Fashion and textiles are sectors permeated with profound cultural significance and globally renowned for their notable contributions (Bertola et al., 2016; Vacca et al., 2023). As such, they represent fertile grounds for investigating and implementing emerging technological advancements to enrich user interaction with cultural repositories and archives. The pervasive influence of technology has facilitated its penetration into increasingly diverse and expansive user demographics, giving rise to a phenomenon termed "phygital reality," characterized by the convergence of digital and physical realms (Bertola and Teunissen, 2018). Against this backdrop, cultural institutions and GLAMs (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) are progressively harnessing digital platforms to enhance the accessibility of their cultural heritage collections, thereby bolstering their competitive edge in fostering cultural engagement through digital mediums.

This call seeks to propagate cultural narratives associated with fashion heritage by exploring and experimenting with the potential afforded by digital technologies. We invite researchers and scholars specializing in Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs), Cultural Heritage Management, Fashion Studies, and Design Studies and professionals within the cultural sector to delve into and critically evaluate novel approaches to experiencing, managing, governing, researching, and studying heritage fashion by leveraging the capabilities offered by digital technologies.

Cultural institutions, historical archives, and foundations in the Fashion field persist in being underutilized as agents for cultural exchange and community development in contemporary society, mainly due to their perceived conservative approaches (Giannachi, 2016). Cultural venues have experienced a contraction in their spatial capacities, necessitating a reassessment of their methods of heritage narration and the development of novel strategies and resources to enhance their accessibility and utilization. While cultural heritage comprises tangible and intangible elements, strategies conventionally prioritize conserving, enhancing, and promoting tangible components. Conversely, intangible aspects such as knowledge, techniques, narratives, and meanings often remain less accessible to broader communities. The increasing integration of digital technologies in archiving, preserving, and recording values presents an opportunity for cultural institutions to augment the symbolic value of fashion artifacts and foster a broader understanding of cultural, technical, and productive domains (Colombi & Vacca, 2016). Digitization holds the potential to enable wider audiences to engage with archival fashion artifacts beyond their physical limitations.

Despite the widespread utilization of digital technologies within the fashion sector, primarily aimed at expediting processes along the fashion value chain or offering alternative approaches, there remains a gap in an integrated approach harnessing the full potential of hybridizing physical and virtual dimensions to redefine the entire fashion cycle and reimagine the appreciation of fashion artifacts (Calefato, 2021). Fashion Heritage is an ideal setting to prototype and experiment with an integrated cyber-physical dimension that enhances cultural appreciation and accessibility (Clark and De la Haye, 2013). Although kinetic sensations and motion are fundamental forms of knowledge in fashion, difficult to replicate through mere observation of displayed garments, the incorporation of kinetic technologies can offer novel dimensions to engagement and digital exploration, providing users with unconventional experiences in perceiving materiality, motion, interaction, and insights typically obscured in traditional fashion exhibitions. These innovative solutions could be adapted to the fashion industry, catering to diverse audiences such as suppliers, buyers, journalists, and customers seeking novel experiences. Furthermore, technology-enhanced fashion heritage presents an expanded opportunity for disseminating cultural literacy to a broad audience (Rocamora, 2012), transitioning from traditional cultural production to immersive and augmented environments where users actively participate in interactive and inclusive experiences guided by virtual insights (Martin and Vacca, 2018).

The evolving role of digital technologies, including Digital Twin (DT), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Kinetic and Haptic Technologies, has facilitated a shift in major cultural institutions from traditional curatorship towards conversational learning and continuous dialogical engagement (Baker et al., 2002; Tchen, 1992). By blurring boundaries between tangible and intangible dimensions, physical and digital spaces, and offline and online components, these technologies empower curators to create cultural content and engage in immersive and multisensory experiences (Pecorari, 2021). Investigating such technologies enables interaction with augmented repertories and customized approaches to studying, enjoying, and understanding heritage. Through co-creating novel meanings and reinterpretations of archive content, multi-user content creation, collaborative activities, and social learning practices, these approaches foster social cohesion, bridging cultural divides and establishing a literacy-oriented educational platform in the realm of profound cultural understanding within the fashion domain (Schnapp, 2015).

