, participating remotely from Nigeria.
Some people might not be familiar with the work of a product designer; they focus on the interaction between human users and everyday products and services such as websites, apps, etc.
It is a varied discipline which combines aspects of psychology, business, market research, design and technology to create products that are unique and useful to the everyday consumer.
Alex considers design of paramount importance to the business and the user. “The design is not the end itself, but only the means to an end which is a profitable product,” he says.
3D virtual technology
His vision for fashion is to create a sustainable alternative to the current fashion industry using 3D virtual technology, saying “It’s more an opportunity for smaller brands, also, it’s more sustainable because the products don’t really exist.
“The new thing with 3D experience on the website is so important now,” he adds. “We actually did something similar during the London fashion week: sort of re-creating a store, like a 3D version.”
Alex understands that his vision for fashion may not be accessible for the majority of people at present. “The thing is the users’ experience is so far from adaptation because people aren’t really used to shopping in those kinds of experiences,” he says.
“You can’t really blame the brand for saying ‘if it’s work right now what do I need to change things?’. I think it’s also about the big brands who want to invest. I think a brand like Westfield or Selfridges should try to re-create that experience online, like in 3D.
“A 3D-mall would be cool, for example.”
New life
The high street may look quiet now, but people should be willing to take on the challenge of breathing new life into it in future, according to Alex. “There is an opportunity now to create innovative solutions… Someone is going to come up with very cool stuff,” he told the panel.
“The future of fashion is always destination…It is always dependent on where people are going.”
Leave a Reply