The Knowledge No Machine Can Replace
FABRIC invites you to an Open Classroom evening about the limits of automation in fashion. Digital manufacturing is expanding what is possible in textile production, yet only those who understand how material behaves can truly make the most of it.
Sewing machines, 3D printing, digital printing and computer controlled embroidery machines open new creative and technical possibilities inside the Future Fashion Lab. Still, it is experienced professionals who judge how a material behaves, assess quality and solve problems as they appear in production. Much of this is implicit, experience based knowledge that can barely be captured in manuals and instead grows through observation and years of practice.
As the German textile industry has declined over recent decades, a great deal of this knowledge has already been lost. That makes one question more pressing than ever: how can human expertise be preserved in a digital age and combined meaningfully with new technology?
Christine Krüger, talent professor for fashion design, trend and new technologies at the AMD Akademie Mode & Design, draws on examples from design and industrial production to show why textile expertise cannot be fully automated and why people will stay central to how we make things. An open exchange and discussion follow her talk. The evening is part of the AMD Open Classroom series, which brings the academy’s expertise from campus into the Future Fashion Lab.
Practical Information
- Where: FABRIC, Große Bleichen 21, 20354 Hamburg
- When: Monday 14 September 2026, 18:30 to 20:00
- Price: Free
- Registration: Required, via the FABRIC ticket page
