Karlie Kloss, a prominent American supermodel and entrepreneur, shares her perspective on the evolving intersection of fashion and technology. As the founder of Kode With Klossy, a program aimed at empowering young girls and nonbinary youth with tech skills, she emphasizes the importance of diversity in shaping the future of technology.
Raised in the Midwest by her father, an ER physician with a passion for science and technology, Kloss inherited a curiosity-driven mindset. Despite her early success in modeling, she remained committed to learning and exploration, eventually venturing into the world of coding.
Learning languages like Ruby, HTML, and CSS opened her eyes to the transformative power of technology. However, she noticed a glaring gender disparity in the tech industry, prompting her to launch Kode With Klossy in 2015. The program offers free summer camps to teach coding fundamentals to young women and nonbinary individuals, with over 12,000 scholars benefiting from it to date.
Kloss envisions a future where fashion designers are not just skilled in sewing but also proficient in coding. She highlights the recent surge in technological innovations in the fashion industry, such as 3D modeling and augmented reality (AR), which are revolutionizing design processes.
Collaborations with digital fashion houses like The Fabricant and platforms like Roblox have showcased the potential of digital fashion to democratize creativity and provide new avenues for expression. Kloss’s initiatives, including virtual pop-up shops and NFT auctions, underscore the growing intersection of fashion, technology, and digital art.
Moreover, Kloss emphasizes the urgent need for sustainability and inclusivity in the fashion industry. She believes that digital technology, including AI, AR, and RFID tagging, can play a crucial role in mitigating environmental impact and promoting circular design practices.
Investments in companies like Bods and Eon reflect her commitment to supporting innovative solutions that address issues like sizing discrepancies and garment tracking. By equipping young women and marginalized groups with tech skills, Kloss aims to foster diversity and empower future generations to drive positive change in the fashion industry and beyond.