Special Issue contributions could address, but are not limited to, the following topics and questions:

. Disseminate fashion culture by facilitating the engagement of diverse audiences with both tangible and intangible ephemeral heritage through digital technology and immersive experiences;

. Investigate the evolving boundaries of fashion repertories in archives that are not limited by physical form but enhanced by digital twin technology;

. Enrich the accessibility of fashion heritage resources, platforms, and representation, enabling visitors to interact with fashion archives, explore novel learning methods, and comprehend heritage through digital platforms and devices;

. Foster collaborative approaches to cultural heritage to promote social cohesion, mitigate cultural disparities, and encourage social integration through enhanced digital interaction and participation within cultural institutions among diverse audiences;

. Enhance capacity building and interdisciplinary skills necessary for developing, managing, and coordinating projects and events in digital heritage for cultural institutions and the broader fashion industry;

. Explore innovative models of Fashion Digital Curatorship encompassing formats, codes, and languages;

. Research of innovative pedagogical strategies and learning methodologies designed to enhance the appreciation of archival materials (artifacts and documents) and related knowledge (processes and narratives) through the integration of advanced technologies and open-access platforms;

. Stimulate the reflection on new management models and practices in organizations, institutions, and companies operating in the augmented cultural heritage field, both in the fashion industry and in connected sectors;

. Reflect on the evolving relations between the different stakeholders in the augmented heritage ecosystem and the emerging governance systems.

The articles submitted to this collection will be handled by the European Journal of Cultural Management and Policy (EJCMP), authors should consult the journal website for information about Article Types, Author Guidelines, and Publishing Fees. Please contact the Editorial Office at ejcmp@frontierspartnerships.org for any query concerning this initiative.


References
​​Baker, A. C., et al. (2002). “Learning and Conversation”. Conversational Learning, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1–14.
Bertola, P., Vacca F., Colombi C., Iannilli V.M,, and Augello M. (2016). ‘The Cultural Dimension of Design Driven Innovation. A Perspective from the Fashion Industry’. The Design Journal 19 (2): 237–51. doi.org/10.1080/14606925.2016.1129174.
Bertola, P., Teunissen J. (2018). “Fashion 4.0. Innovating fashion industry through digital transformation”. RJTA, 22(4), Emerald, 352–369.
Calefato, P. (2021). Fashion as Cultural Translation: Signs, Images, Narratives. Anthem Press, London.
Cameron, F., & Kenderdine, S. (2007). Theorising digital cultural heritage: A critical discourse. MIT.
Casciani, D., & Vandi, A. (2022). Hyper-Sensing Creative Acts The Role of Design in Transmitting Intangible Cultural Heritage through Digital Tools. Digital Memories,
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Clark, J., De la Haye, A. (2013). Exhibiting Fashion: Before and After 1971, Yale University Press, New Haven
Cianfanelli, E., Goretti, G., & Tufarelli, M. (2019). Reverse Engineering and Digital Archives as a Resource for Practical Craft-Based Manufacturing Process. In W. Karwowski, S. Trzcielinski, B. Mrugalska, M. Di Nicolantonio, & E. Rossi (Eds.), Advances in Manufacturing, Production Management and Process Control (Vol. 793, pp. 280–289). Springer International Publishing
Colombi, C., Vacca, F. (2016). “The Present Future in Fashion Design: the Archive as a Tool for Anticipation”. Zone Moda Journal 6, Pendragon, 38–47.
Giannachi, G. (2016). Archive everything: Mapping the everyday. The MIT Press.
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Martin, M., Vacca, F. (2018). “Heritage narratives in the digital era”. RJTA, 22(4), Emerald, 335–351
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Pecorari, M. (2021) Fashion Remains. Bloomsbury, London
Pecorari, M. (2019). Fashion archives, museums and collections in the age of the digital. Critical Studies in Fashion & Beauty, 10(1), 3–29
Rocamora, A. (2012). Hypertextuality and Remediation in the Fashion Media. Journalism Practice, 6(1), 92–106.
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Tchen, J. K. W. (1992). “Creating a Dialogic Museum”. In I. Karp et al., Museums and Communities, Washington, Smithsonian Institution Press.
Vacca, F., Bertola, P., & Colombi, C. (2023). Designing Culture-intensive Artefacts. How the Design Process Interprets Craft Reiteration to Build Future Diversities. Strategic Design Research Journal, 15(3), Article 3. doi.org/10.4013/sdrj.2022.153.10

Article types and fees

This Special Issue accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Special Issue description:

• Biography
• Commentary
• Impact
• Mini Review
• Original Research
• Policy Brief
• Review

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Special Issue accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Special Issue description:

• Biography
• Commentary
• Impact
• Mini Review
• Original Research
• Policy Brief
• Review

Keywords: Fashion Heritage, Fashion Archive, Heritage Managment, Digital Technology, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence.