Made in Italy 5.0. Knitwear Design Within the Fifth Industrial Revolution

Starting from an examination of the fifth industrial revolution phenomenon applied to the Made in Italy clothing sector, this paper aims to investigate the present and future scenarios that Industry 5.0 opens up in the world of knitwear design. Unlike other design sectors, the convergence between physical and digital environments, which is at the center of the Fashion Industry 4.0 debate, is an established feature of the practice of knitwear, which still carries within it the craftsmanship of handmade techniques and the automation of the most up-to-date machinery and software. However, in the archetypal narrative of most Made in Italy sectors, the technological aspects tend to be neglected in favor of a communication based only on craftsmanship and manual skills, and knitwear is no exception to this phenomenon. In this scenario, craftsmanship also recalls a sustainable way of working through a savoir-faire traditionally attentive to the impact of its processes and a high-quality product that is ultimately more durable and more responsible towards the planet. Stemming from these premises, the authors of this investigation identify knitwear as an archetypal case study of Made in Italy, analyzing how far this narrative reflects reality and how the advent of Industry 5.0 can fit into this context.

It has been a decade since the concept of Industry 4.0 was born with the meaning of a highly digitalized, automated, and interconnected industry. Retracing the history of the textile and fashion sectors, it is evident how both have been fully hit by each industrial revolution: as resumed by Mattila et al. [1] , the first revolution mechanized the industry, made operations faster and took away most of the reiterative and timeconsuming manual work. The second introduced the assembly line, that meant high volume production and high mass consumption. The third transformed analogue information into digital, easier to be cost-effectively manipulated and transmitted. Each revolution evidently changed the processes, the numbers in production, the distribution of costs and profits, but also marked a sharp transformation in human behaviors of both workers and consumers.

If the1st, 2nd, and 3rd revolutions are considered as sharp cuts between the previously existing condition and a new one, the literature often reports and analyze the 4th industrial revolution more as a "shift", i.e., a progressive a transition from the automated production supported by telecommunication, electronics, and computers typical of the Industry 3.0 to a new paradigm where the "smart manufacturing" is a key concept [2] . The fourth industrial revolution is indeed still providing factories with robotics, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, in a transformation that is often slow and difficult, depending on the typology of companies, their dimension, their economic and human resources. Considering the Italian fashion and textile system, it is composedalongside the few big playersof a multitude of small and micro manufacturing companies that fit neatly in the category of the cultural and creative industries, where human creativity is the source of goods and services [3] . These businesses are based on a collaborative way of working and sharing cultural values, together with the persistent need of manual care and intervention: all elements that are hardly challenged by heavy digitalization and somehow serve as barriers to the digital shift.

Despite the Industry 4.0 is still establishing itself and manufacturers are still putting their efforts in following this transformation [4] , some scholars, industry pioneers, and technology leaders started to envision the 5th industrial revolution, i.e., Industry 5.0. Industry 5.0 is oriented towards a renewed balance between machine and human engagement. If the digital was the center of 4.0, collaboration is the center of 5.0, that uses cognitive computing and human intelligence together to create symbiotic factories [5] . Mattila et al. [1] define the key drivers of Industry 5.0 as the centrality of human, sustainability, resiliency and reduced cost and environmental control. Human action does not surrender to the digital, but is combined with "the speed, efficiency, and consistency of robots, to promote human empowerment, talent, and diversity" [1] . Human and robots will collaborate in making manufacturing more flexible and robust, and more sustainable for the people as well as for the planet by helping in monitoring environmental impacts and energy usage, preventing wastage and errors. Industry 4.0 improvements will not be neglected: Longo et al. [4] describe the envisioned future as dedicated to design and development processes that keep the technological solutions provided by Industry 4.0, but use them in a human-centric, value-oriented and ethical way.

For a decade robotics, computer-integrated manufacturing, and cyber-physical production systems have been conceived as fundamental in the evolution of industrial production [6] : technology has taken the traits of a megatrend to be exploited in a extensive way, and has been marked as an answer to difficulties in every aspect of the supply chain, from production to process management, distribution and to the relationship with the end consumer. The new production methodologies, the progressive automation of processes and the ever-increasing availability of data brought recognizable benefits, nevertheless the digital wave raised among scholars and professionals "significant ethical questions regarding the impact of technology on workers and society at large" [4] . Hence the need to rethink also the consequences on the relationships between men and technologies, on the spatial and temporal borders of production sites, on the working conditions and the autonomy of workers [7] Today, the change of perspective is bringing together the most diverse experts like computer scientists, designers, industrial engineers, as well as philosophers and legal experts to re-think technologies as complementary to human values -rather than leaving the latter as an afterthought- [8] , and to question the critical role of workers as main player of a renovated industrial system. In this way, the new paradigm will debase the very meaning of "revolution", i.e., not just a productive transformation or a process of digitalization of industrial activities, but a full cultural, social and economic transition [9] [7] .

From the perspective of design, that was born as a human-centric discipline, this is in a way a return to its origins, as well as a relevant and contemporary issue to address in terms of research. The concepts of industry 5.0 are also connected with the very essence of Made in Italy: by its nature, indeed, the Italian industrial model is determined by cultural values and by the collaborative human factor. It is based on the social capital of the districts in which it is formed, namely "a set of active relationships between people" in which "trust, reciprocal understanding, shared values, and behaviors keep the members of a community firmly united and make cooperation possible" [10]. To Bertola and Colombi recalling Verganti [11] , Made in Italy relies on "a special relationship with professional design communities and culture, where design moves from technological innovation, manufacturing specialization, and supply chain management to promote an innovation in product meaning": if the latest aspects gained more and more relevance in the Industry 4.0, cultural values and human relationships have been maintained and will now benefit of renewed attention, coming back as fundamental to pursue innovation in meaning and practice.

Stemming from these premises, the authors intend to frame this study within the knitwear industry, where they both have research and professional background. By identifying its distinctive features, the aim is to understand whether the specific characteristics of this industry sector will make it more or less inclined to accept the change towards Industry 5.0.

Finally, it will be discussed whether and how practices, processes and people can benefit from the ongoing transition from the 4.0 to the 5.0 model and the envisaged future.

Knitwear: technology and craftmanship at a balance