The BALI Chair targets disruption

With the ambition of becoming a centre for information and research on forthcoming disruptive technologies in the fashion industry, the "Biarritz Active Lifestyle Industry" (BALI) Chair will begin work in 2018.

"This Chair has been set up by the ESTIA and three other partners* with the aim of combining the efforts of the industrial and academic sectors to develop research around five main areas of reflection," explains Chloé Salmon-Legagneur, coordinator of this new project within the ESTIA Entreprendre team.

"We have identified five areas to work and reflect on over the first three years of the Chair's activity: digitisation of materials, potentially including the creation of a Digital Book, corporate social responsibility with, for example, themes like eco-design and traceability, automation of production processes, fashion industry 4.0 including virtual and augmented reality, connected objects, additive manufacturing, data and finally production on demand to customise products," details Chloé Salmon-Legagneur.

Based at the Olatu Leku business incubator in Anglet, the "Biarritz Active Lifestyle Industry" Chair was officially launched on 30 November. Talks and round table debates were organised on the topic of innovation in the fashion ecosystem, sponsored by Olivier Lapidus, the first fashion designer to take an interest in the new technologies. "We will be launching the Chair's work in the first quarter of 2018 and we will be welcoming some new partners," adds Chloé Salmon-Legagneur.

* The Today Tomorrow Textiles foundation, Lectra and JPS Conseil, a development consultancy.

Find out more: www.chaire-bali.fr/fr/