The development of digital technologies offers a wide range of opportunities to increase production efficiency, which relies on known tools and methods that transform in modern conditions. Many researchers note that the specialization most characteristic of complex knowledge-intensive industries has high prospects and is evident in all sectors of the national economy. Its combination with cooperation and outsourcing brings momentum to the development of both individual enterprises and the industry as a whole. It has been found that in light industry, which had a developed system of specializations, the return to this practice is difficult due to significant changes in the industries related to the liquidation of large mass production enterprises and the lag in the creation of digital twins, which are the basis at the stage of production preparation. Lost in the process of transition to a market economy, large production with a complete cycle is now successfully replaced by specialized small and medium-sized production, using high-performance equipment combined with modern digital technologies. It is obvious that the garment industry has entered a new cycle of development characterized by a high degree of specialization against the background of the application of digital technologies at all stages of the product life cycle. The significant lag in the application of digital technologies at the stage of production of light industry products is overcome, especially in the transition to additive technologies. It is noted that the digital shadow complements the information digital twin, which is especially relevant from the point of view of production. The introduction of digital technologies in specialized industries allows to achieve higher productivity and payback of invested capital than in standard production, where such investment is "blurred" due to the lag of related processes of the enterprise. It has been revealed that the modern stage of development of light industry is characterized by the application of fundamentally new technologies based on the creation of a digital twin and digital shadow, which create prerequisites for industrial application of additive technologies in industry. Key words: specialization, cooperation, digitalization, development of light industry