TOLLAND, Conn. — May 28, 2019 — It’s challenging for a designer to compete and maintain pace with the speed of change in fashion today. Many are dependent upon traditional development cycles, supporting creativity but slow in moving from inspiration to finished garment. This model has become increasingly risky, as consumer trends shift quickly leaving brands with inventory exposure and business practices that are not sustainable. To demonstrate how integrated technology can support the ability to produce fashion on demand in a sustainable way, Gerber Technology is collaborating with Stephanie London, a high-end women’s wear designer, to develop a collection of garments, the Gerber by Waldrip Collection. The collection demonstrates how traditional processes that historically take months, can be transformed to bring a line to life within days. “We have been driving innovation in this space,” said Ketty Pillet, vice president of marketing, Gerber Technology. “The Gerber by Waldrip Collection shows how technology makes purchase-activated fashion real, so you can design and produce based upon demand, staying on trend, optimizing inventory and minimizing markdowns.”

“Working with Gerber Technology, opened my eyes to a whole new way of doing things,” said Stephanie London, Owner, Designer Waldrip NYC. They made everything quick and easy.” Waldrip’s typical process would have included paper patterns, a team of partners and a binder to manage and build her tech pack. She would typically go through multiple rounds of physical samples before finalizing a garment ready for production months later. “I was really amazed that within a matter of hours I could see a 3D virtual sample that was well on the way to a final product. Gerber held my hand and educated me on all the technologies they have to help, from design through a personalized bespoke concept all the way up to small batch on-demand or mass production.”

For the past 50 years, Gerber has been transforming data flow and connectivity from  cloud-based YuniquePLM®and AccuMark®2D/3D software solutions sending data to Industry 4.0 enabled GERBERcutter® Z1or Gerber Paragon® cutter to power efficient on-demand or mass production processes. To sustain this model of transformation, Gerber recently patented two solutions which provide unique advantages for an on-demand digital print workflow. Within its industry leading AccuMark software, they have patented a unique ICC color profile to ensure design integrity through the print process. Secondly, Gerber’s latest concept, PrintSync™, is a device which allows a hands-free and continuous workflow from printing through the final cut parts, synchronizing the material from any digital printer to the speed of the cutter.

“Our collaboration with Stephanie shows how an end-to-end solution is just the beginning of how Gerber can help brands and manufacturers transform into agile organizations and meet the on-demand challenge,” said Ketty Pillet. Gerber plans to continue to demonstrate how its suite of end-to-end solutions support agility from design to production workflows with the opening of its Innovation Center in New York City scheduled later this year.

Posted May 28, 2019

Source: Gerber Technology

STAMFORD, Conn. — May 28, 2019 — Atlantic Street Capital, a private equity firm targeting entrepreneurial businesses poised for the next level of growth, announced today the sale of Alex Apparel Group, Inc., a branded designer of better priced social dresses and separates under the brand name ALEX EVENINGS, to Versa Capital Management LLC.

Under Atlantic Street Capital’s ownership, the company established a stronger connection with its consumer base and retail partners. The company experienced dramatic growth by broadening its distribution and dramatically increasing its ecommerce business. In addition, after recruiting Colleen Kelly as CEO Atlantic Street Capital completed the acquisition of SL Fashions Group, a leading designer of moderate priced social dresses and separates. The acquisition led to entry into new markets across the entire value-priced segment of social occasion eveningwear and important new sales channels, including e-commerce, specialty chains, and boutiques.

Colleen Kelly, CEO of Alex Apparel, commented on the company’s transition, stating, “Our brands, ALEX EVENINGS and S.L. FASHIONS have become leaders in the dress market due to our classic designs, excellent quality, and great price value. We are proud of what our entire team has accomplished and we look forward to becoming part of Versa Capital, who will help us continue our great momentum.”

Peter Shabecoff, managing partner of Atlantic Street Capital, said: “We acquired a leading brand that was well established in its core channels that we knew had tremendous further potential. Colleen and her team did an outstanding job in broadening the business, in particular building the e-commerce wholesale channel from virtually zero to today which accounts for approximately one-third of the business. We are very pleased with the outcome of this investment and our involvement in helping build this brand to last another 30 years and beyond.”

Lincoln International served as financial advisors to Atlantic Street Capital and Kramer Levin provided legal counsel.

