PI Apparel 2017 | Speakers
Data Creation & Management

Esben Raahede Aarøe
Pandora
Denmark
Esben Raahede Aarøe is Product Lifecycle Manager, Group Product - Product Management at PANDORA, a position he has held for the last three years. In this capacity, Esben is responsible for working on the development of processes, organizational interfaces and data & IT infrastructure, as well as the optimization and strengthening of product development cycles throughout the value chain. Before PANDORA, Esben worked for 5 years as a consultant for the engineering industry, developing and optimizing high tech platform based product portfolios.
Evolving Product Development to Support Multi-Dimensional Growth, Agile Operations & Reduced Time to Market
Focus Group - Planning for Future Systems Integrations and Compartmentalising Datasets to Suit
Behind PANDORA is a fascinating story of a small goldsmith shop which, in less than 10 years, turned into a global, well-known full-jewellery brand with an annual revenue on more than €3 billion. To achieve this, PANDORA has optimized structure and processes to support a lean and efficient product development model. With products being developed in a fragmented system across multiple locations, Pandora joins PI Apparel to share how they have rolled out and leveraged a number of initiatives, including PLM, to stabilise and standardise their global operation and in doing so create a scaleable product development process.
This session will discuss:
- What were the drivers behind changing existing product development processes to cater for Pandora's exponential growth?
- Why PLM? - Understanding the roadmap and projected benefits of a PLM tool within design and development
- Overcoming the fragmented challenge of a global product development model across Copenhagen, Milan and Bangkok
- Reorganizing the global teams, reassigning responsibilities and balancing the supply chain to reduce time to market
- Planning for future systems integrations and compartmentalising datasets to suit
- Maximising flow and integration across product, master, consumer and transactional data for a more efficient and consumer-centric development process
In less than 10 years, PANDORA has turned into a global, well-known full-jewellery brand with an annual revenue on more than €3 billion. To achieve this, PANDORA has optimized structure and processes to support a lean and efficient product development model.
With products being developed in a fragmented system across multiple locations, Esben leads a discussion on how, after they turned to and leveraged a number of initiatives including PLM, they are already now planning for future systems integrations with their ERP-system and compartmentalising datasets to stabilise and standardise their global operation and in doing so create a scaleable product development process.

Wilfried Bäuning
Bugatti
Germany
Wilfried Bäuning is the Chief Digital Officer for Bugatti Holding Brinkmann, a position he has held since 2017. Says Wilfried, 'the Digital Transformation means fundamental change for the company itself. Managers, employees and customers need to face new and complex demands and accept the challenges, and those who will deal with the future of their environment (product and markets) and who lead the whole organisation in a transformative direction must attain and develop their Digital expertise.”
GERMAN SPEAKING SESSION: The Supply Chain Goes Digital - Opportunities And Challenges
bugatti is a European fashion brand owned by German-based fashion group bugatti Holding Brinkmann. With a diverse portfolio of brands under its belt, the group offers a wide variety of products ranging from menswear and womenswear to accessories and footwear. The company employs 900 people in its branches in Germany.
In recent years, bugatti invested heavily in the modernization of their brand. Regarding IT investments, bugatti chose Lectra Fashion PLM as a catalyst for its ambitious growth strategy.
In this session, Wilfried Bäuning, Chief Digital Officer at bugatti, discusses the selection, implementation, and validation of PLM software to digitalize and vertically integrate the supply chain, to collaborate efficiently and reduce time to market.
- Which company objectives triggered the PLM project at bugatti?
- How did bugatti implement Lectra Fashion PLM into the entire design-to-production process of all their brands’ product lines?
- What are the major challenges to integrating multiple ERP and CAD systems, as well as external suppliers, in one platform?
- What steps can be taken to ensure that the platform is implemented as quickly as possible with little disruption to business?
- How does technology help bugatti to stay responsive to market trends and consumer demand while managing a diverse portfolio of brands with extensive product ranges?

