Microsoft’s AI Day: Infusing more awareness about artificial intelligence and creating an opportunity for discussion on the topic are the goals of the first Artificial Intelligence Day organized by OTB, an international fashion and luxury hub founded by Renzo Rosso, in synergy with Microsoft Italia, and with the participation of Bain & Company and Adobe Italia. Aimed at more than 50 managers from the Group’s holding company and brands, AI Day was held on Sept. 6 at Microsoft Italia’s headquarters in Milan.
AI Day is part of the broader journey in the innovation sector that OTB is taking, focusing on virtual reality, 3D, customer engagement and artificial intelligence solutions. During AI Day, the opportunities that artificial intelligence offers to the fashion & luxury sector were analyzed and through an in-depth mapping of the value chain, it was emphasized how AI is now ubiquitous in all the fundamental processes of a luxury company: from the initial step of product development, merchandising & buying, marketing, proceeding with the operations & supply chain phase, and finally with sales, distribution and relationship with the final customer.
“I have always thought that technology is an area that you need to continue to invest in if you want to have a successful business. As AI Day showed, artificial intelligence is already part of our everyday life and is becoming a real must for the fashion & luxury sector as well because it is a tool that can go alongside people’s work and increase their potential, without going to replace the craftsmanship, creativity and skills that define the excellence of these professions. It is precisely for this reason that I want our managers to be aware of all its opportunities, and the collaboration with the best global technology partners goes exactly in this direction,” commented Renzo Rosso, President and Founder of OTB Group.
This is the context of the group’s partnership with the Digital Innovation Observatories of the School of Management of the Milan Polytechnic, in the belief that university-business collaboration is essential to identify innovative and sustainable solutions for the fashion industry. Among other things, a collaboration with the Fashion in Process laboratory of Milanese university to apply AI to optimise design and production processes is about to start.
“Technology and in particular the new Artificial Intelligence solutions are taking on an increasingly central and strategic role within business activities, redefining and redesigning processes and business models of many Italian excellences, including those in the fashion & luxury sector. Precisely on the Artificial Intelligence front, Microsoft works alongside companies to accompany them on their digitalization paths, to identify scenarios for use in organizations and enable them to exploit the potential that new technologies offer to continue to grow and innovate. It also becomes essential to train people in the organization to leverage technology to unleash human ingenuity and creativity. I look forward to this meeting with the OTB Group during AI Day to work together on identifying new scenarios for innovation.” commented Vincenzo Esposito, CEO of Microsoft Italy.
OTB is the international fashion group headed by the iconic and unconventional brands Diesel, Jil Sander, Maison Margiela, Marni, and Viktor&Rolf. OTB also controls the companies Staff International and Brave Kid and holds a stake in the American brand Amiri. An acronym for “Only The Brave,” OTB believes in going beyond the frontiers of fashion and style, supporting the creativity of international talents, and expressing all the innovative spirit and uncompromising courage of its founder and chairman, Renzo Rosso. The group, which employs more than 6,000 people worldwide, bases its foundations on a digital approach that puts the consumer at the centre, a concrete and long-term commitment to creating a sustainable business with a technological footprint, and a strong focus on social issues through the OTB Foundation.
