TOLLAND, Conn. — March 19, 2019 — Speed and personalization have become the new normal in the fashion industry as consumer trends and expectations shift quickly. Brands, retailers and manufacturers are racing to keep pace as they strive to win the hearts, minds and loyalty of their consumers in an increasingly competitive marketplace. “To create personalized experiences and stay on trend, brands need to improve data analytics and integration across their supply chain,”said Clayton Parker, director of PLM Product Management, Gerber Technology. “With our new YuniquePLM® Version 8, we’ve introduced a new UI, built features based on our customers’ needs, and added integrations to enable our customers to analyze trends and seamlessly pass data across their workflow.”

The latest version of YuniquePLM is part of an aggressive software release schedule Gerber has planned for 2019. Version 8 focuses on functionality, usability, and configuration and includes a new and improved user interface. “The updated UI is a great improvement, along with additional functionalities. The visuals are clean and streamline, moving you through the process quickly. Gerber continues to prove themselves to be forward thinking in their approach to the world of PLM”, said June Evans, director of Technical Design at CC Filson.

Capitalizing on its Cloud platform Version 8 is one of 7 releases of YuniquePLM within the past 12 months which included over 100 new features — many of which are based on direct requests and partnerships with our customers. Here are some of the 30 plus new features in the latest version:

• New, modern interface to maximize the amount of data you see on screen.
• A new functionality called Direct Access allows users to directly open digital assets from YuniquePLM in the software application of their choice. Eliminating the need to download and upload files.
• The new Quick Sample feature allows users to quickly and easily request a sample in a few steps and allows the user to view and manage Virtual Samples with a new Gerber 3D Viewer.
• Better integration with Gerber’s industry-leading AccuMark® software, making it easy to access models and directly launch into AccuMark for further editing during the sample making process.
• Seamless integration with True Fit’s Fashion Genome™, the industry’s most comprehensive data collection that helps consumers choose the right fit every time.

“We know our customers are facing incredible demands to balance speed and creativity.” continued Parker. “With our new UI and functionality like Direct Access, we focused on eliminating unnecessary and time-consuming steps. Additionally, our Cloud platform and SaaS model allows us to continuously deploy new features every couple of weeks, so our customers are continually getting the latest version without paying any additional fees.”

To ensure users have an ideal experience during Gerber’s aggressive product launch roadmap, the company has also focused on expanding its comprehensive online and in-person training through their training platform, Gerber University. Gerber University includes industry and product specific training to support users across Gerber’s entire suite of solutions.

Posted March 19, 2019

Source: Gerber Technology

PARIS — March 19, 2019 —  Lectra announces the opening of its Innovation Lab, created by Philippe Ribera, vice president Innovation, Lectra. The Innovation Lab is located in the heart of the company’s technological campus in Bordeaux-Cestas.

The mission of Lectra’s Innovation Lab is to capture emerging trends, anticipate evolutions and enhance its future technological solutions. The breakthrough innovations resulting from this work are aimed at the fashion, automotive and furniture markets.

For Lectra, disruptive innovation cannot be conceived in isolation. The teams in the Innovation Lab work in collaboration with the organizations in their ecosystem: start-ups, research centers, customers and Lectra employees. Everyone can be invited to create a visual model during a design sprint or participate in an idea generation workshop. The first innovations resulting from these collaborations will serve the fashion industry. A strong principle guides the work of the teams: to rethink the entire value chain of this industry— brands, manufacturers, distributors—as it relates at each stage to the final consumer. This is reflected in various proof of concept (POC) demonstrations developed within the Innovation Lab. Thus, for brands, key aspects of creation or product development are reinvented through solutions based on innovative technologies. And for manufacturers, an augmented reality tool has been developed to support cutter maintenance.

The Innovation Lab’s work on types of fabric and body measurements has also accelerated the Digtex project. This project, which focuses on the digitalization of textile development, was launched by Lectra and the Centre Européen des Textiles Innovants (CETI), as well as the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Industries Textiles (ENSAIT). It is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. This research, inspired by the issues faced by Lectra’s customers, aims to provide them with practical and innovative solutions, enabling them, for example, to involve the end consumer in the creation of customized clothing or to strengthen the traceability of clothing.

“Innovation, particularly disruptive innovation, implies a real cultural transformation within the company. One cannot simply will it into existence. The Innovation Lab teams have understood this well: they are making tangible advances in strengthening Lectra’s and our employees’ commitment to follow this path and lead our customers toward success,” said Véronique Zoccoletto, chief transformation officer, Lectra.

Posted March 19, 2019

Source: Lectra

NEW YORK CITY — March 18, 2019 —  The Fashion Institute of Technology’s FIT/Infor DTech Lab today announced a partnership with OnPoint Manufacturing (OPM) that will lay the groundwork for the college to launch its own branded lines of apparel and accessories. FIT will develop a brand and a series of labels designed, marketed, and retailed by students and manufactured using OnPoint’s innovative fit personalization technologies and supply chain strategies.

This FIT brand will reflect the creative and intellectual capital of FIT, and will be executed with a wearable avant-garde aesthetic that includes two collections of women’s wear, one targeted at a luxury market and the other a mid-market consumer.

OnPoint’s Unique.Fashion platform will act as the marketplace for students working on the project from FIT’s Fashion Design, Technical Design, Fashion Business Management, Textile Development and Marketing, Advertising and Marketing Communications, and Communication Design programs. They will conceptualize, develop, and sell designs using innovative technology that better assures high-quality results in garment personalization using age, weight, and height without measurements, photographs, or scanners.

The partnership creates the opportunity for students to explore developments in technology that offer the potential to reduce waste and costly overdevelopment while improving the industry’s sustainability profile through the employment of on-demand manufacturing.

“This new paradigm will provide students, brands, and designers a revolutionary fashion value chain, in an innovative learning environment,” said Michael Ferraro, executive director, FIT/Infor Design and Technology Lab. “This partnership will engage faculty and students as they research the impact of emerging technology for on-demand, personalized fashion and apparel products.”

Details about the partnership, the development of FIT’s new branded merchandise, and the tools being implemented for the project will be announced and discussed at an event on March 28 from 4:00 pm-7:00 pm at the FIT IT/Infor DTech Lab at FIT, 227 West 27th Street, New York, NY.

Posted March 18, 2019

Source: Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)