Carl Borg
GANT AB
Sweden
Carl Borg is GANT's Global IT Director; he reports directly to the company CEO and is a part of the Global Management Team. In this role, Carl has a number of responsibilities including: defining and leading digital transformation and global IT; managing and developing the IT organization globally; leading the day-to-day operational IT and digital management; and planning all IT and digital initiatives and projects.
Focus Group - What Role does PLM Play in Supporting an Enterprise-wide Digital Strategy?
GANT offers premium clothing, accessories and home furnishings for men, women and kids. Today, this major American sportswear lifestyle brand headquartered in Sweden enjoys a global presence in over 70 markets, 750 stores and 4,000 selected retailers and has annual revenues of $1.3 billion.
With ambitions to become the leading lifestyle brand in the world by 2020, GANT decided to adopt a new digital approach across all of its sub-brands. One of it's first steps was to invest in PLM software to improve the product development process but the question becomes what roles can PLM play in developing new ways of working to support a much larger, enterprise-wide digital strategy?
With many companies already setup on PLM and looking to a wider digital strategy, GANT lead a discussion on how PLM can act as a leading building block in paving the way to a digital enterprise.

Olav Fyldeng
Varner
Norway
With 20 years of experience in international project work across the Nordics, Europe, Asia and the United States, Olav has managed the planning and deployment of a number of large scale projects including organizational changes, IT implementations, outsourcing and off-shore work. Today, Olav holds the role Head of Business Applications at Varner and is passionate about driving the retail experience to the next level.
'The Way We Work' - PLM in Supporting Company-wide Collaboration and the Launch of New Brands & Products
Varner is one of Scandinavia's leading apparel groups with 14 brands sold across 8 countries. The company has always prided itself in its close-knit corporate culture and strongly encourages cross-pollination between brands to feed the design, development and launch of new product concepts and new brands.
However, the lack of a standardized model of working and a common language between brands, has meant that this process is not quite as seamless as they would have hoped. By deploying PLM across the company, they hope to commonalize the cultures and working and in doing so more effectively share expert resources to secure new product/brand creation success.
In this session, Olav Fyldeng will discuss:
- Pre-PLM Varner - how was the lack of consistent working models impeding the success of company growth and diversification?
- Exploring Varner's 'The Way We Work' approach to business
- Why PLM specifically and what metrics were used to evaluate and select the right platform for Varner?
- What does the phased implementation look like and how and by who was this formulated?
- The PLM Pilot - why have the Cubus and Dressmann brands been selected?
- PLM and the creation of the A-Z brand
- What have been the cultural implications of a PLM rollout?
- How does PLM fit into the overall ongoing mantra of the company?

Paul Krüsemann
Tom Tailor Group
Germany
Paul Krüsemann joined TOM TAILOR in April 2014 as a Senior Manager of Core Applications. Paul is an experienced IT and Retail professional and has worked for many prestigious companies including Capgemini as a Senior Consultant and INFO AG as a SLA Manager before moving up to an SAP Retail Consultant and process manager.
Reaching Strategic Business Goals - How Can PLM Pave the Way to the Digital Transformation Revolution?
German-based TOM TAILOR GROUP is one of Europe's leading fashion and lifestyle companies who, together with the BONITA brand, offers fashionable clothing, accessories and home textiles serving a full range of age groups from babies through to the over-40 customer category at a medium price point. With a staff of around 6,800 people, the TOM TAILOR GROUP operates approximately 1,330 own retail stores, 2,439 shop-in-shops, around 7,700 multi-label points of sale and is represented in more than 35 countries.
The Group decided to adopt a PLM solution to support the company’s key competitive strategy of systematically analyzing and rapidly implementing fashion trends and responding to consumers’ wishes.
In this session, Paul Krüsemann, Senior Manager Core Applications at TOM TAILOR, will discuss:
- Pre-PLM life at TOM TAILOR – going from 74 legacy systems to a unique platform, a digital revolution
- TOM TAILOR's millennial team and community - why mobile apps and digital technology are critical to supporting modern ways of working
- Understanding the metrics used to evaluate and select the right platform
- Exploring the anatomy of a phased implementation and how it was formulated
- What roles can PLM play in developing new ways of working to support a much larger, enterprise-wide digital strategy?

