Sustainable fashion paradigms: local and makers productive models

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is leading changes in the general way of thinking and producing, which are shifting and reshaping industrial dynamics. In fact, Digital Technologies are allowing progresses in terms of velocity, quality, flexibility, security and efficiency (ACIMIT Osservatorio, 2017). As a consequence of these new paradigms, new business models are rising in order to refresh the production, the consumption, the transportation and the delivery systems (Schwab, 2016). Fashion System is very sensitive to this new assessment due to its fast-moving nature, so that it has to face new sets of challenges (Keller, et al., 2014). The problem is that technological innovations in this field seem not to reach high improvements. This is due to two main reasons: on one hand, its fast-moving nature isn’t the perfect feature for a long-term improvement; on the other hand, the tendency to invest where it is possible to patent and the fashion design are not so eligible since it is not simple to see an evident proof of technological improvement in an aesthetical product (Gregori 2016). For this reasons, it is one of the main design fields which needs a consistent rearrangement able to modify the whole system, taking into consideration that it is sensitive to changes under many points of view, which in this paper have been identified within the phenomenon of local and makers, who are starting to use a start-up model to build as stand still identities. The research wants to investigate how it is possible to describe new productive models in this specific scenario, taking into consideration that there is a great effort in applying the concept of sustainability, digitalization and flexibility into the Fashion production. This application can be addressed to the craftsmanship level, which is passing through a renewed interest. In fact, the recent financial crisis has led to a progressive scepticism towards capitalism or techno-capitalism increasingly "financialized" (Demichelis, 2015), and it has shifted the attention towards small and medium-sized companies. In this way, the revaluation of artisanal know-how and activities, more economically and socially sustainable (Micelli 2016), becomes a ground of rediscovery and an attractive field to develop products contaminated by the recent achievements of a digital approach. This renewed interest in the local business model is one of the todays’ phenomenon answering to such issues. As a matter of fact, the revaluation of small local activities is reviving because of their economical, human and environmental sustainability features, added to the possibilities given by new technologies which allow a sharing between local and global know-how, resources and instruments addressed to the design of products (Imbesi, 2014). In order to reduce the waste of raw materials, money and time, local manufacturing is able to offer a bespoke production system, answering the new necessities of costumers in terms of experience and products uniqueness. Under this up-to-date order, new technologies play a key role. The same technologies, in Fashion System, evolve into a tool that craftsmen in small and medium enterprises can use to renovate their skills, without dismissing them, and to build a new concept of business in which makers become protagonists. In this way, a hybrid business model is conceived: craftsmen are switching into digital artisans, accompanying traditional methods of production with the support of the new technological solutions. These innovative local and maker model take the customers experience into account and give them new product solutions, focusing on the aesthetical features and versality as well, and granting a continuous quality of improvements and uniqueness, respecting the environmental aspects too. In fact, the promise of a big growth from small innovative initiatives is also accompanied with the response of new necessities in terms of time-to-market, flexible customization and on-demand production (Amed et al., 2019). Indeed, these innovative production structures take care of the customers experience and give them new products solutions, focusing on the aesthetical features and versality as well, and granting a continuous quality improvements and uniqueness. These are the reasons why these business models can be considered as the response of the contemporary reality, taking into consideration that all the parties involved are fundamental for a fashion panorama consisting of local and makers realities. In doing so, they can prosecute a sustainable growth, being more focused on responding to the necessities in terms of time-to-market, flexible customization and on- demand production (Amed et al. 2019). Speaking of which, Chris Anderson explained how small artisanal enterprises, with an involvement of high technological tools, could be considered the beating heart of this new revolution, since that they might set up as entities able to make high customized products but in a smaller scale (Anderson, 2010). According to the features of these new ways of conceiving design and production, the structure of the start-up perfectly fits to new possible fashion business models related with the digital fabrication technologies.