Anina Net is a fashion technologist. Photo by Maria Cavali / FOR TEENS

Imagine a wireless charging wallet that serves as a stylish wallet and phone charger, or a fancy customer service robot that fits the decor of a hotel. Anina Net has made both.
 

Net, from the US, is a fashion technologist. She brings together the worlds of fashion and technology. “Fashion designers are masters of lifestyle, and when applied with technology, fashion can make our lives easier,” said Net.
 

Net started her career as a top fashion model but always had a passion for technology. Based in Beijing, she now works with a global team on fashion technology projects through her company, 360Fashion Network. For example, her team worked with the company Intel to build 162 smart gloves to create a human light grid of dancers for a show at the 2017 CCTV Spring Festival Gala. And currently, her team is finalizing their 360Fashion maze game avatars to hit the runway at New York Fashion Week.
 

According to Net, a fashion technologist needs to be curious and have a deep desire to innovate. “I tell my interns, if you're not blowing something up or making the system crash, then you're not working hard enough.” They also need to be up-to-date on the latest technology so that they can experiment with it before it catches on and becomes a trend.
 

“Some people think that a fashion technologist just sticks lights onto garments, but there are a lot more skills involved,” said Net. From using artificial intelligence to create textures for digital garments to using 3D printing and cloud robotics to bring designs to life – it's all part of the job.
 

And there's a lot of collaboration, which Net loves. “I love working with others and encouraging women, in particular, to become masters at technology,” she said.
 

“Our planet needs fashion technologists,” added Net. “A fashion item will be thrown in the dustbin as soon as the next trend comes in unless it has real functionality. That's where we come in.”

This wallet designed by Anina Net is also a phone charger. PROVIDED TO TEENS

 

Investing in wearable tech
 

Teens: Where do you think the field of fashion technology is headed in the future in China?
 

Net: I've been working with young digital designers from the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology and the Dalian Polytechnic University to showcase their digital fashion designs in my company's virtual reality 360Fashion Maze Game. Through this, I've seen how outstanding the digital fashion talent pool in China is. The Chinese government is investing a lot of money in virtual reality, so I hope that fashion can benefit from that, too. Manufacturing and high-tech skills – it's all here in China. That's why I love being here in China and connecting its resources with the world. And I believe that China can be the future global capital of the metaverse, too.