Christian Schneider
Swarovski
Switzerland
With a background in mechanical engineering and business administration, Christian has spent most of his professional career in the areas of product development, innovation management and project management. He has worked on a variety of product categories including jewellery, accessories, consumer electronics and lighting during his career with Swarovski. Christian worked across many areas of their value chain during his tenures in Austria, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Thailand. With his deep passion for technology he continuously seeks to find new ways how this can be harnessed to re-image business models, customer experiences and operations.
Driving Operational Efficiency by Digitizing the Product Development Chain
After Swarovski established a fully integrated vertical supply chain for their jewelry category from manufacturing to retail, the company embarked on a journey to re-imagine their product development process by harnessing digital technologies.The level of integration required an end-to-end solution to effectively connect the various requirements of manufacturing, design, quality and marketing. Digitizing the product development process has significantly impacted development lead times, manufacturing performance and cost of goods while allowing for new ways to integrate the voice of the customer in the early development stages. Building in these digital capabilities has provided Swarovski with the foundation needed to further leverage new emerging technologies as they mature.
In this session, Christian Schneider, VP of Product Development & Innovation at Swarovski, joins PI Apparel to discuss their digital product creation journey, including:
- Building greater enterprise-wide digital capability
- Implementing industrial design solutions to connect design, engineering and manufacturing
- Creating customized 3D design solutions that cater to the specific needs of the fashion jewelry industry
- Establishing visualization capabilities to improve decision-making and drive voice of the customer integration
- Implementing additive manufacturing as a primary means of prototyping and product support/tooling
- Embedding 3D capabilities into PLM to better connect assets and manage increasing volumes of product metadata
Digital Product Creation

Alexander Artschwager
Deutsche Institute für Textil- und Faserforschung (DITF)
Germany
Alexander Artschwager works in Project Management as a Senior Researcher at the German Institute of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF), where he has worked since 1987 with a specific focus on virtual companies surrounding their product development and cooperations in the textile chain. Alexander is jointly responsible for the conception of the Industry 4.0 activities at the DITF.
The MICROFACTORY - Proof that a Fully Integrated, Automated and Adaptable Workflow Process from Design Concept to Finished Garment is Possible with Digital
Focus Group - Industry 4.0 as a Foundation of Digital Transformation and as a Means of Meeting Consumer Demand
Consumers and their buying behaviors are fickle and ever-changing and yet the antiquated fashion supply chain is rigid and slow. To tackle this, digital technologies have started making more and more of a splash in fashion design, development and production, but the siloed nature of the supply chain still means a lack of the flexibility, agility and adaptability needed. Brands are trying as we can see from our own agenda; companies are adopting more and more digital tools but in a siloed manner, targeting quick-wins only, like virtual sampling and speed to market, thus missing huge gains in ensuring that every product digitally created is commercially produceable from the get go.The Deutschen Institute für Textil- und Faserforschung (DITF), arguably Europe's largest and best-in-class digital technology research institute, is out to change this by milking digitization for all its worth.
By partnering with industry tech and material leaders, the DITF have created the MICROFACTORY, a fully integrated and practical technology workflow model that seamlessly connects and automates each stage from design of concept through to garment manufacture.
In this session, the team will discuss:
- How is the current fashion supply chain model failing to meet the demands of a global consumer base?
- In what ways are digital technologies being underused and undervalued, ultimately meaning loss of prime opportunity for disruption and change
- Building and integrating manufacturability data and requirements into the design process to create an automated and adaptable workflow process
- What impacts does this model have on cost and efficiency?
- In what ways is this process powered almost entirely by data the fashion industry is currently under-using?
- The role of Industry 4.0 as a foundation for digital model success
- Digitally realising your product:
(i) CAD Design creation, cutting and assembly with 3D simulation
(ii) Identifying QR codes and integrating position markers for position detection
(iii) Preparation of design data ready for digital printing, transfer and colour control
(iv) Order and position detection via cameras and tags
(v) Automatic digital cutting in accordance with pre-set parameters
(vi) Ultrasonic welding of individual pieces into a finished product
- In earnest, how will this fully automated and adaptable process impact the future of fashion design and technology?
Most companies approach an investment in Industry 4.0 from the perspective of improved production and flexibility on the factory floor only. In doing so, they are missing out on the added opportunities it offers in redefining how they interact with, and meet the demands of, their consumer community.
Though many have become much better at managing product-related data along the value chain in parallel to collecting retail data at POS, the bridging together of these to-date-siloed datasets has been an area most have failed to yet achieve.
In this session, the DITF team lead a discussion on how an investment in Industry 4.0 can offer more than improved factory floor efficiency and, when leveraged correctly, can give a voice to the consumer, maximising informed product design, development, production and retail experience.

