Luxury tech lag, Taiwan VR showcase, 3D-printed flip-flops
Study reveals makeup of tech spend in luxury sector; Taiwanese designer Jenn Lee brings a VR-powered fashion showcase to London Fashion Week; Havaianas and Zellerfeld debut the world’s first 3D-printed flip-flop, reimagining even the simplest staple.
Luxury’s Tech Spend Is Rising - But Impact Lags Without a Strategy Shift
European luxury houses spend an average 3.1% of revenue on tech, but most of it goes to maintenance (“run” 63%) rather than transformation (“change” 37%), per Bain & Co and Comité Colbert. CEOs see tech as strategic, yet only 37% say they have the capabilities needed, with legacy systems, brand silos, and heavy reliance on external vendors holding back impact.
Why it matters: Luxury is one of the laggards in digitization, but its margins, brand equity, and global influence make how it adopts technology especially consequential. With spending on AI, data, and digital tools accelerating, the winners will be the maisons that can translate tech budgets into customer impact and operational resilience, not just IT upkeep.
Joëlle de Montgolfier
Taiwanese Designer Debuts VR Fashion Showcase at LFW
At London Fashion Week SS26, Taiwanese designer Jenn Lee presented The Zipper Between Protection and Flow as a VR-powered, gamified showcase, created with fashion-tech startup Portal:M, the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA), and manufacturer Makalot. The hybrid experience let visitors explore Lee’s garments in an immersive 3D world, blending Gothic and Eastern cultural motifs while highlighting Taiwan’s push to merge creativity and technology on the global stage.
Why it matters: This marks a shift from runway to interactive, tech-driven storytelling, positioning Taiwan as an emerging hub for cultural-tech innovation while showing how VR can deepen engagement for designers, manufacturers, and international buyers.
Havaianas and Zellerfeld Unveil World’s First 3D-Printed Flip-Flop
Havaianas has partnered with 3D-printing footwear pioneer Zellerfeld to launch Top Toe, the first-ever fully 3D-printed flip-flop. Debuted at Copenhagen Fashion Week, the sculptural design dropped in six colorways - from classic black to a bold new Havaianas yellow - released exclusively through Zellerfeld.com and Dover Street Market Paris in limited quantities - but it sold out in minutes!
Why it matters: For Zellerfeld, it proves the model of co-innovating with iconic brands. For Havaianas, it’s a signal that even mass-market staples are ripe for reinvention through additive manufacturing.