Posted May 28, 2019

Source: Atlantic Street Capital

MONTREAL — May 27, 2019 — Call It Spring is excited to announce it’s gone fully vegan. Beginning with the 2019 Spring collection, the global brand’s entire collection of shoes, handbags, and other accessories will now, and always be free from animal materials and derivatives. As part of Call It Spring’s brand promise to ‘create a better tomorrow, together,’ moving to a fully vegan collection is a natural next step for the brand, providing options for customers who want to both look stylish and purchase with purpose.

“We’re extremely proud to offer the same on-trend and affordable options as always, but now with the added benefit of our shoes, accessories, and handbags being completely animal-free,” said Alyssa Whited, global marketing director of Call It Spring. “This is more than a single collection or product offering. It is a key step in Call It Spring’s brand promise to create a better tomorrow, together. We wanted to make it easier for our customers to shop for affordable, animal-friendly options, and to feel good about their choices, without compromising on style. For this reason, we have gone fully vegan without increasing our prices. While we are happy with this most recent step within our journey towards a better future, we also recognize that we still have work to do and are working on exciting sustainability initiatives to come later this year.”

While the majority of Call It Spring products were already 90 per cent vegan, changing the remaining 10 percent of materials and sourcing for a global fashion brand required considerable planning. Speaking about the transition to vegan, Monia Atijas, vice president of Product and Brand at Call It Spring explained “This has been a journey for Call It Spring. The first step, deciding to make vegan fashion more accessible for our customers, was an obvious one. We then had to conduct a thorough assessment of all products, identify what materials and components needed to be replaced, develop a vegan policy that outlined what materials were no longer permitted, and devise steps to ensure all products would be entirely free from animal materials or derivatives. Our partners and suppliers have been with us throughout this journey and we’re proud to say that now, all Call It Spring shoes, bags and accessories are now entirely free from animal skins, feathers, fur, hair, wool fibres, shells, real silk, and animal-based adhesives or components.”

Customers can now shop for the PETA-Approved Vegan products online and at over 400 stores globally and can identify vegan options by looking for the “V” on the boxes, soles of the shoes, and on product pages online. In order to responsibly move previous, non-vegan inventory, the brand is currently doing some spring cleaning, selling off past-season, non-vegan products at great prices.

As part of the brand’s journey and its recognition that vegan fashion does not always equal sustainable fashion, Call It Spring is also working to improve its sustainability. All Call It Spring packaging is FSC-certified, and as a brand under the ALDO Group, it is a proud member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, and part of the first fashion footwear and accessories company in the world to be certified climate neutral. Call It Spring is continually learning, growing, and innovating to create more environmentally friendly products and its product development teams are currently working on sourcing more sustainable materials for future collections. Stay tuned for their ‘sustainably vegan’ collection later this year.

Posted May 27, 2019

Source: Call It Spring

SCHLIEREN, Switzerland — May 27, 2019 — For 25 years, BUFF® has premiered and innovated the tubular headwear category. Headquartered in Spain, the company was founded to keep warm the founder’s neck and head during his cross-country motorcycle rides. Today, BUFF continues its heritage of quality and reliability of multifunctional headwear.

Just like the first product from BUFF in 1991, the new CoolNet UV+® was developed to keep customers safe and cool from the sun’s dangerous UV rays. Today the fabric is a recycled performance polyester microfiber with HeiQ Smart Temp’s activated cooling technology to keep the wearer cool and comfortable. The fabric also includes UPF 50+ sun protection, offers a 4-way ULTRA stretch weave and is 100-percent seamless for the perfect fit.

“With 25 years of improvements on our BUFF products, we are excited to partner with HeiQ on our CoolNet UV+ to allow our customers to Stay Dry and Feel Cool with this new line of multifunctional headwear”, says Marc Fitó, Innovation Manager at Original Buff, S.A.

HeiQ Smart Temp is an intelligent thermoregulation technology. Cooling is activated by rising body temperature and deactivated once cooling is complete. HeiQ Smart Temp keeps the wearer cooler, dryer and more comfortable.

“HeiQ and BUFF have a shared vision of quality and reliability in our products. With the new CoolNet UV+ fabric, we are pleased that our HeiQ Smart Temp technology will allow the consumer to Stay Dry and Feel Cool”, says Christian von Uthmann, HeiQ’s chief sales Officer.

The BUFF CoolNet UV+ collection is available for purchase at buff.com and buffusa.com.

Posted May 27, 2019

Source: HeiQ Materials AG