Deborah Beard
Fashion Institute of Technology
USA
Professor Deborah Beard is Associate Chair of Technical Design and a Professor of Technical Design, and Art and Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology. In this capacity, Deborah is responsible for: running, recruiting, and supervision of the entire Technical Design department; revising the curriculum and expanding the pattern making and technical design department; and for all student development and teaching. Deborah wrote the first ever Technical Design book “The Complete Book of Technical Design for Technical and Fashion Designers'' and is an expert in Adobe Illustrator and technical packets, fit and overseas communication.
Panel Discussion - What is Academia Doing to Overcome the Digital Skill Deficit and What Can Industry be Doing to Support Them?
- What are the challenges within academia (technological, systemic, and psychological) to better education around new digital technologies and innovations?
- How can industry best leverage the expertise of academia in exploring and making the transition to new technologies and innovations in the product development process?
- What are the most exciting ways that new technologies can disrupt old habits and thinking, and support better product and more sustainable systems?
- We endeavor to train students for a wide variety of positions yet have to choose what software is best for our budgets. What types of technology are taught in the university setting and why?
- What corresponding skill sets should be provided so that students are prepared for internships/careers?
- How is academia relevant to the world of fit?
- How does academia tackle the integration of different technologies in order to simulate the work flow?
- How does academia seek industry partnerships and how are these fostered/developed?

Safir Bellali
3DRC
USA
With over 25 years of combined experience as an industrial designer and digital innovation leader, Safir has been able to leverage his strategic thinking and creative problem-solving skills to tackle a wide range of innovation challenges. Safir was an early adopter of 3D design and prototyping tools and carried his experience from the automotive world into the fashion and footwear industry. As Head of Innovation for the industry’s leading Action Sports brand, Vans, he oversaw a number of initiatives that spanned across product and experiences. In his most recent role, leading Digital Innovation for VF’s 20+ Apparel, Footwear, and Accessories brands, he was tasked with exploring the opportunities offered by digital tools and workflows and helped imagine the future of Product Creation and Brand Experiences. Safir currently chairs the 3DRC Educational Committee and teaches Design and Advanced Digital Creation while working on an educational project in Morocco, with a mission to bring opportunity in the Design and Innovation space to young creators on the African continent. An advocate of purposeful and responsible design, Safir believes that our society has an incredible opportunity to harness its collective creativity and today’s technological affordances to tackle the world’s social and humanitarian challenges.
Focus Group - Re-inventing Consumer-Product Interaction with a Fully Digital Online Design Experience
Custom shoes have been an integral part of Vans heritage since its founder, Paul Van Doren opened up shop in Anaheim, CA back in 1966. In the early days, Vans offered customers the ability to use their own fabric in the design of their Custom shoes and off the back of that, to celebrate their 50th anniversary Vans built and launched a completely new Customs platform putting new tools of creativity in its followers’ hands. Vans enables users to create a truly one of a kind pair of shoes that utilizes their own images, designs and most importantly imagination.
The new Vans Customs platform cements the brand’s commitment to enabling creative expression and youth culture. It features an industry first, highly interactive 3D configurator, which allows customers to visualize and manipulate their shoe in a photorealistic way. It also allows them to customize up to 19 different styles, selecting from over 95 different colors, prints and materials. In addition to these options, customers can upload their own original artwork and photography to be immortalized on their very own footwear, effectively using the shoes they wear as a canvas for their artwork.
Drawing on this experience, Safir and Alexander lead a discussion on why 3D technology needs to be positioned as a strategic priority, how we should look at what has been done in adjacent industries like automotive, apparel, furniture and gaming, and why now is the most opportune time for investment.

