Guest article written by Yoram Burg of Embodee

No one would argue that the fashion industry’s transition to digital technologies has taken far longer than expected. The well-worn analogy “it’s a marathon, not a sprint” springs to mind but misses the mark. What we’ve seen is more like cautious long-distance runners who conserve energy for years and are now sprinting to catch more daring competitors, some new to racing. In other words, digitization, including adoption of 3D, has become a mad dash of established companies and all-digital startups.

The pandemic triggered the acceleration—and for much more than enhancing e-commerce, the COVID revenue lifeline. An eye-popping level of tech investment in 2021 signals that an across-the-board industry makeover is underway. What Vogue Business in August described as fashion tech’s funding boom exceeds $30 billion so far this year. That’s an annual increase of 130 percent with a few months to go.