The Future is Always Now; Evolving Life-cycles in Fashion

WhichPLM is an independent digital magazine dedicated to product development for the fashion industry. In this feature article we document the journey UoH has undergone to add PLM to the curriculum in fashion buying management. We have created a new, and we believe unique, learning programme for the next generation of industry professionals by using PLM as a framework and a platform to re-think the learning design of the course and to model wider future educational practice. PLM provides a framework that permeates all aspects of the body of knowledge and provides a holistic view of industry processes, an up-to-date context for study within a supportive network and the opportunity to critique traditional practices and thereby generate new practices. Following on from this innovation, we now anticipate the emerging possibilities of extended functionality of PLM with associated technologies of 3D, data analytics and the internet of things (IoT). In an era of smart, connected products we intend to establish a community of smart connected learners, working collaboratively within a data driven system blurring the lines between higher education and industry in the future.