Bill Brewster
Lectra
USA
Bill Brewster is VP & GM, Enterprise Software Solutions for Gerber Technology. Brewster has more than two decades of experience in software, Internet, office equipment, and business services marketing and product management. Before joining Gerber, he served as Vice President, Marketing for Konica Minolta USA, where he was responsible for the development and execution of brand strategies and revenue generating marketing tactics including brand management, advertising, channel marketing, public relations, event management and market research.
Panel Discussion - Standardizing Digital Platforms to Overcome Issues of Systems Interoperability and Data Transfer
- What do you see as the win-win scenario for the industry and the technology partners if interoperability is achieved?
- What does the 3D technology industry see as the biggest challenges to interoperability and what steps need to be taken?
- How does interoperability affect innovation and user experience? (Other industries have been able to overcome that, how could we – is that through standards, open platforms, etc)
- How would interoperability unlock other related technologies to move the industry faster in digital transformation?

Craig Crawford
Crawford IT
UK
For seven years as Burberry’s VP IT Strategy, Architecture, Relationships, Craig Crawford united C-level executives driving Burberry’s digital transformation internally and at retail. As a creative with nearly 30 years experience in global fashion brands, Craig is often referred to as “the right brain of IT.” He makes decisions that change the face of Information Technology driving momentum and growth with improved business connectivity through digital innovation for brands such as Hugo Boss, Jaeger, matchesfashion.com, Diane von Furstenberg, MaxMara, and Tory Burch.
Craig chairs and presents at numerous fashion and retail tech events, where he connects global industry leaders and technology innovators. He advises fashion tech startups in both the UK and US. His articles, videos, and webcasts appear on both sides of the Atlantic. As a guest lecturer for various universities (Marangoni, ISDI, Condé Nast, UaL to name a few), Craig brings industry relevance to the classroom ensuring tomorrow’s workforce is digitally prepared.
Craig enjoys being an Adviser for the charity Apps For Good where young people learn to create and apply technology to change the world through a transformative education program.
What Does it Really Mean to 'Go Digital'?
The Digital tsunami has left many fashion and retail brands feeling washed up and exposed. Join Craig Crawford, London based digital guru and former Burberry IT executive, as he shares insights and lessons from Burberry's transformation as well as the journeys of forward thinking European brands and technology pioneers, including:
- Why is a "me too" approach unhealthy for retail?
- Disruptive valid new business models are threatening retailers every day
- What are we learning from these new models?
- How do we avoid retail schizophrenia?
- Can we anticipate consumer behavioural change?
- What does the new workforce need and expect of us?

Isabel Crosby
CLO Virtual Fashion
USA
Simon Kim is the Chief Strategy Officer of CLO Virtual Fashion, the company behind CLO, the 3D apparel design software transforming the way we design, produce, communicate and consume garments. Venture capitalist turned entrepreneur, Simon has been at the forefront of technological trends, investing and advising technology companies including numerous fashion tech startups in the US and Asia.
Panel Discussion - Standardizing Digital Platforms to Overcome Issues of Systems Interoperability and Data Transfer
- What do you see as the win-win scenario for the industry and the technology partners if interoperability is achieved?
- What does the 3D technology industry see as the biggest challenges to interoperability and what steps need to be taken?
- How does interoperability affect innovation and user experience? (Other industries have been able to overcome that, how could we – is that through standards, open platforms, etc)
- How would interoperability unlock other related technologies to move the industry faster in digital transformation?

Tim Devlin
Yellowjacket Technologies
USA
Tim Devlin is an experienced technologist and is the CEO and co-founder of Yellowjacket Technologies. He has a passion for digital product creation and likes working with companies to help figure out the best strategies and the right technology to unlock their digital value chains. Prior to founding Yellowjacket, Tim was leading the Global 3D practice for TPC and helped to open the Bridgetown Innovation Center in Portland Oregon where he also worked for Columbia Sportswear leading strategy for Digital Product Creation.
Digital Innovation - 3D Prototyping, Body Scanning and Virtual Reality in Action
After an initial 3D Development technology rollout, it is important to consider how one might improve and extend its functionality beyond the product development cycle. Fit, Training, Productivity, and Consumer Experience are all opportunities for innovation with digital assets! Fit for example; by investing in body scanning technology, and integrating virtual avatars into existing 3D software platforms, we can build capabilities that enable improved fit, improved consumer experiences online, improved internal efficiencies, and much more.
This is really the beginning of innovating with digital technology at Columbia Sportswear. With our digital landscape, designing new lines becomes much more efficient, agile, and flexible.
More specifically:
- Columbia's 3D story to date - the what, where, and how
- Why does fit remain one of the most consistent topics within the commercialization process?
- Integrating 3D body scanning technology into existing platforms
- How can these technologies work in parallel? Exploring the benefits and challenges of such an integration
- Additional challenges and successes with driving innovation across the entire landscape
- Pushing beyond the intersection of emerging VR/AR technologies through prototyping

