Deutsche Telekom, in its continued efforts to drive on the fusion of technology with the fashion world, has committed to running the second edition of the Telekom Fashion Fusion competition. This time round, in addition to the main competition Deutsche Telekom has jointly decided with Lufthansa to pose a new and exclusive challenge for this year's event.

LAST day SALE Air tickets for EU countries only until June 30 - ONLINE

The aim of the Fashion Fusion competition is to promote the development of relevant, functional, sustainable and above all smart fashion. True to the slogan for this years' edition – Technology becomes Fashion – the seamless integration of technology and the need to keep an eye to marketability of a product, all the way from initial concept to readiness for market, will play a central role in choosing the three eventual winners.

Ukraine Aviation Portal

"Digitization and telecommunications are revolutionizing the fashion industry. Modern technology is changing the way people use, wear and buy clothing, as well as the way fashions are marketed. What makes all this possible are such technologies as narrowband IoT" says Claudia Nemat, Deutsche Telekom Board member for Technology and Innovation. "I'm looking forward to seeing this year's selection of new innovative solutions to enrich our everyday lives. And this year we have strong partners on board with us once again. Lufthansa has agreed to become our first exclusive partner to put the Fashion Fusion competition to practical use to further improve the customer experience of the airline's passengers through digital technologies."

The aim of the exclusive challenge "Telekom Fashion Fusion & Lufthansa FlyingLab" is to seek out innovations that have the potential to be of practical use to the airline's crews and/or passengers. Such innovations could involve the use of intelligent textiles in Lufthansa uniforms, for example, or optimization technologies to promote health and wellness during long-haul flights, smart services to provide support for on-board communication, or even creative entertainment solutions.

"Flying and fashion belong together like tomato juice and black pepper” so Dr. Torsten Wingenter, Senior Director Digital Innovations at Lufthansa Group. “The tradition of high-fashion clothing at Lufthansa goes back 60 years. So developing a uniform that's also smart in the digital sense of the word is a logical development within that tradition – one that fits in perfectly with our digitization campaign. We would like to explore how we can best help our in-flight staff in their efforts to provide an even better service to our passengers in a digitized world. We are delighted to be taking part in the Challenge and to be bringing lots of innovative ideas to the Lufthansa FlyingLab."

Anyone who would like to take part in the Exclusive Challenge should apply by August 15, 2017. The first prototypes are set to be put through their paces in January 2018 in the Lufthansa FlyingLab on the special flight to the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Through its FlyingLab, the Lufthansa Group offers special flights to selected international events during which passengers have the chance to experience and test out new products and services as they soar above the clouds.

After completion of the exclusive Lufthansa Challenge, the general Telekom Fashion Fusion competition will get under way, so creative people from all over Europe should submit their ideas for fusions of high tech with high fashion from July 5 to October 31, 2017.

The judges are looking for visionary ideas in three categories:

As with last year, an expert jury will then select ten finalist teams, who will then receive coaching and support to develop their projects in a series of master classes given by experts from industry and the fashion world from February to May 2018. The Telekom Fashion Fusion competition is sponsored by Adidas, Intel, Lufthansa and WIRED Germany, as well as by the Premium Exhibition fashion show.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG
Media Relations