Fashion experts from different countries gathered at the Café Moskau, in Berlin, Germany, recently to address the latest advances in fabrics, and how individual subconscious decisions affect clothing perceptions.
The annual event and the 2nd edition in its series themed: “The science of the beauty and care of clothes” was organised by Procter&Gamble, P&G Future Fabrics Forum, showcasing its latest fabric care innovation.
Welcoming the 150 guests to the event, made up mainly of journalist from 20 countries trend forecasters and other country experts- Robert Van Pappelendum, Vice President of P&G Fabric Care Europe, said: “Last year we announced that P&G’s mission was to redefine and elevate what cleaning and caring for clothes means and this year, in collaboration with our incredible partners, we’re taking that mission to another level – to explore how human psychology and cognitive behavioural analysis is helping to fuel product innovation”.
Three main experts addressed the session before the forum broke into sub-groups for further discussions based on region and brand usage. The experts were: Mr. John Turner, Sabine Le Chatelier and Dr. Lawrence Rosenblum.
Giving his presentation, Mr. John Turner, P&G’s Research and Development director, focused on why people’s preferences and perception toward their clothes change. Turner revealed that “P&G Fibre Scientists are introducing new advances in the 3-step Fibre Science approach; to clean, protect and enhance, which focus on prolonging and improving the multi-sensorial fabric perception of their clothes: the look, the feel and the scent”. The life cycle of clothes he noted “is often cut short because these properties are not cared for properly”.
Continuing, he noted: “Our closets are full of clothes, yet we only wear 20% of them 80% of the time, so why aren’t we wearing the rest? Why have we fallen out of love with a garment that we spent our hard earned money on?
According to him, “P&G is breaking new grounds by applying latest research in the cognitive science of human perception to understand why people reject a garment and relationship with clothes changes over time”. By applying this knowledge to our Fibre Science expertise we are redefining what Fabric Care means for consumers and their clothes.
In her own contribution, respected fabric trends forecaster, Sabine Le Chatelier, Associate Fashion Director, Premiere Vision – P&G, Future Fabrics official partner, opened with a presentation on “Fashion as a multi-sensorial experience”.
She affirmed that fashion as a sensorial experience illustrates how “fabrics are more than visual-an alchemy of look, feel and handle or behaviour”. She also revealed the current industry trends in textile and fabric innovation, adding “imagination and technology are combining to produce exciting sensorial fashions that are also washable, easy to care for and sustainable”.
This fashion trend towards the multi-sensorial was further explored by a presentation from leading cognitive psychologist, Dr. Lawrence Rosenblum, Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside. He revealed: “The last years of research in perceptual psychology has given rise to a ‘multi-sensory’ revolution”, showing that our senses are always influencing one another, and impacting our preferences and moods much more than we realize and often in ways in which we are not aware”.
PHOTOS: P&G FUTURE FABRICS EVENT, BERLIN
PHOTOS: GILES DEACON – CATWALK
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