International Fashion Tech Forum to Explore the Future of Fashion Shaped by AI on the 3rd of Next Month

[Financial News] As artificial intelligence reshapes the way the fashion industry creates, produces and engages with customers, global fashion and tech experts will gather in Seoul.
Sungjoo Foundation announced on the 27th that it will host the Korea International Fashion Tech Forum 2026 (KIFT 2026) at 2 p.m. on Sept. 3 at Goethe-Institut Korea in Namsan, Seoul, together with MCM, Goethe-Institut Korea and Fashion Council Germany.
MCM, the German luxury brand marking its 50th anniversary this year, and Sungjoo Foundation co-planned the event based on their shared vision of empowering future generations and supporting cultural and artistic activities. Now in its third year, KIFT has established itself as an international platform where global fashion and tech experts and investors gather to discuss the future of the fashion industry shaped by AI and other advanced technologies.
This year’s KIFT 2026 will focus on the broad theme, "The Future of Fashion Transformed by AI," and examine in depth the paradigm shifts taking place across the luxury fashion value chain, from design and production to operations, customer management and the circular economy, through three sessions.
The first session, titled "AI as a Design Partner," will look at innovative cases in which generative AI and 3D virtual try-on technology are being integrated into the design process while preserving a brand’s unique DNA and creativity. Panelists include Dirk Schönberger, global brand chief at MCM; Park Gyu-yeol, co-founder and CTO of RebuilderAI; Joo Eun-jeong, head of CLO AI research; Kwon Yu-mi, vice president of B Factory, an AI-native beauty company; and Professor Yoo Hoon-sik of Seoul Media Institute of Technology.
The second session will focus on "The Future of Agentic AI and Physical AI in the Fashion Industry." It will discuss the current state and future potential of AI in fashion, including collaborative robots used on the factory floor and autonomous AI agents. Panelists include Scott W. J. Lipinski, CEO of Fashion Council Germany; Audrey Hansen, CEO of Siren Apparel; Stephan Heller, founding CEO of AlphaQ VC; Kang Sung-hoon, co-founder and CEO of STUDIO LAB; and Lee Sang-gu, a professor at Seoul National University and founder of IntelliSys.
The third session, titled "AI-Based Circular Economy and Customer Lifecycle Management," will explore new luxury business models that use computer vision-based authenticity verification and AI-driven customer data analysis to manage product lifecycles and long-term relationships between brands and customers. Participants include Christiane Arp, former editor-in-chief of German Vogue and chair of Fashion Council Germany; tech couture fashion designer Shin Han-na; Maísa Benatti, CEO of AIUTA; Lee In-seop, founder and CEO of MarqVision; and Professor Yang Eun-kyung of Yonsei University.

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