PARIS and LONDON — April 3, 2012 — Lectra, the world leader in integrated technology solutions
dedicated to industries using soft materials — textiles, leather, industrial fabrics and composite
materials — and WGSN — the world’s leading trend forecaster — are pleased to announce a new global
partnership.
Several events to unveil the partnership are planned over the next few months, starting with
London in May.
For many apparel and fashion companies, trend research and design development often don’t
work together as closely as they should, nor are they fully integrated with the rest of the product
development process. A process gap occurs as a result, meaning teams can’t leverage coherent
creative, technical, and production knowledge across the development cycle.
Lectra and WGSN stress that the best way to bridge this gap is with more open and efficient
information sharing made possible by a strong foundation of technology and expertise. Together, the
two companies will offer best practices to build a more streamlined and collaborative workflow
between trends, design, and development.
“As market-leading brands in our respective sectors, WGSN and Lectra are natural partners. As
the many customers we share know, WGSN and Lectra have a common mission-to improve efficiency
through innovative technology systems and inspiration-right across the product development cycle.
But this partnership isn’t just about shared values. Together it will enable WGSN and Lectra to
deliver uniquely powerful and exclusive new content and technology tools that will add value for
current and future customers of both businesses worldwide,” says Julie Harris, WGSN Global Managing
Director.
Engaging the production knowledge found within most teams to tighten concept and design
development means leaner design, fewer production issues, and an overall faster time to market.
Lectra-WGSN Starter Pack: straight from trend to actionable design
WGSN and Lectra customers can look forward to an Autumn Winter 2013/2014 Womenswear Starter
Pack to be released in May. WGSN will edit macro trends from their AW 13/14 selection to use as the
basis for key looks.
Lectra will develop WGSN’s color and textile inspirations into a complete design package,
including mood and presentation boards; printed, woven, and knitted fabrics; colorway suggestions;
seasonal palettes and production-ready spec information. To really give designers an advantage,
Lectra will also develop flat pattern blocks and 3D prototypes for key looks.
“Design and development have to be efficient from step one,” says Anastasia Charbin,
Marketing Director, Fashion at Lectra. “A production-ready trend and design pack, complete with
patterns and virtual 3D prototypes, gives designers and product developers an enormous advantage.
The ability to visualize style, patterns, color, and texture in 3D cuts their workload enormously.
Having all the technical information behind the creative work means fewer errors when it comes to
production,” she adds.
Starter packs will be a combination of anything from jackets to trousers to dresses.
WGSN subscribers and Lectra customers will then have access to the style-packs, which are
ready for use in Lectra Solutions right away. All designs and 3D virtual prototypes can then be
adapted to express a unique brand identity. With these essentials in hand, design and trend teams
will be able to hit the ground running immediately.
Womenswear trend packs are already available, with a menswear pack in development, and
subsequent seasons as the calendar rolls on.
After the London event on May 2, a second event will take place in New York in July, followed
by Shanghai in the autumn to reveal new trends and their corresponding WGSN/Lectra Starter Packs.
The partnership events are by invitation only.
Posted on April 17, 2012
Source: Lectra