Right Direction bridges fashion, innovative technology and a conscious lifestyle for cosmopolitan women. The contemporary fashion brand from Austria was built from the ground up in Europe, works with European artisans and appreciates their traditional know-how and individual techniques. The use of durable, high-quality materials - often surplus, recycled or upcycled - also adds sustainability to this ethical approach. The long-term goal: to play an active role in the transition to a circular economy, or to a circular fashion industry.
An essential part of this mission: digital work. Right Direction wants to actively promote the modernization of high fashion through new 3D technologies. To this end, the brand cooperates with digital designers from all over Europe who translate fashion into a digital art form and transcend physical borders. In this way, consumers can discover the pieces digitally, three-dimensionally and in high quality. Which avoids energy expenditure, CO2 emissions and waste of resources through overproduction or unnecessary shipping. In an interview, founder and CEO Jelizaveta Hagleitner talks about the opportunities and challenges of digitization and innovation for the fashion industry.
Source & Copyright by Right Direction / Jelizaveta Hagleitner Wearing a Digital Dress
"For us, digitization is one of the cornerstones for a more sustainable fashion industry, alongside recycling and longevity."
1. What made you start Right Direction?
My (negative) professional experiences as a product manager in the textile industry motivated me to start my own label. One that not only meets my aesthetic, but also my ethical standards. With Right Direction it was important to me to share my fascination for digital fashion with people. My focus is not only on creating playful and unrealistic phygital pieces (more on that later!). Rather, I would like to translate a minimalist and puristic aesthetic into digital collections.
Source & Copyright by Right Direction
2. What values do you represent with and through Right Direction?
Sustainability, quality and innovative technologies. All of our collections are manufactured within the EU and under fair working conditions. High-quality products reduce the constant need to buy new clothes with a short lifespan, which ultimately has a positive effect on the environment. Less is more - this not only applies to our minimalist aesthetic, but also to consumption.
3. You have a permanent and a limited collection. What's it all about?
The limited collection is made from surplus materials, which means that we buy and process fabrics from overproduction. At this point I would like to point out that we have the highest requirements for the materials that we use. Just because a substance is surplus does not mean that we use it. At Right Direction, quality is paramount. To counteract seasonal consumption, we have the permanent collection: Aestetic 1.1. This consists mainly of timeless classics such as blazers, shirt blouses and coats.
Source & Copyright by Right Direction
4. Right Direction operates at the interface between physical and digital fashion. Why and what does this approach mean for designers and their labels?
We are convinced that digital and physical living space will merge more and more in the future. With our phygital Collection we offer our customers the opportunity to show themselves in the digital space in extraordinary creations. There are no limits to the creativity of our 3D designers. Digitization has very practical effects for our customers: They can try on products in virtual changing rooms. This also has a lasting effect, as there is no need to ship the garments to try them on. Instead, consumers can make conscious decisions from the comfort of their own home.
5. What opportunities and challenges do digitization and innovation offer for the future of the fashion industry?
For us, digitization is one of the cornerstones for a more sustainable fashion industry, alongside recycling and longevity. The fashion industry is the second largest contributor to pollution in the world after the oil industry. With optimized processes in the area of up- and recycling, you can already make a big difference. The technical advances that optimize processes and make them more resource-efficient also make a major contribution to a more sustainable future of fashion. Digital fashion has a much smaller ecological footprint than physical fashion, the more widespread it becomes, the less is actually consumed.
Source & Copyright by Right Direction
Thank you for the interview, Jelizaveta.