Michael Ernst
HS Niederrhein Mönchengladbach
Germany
Michael Ernst is the Head of the VirLab - Virtual Laboratory - and is the Chairman for textile product development at Niederrhein University with a strong focus on CAD technology used in this field. Michael started his textile career with an apprenticeship as tailor, studied clothing technology and mechanical engineering at the University of Stuttgart, worked at ITV Denkendorf and for different clothing companies before getting appointed as full professor in 2006. Together with his research group, Michael investigates and develops virtual worlds for the clothing industry using various body scanning technologies, all known 2D CAD applications, macro technology, 3D CAD simulation software tools, material detection systems, motion capturing and rendering. His work is aimed at serving industry needs in a highly practical approach but also building up innovative tools and processes that reflect the next generation of product development.
How Digital Platforms are Redefining How Designers Approach & Improve Fit
Panel Discussion - What is Academia Doing to Overcome the Digital Skill Deficit and What Can Industry be Doing to Support Them?
Brands have been approaching product fit the same way for decades and this has never been challenged due to the absence of any sort of revolutionary technology that could change this. That is until 3D.
It is no secret that every brand is struggling with high return rates and poor consumer engagement and that largely falls down to fit. To tackle this, many are investing in virtual dressing rooms and 3D body scanners but whilst the technology offers a massive opportunity to get fit right, the designers using the data continue to approach and segment the body in the same legacy way. But the digital space is not bound in the same way.
In this session, Michael Ernst discusses how if these new tech capabilities use the same paradigms as physical design, nothing will drastically change and design will be limited to where it is now.
More specifically:
- How does 3D transform the science of fit?
- How is the existing fit/design mindset and culture failing the unlocked potential of 3D?
- How can we design better with the technology that is now available
- How are these design tools able to work with fewer uniform mannikins and instead support a model of customization?
- Overcoming the absence of touch in the digital realm
- What are the things we need from the technology to make them more tangible?
- Leveraging new available datasets to deliver a better customer experience, better R&D and an introduction of new content for individuals and/or the mass consumer
- What are the challenges within academia (technological, systemic, and psychological) to better education around new digital technologies and innovations?
- How can industry best leverage the expertise of academia in exploring and making the transition to new technologies and innovations in the product development process?
- What are the most exciting ways that new technologies can disrupt old habits and thinking, and support better product and more sustainable systems?
- We endeavor to train students for a wide variety of positions yet have to choose what software is best for our budgets. What types of technology are taught in the university setting and why?
- What corresponding skill sets should be provided so that students are prepared for internships/careers?
- How is academia relevant to the world of fit?
- How does academia tackle the integration of different technologies in order to simulate the work flow?
- How does academia seek industry partnerships and how are these fostered/developed?

Avihay Feld
Browzwear
Israel
Avihay is a Co-founder of Browzwear and General Manager of Browzwear Israel and in this capacity, is responsible for the vision and delivery of Browzwear’s products. Avihay has over 20 years of experience in managing technology products, and in addition to Browzwear, led start-ups in e-retail and gaming. When he isn’t working, Avihay can be found on an SUP or a bicycle.
Panel Discussion - Standardizing Digital Platforms to Overcome Issues of Systems Interoperability and Data Transfer
- What do you see as the win-win scenario for the industry and the technology partners if interoperability is achieved?
- What does the 3D technology industry see as the biggest challenges to interoperability and what steps need to be taken?
- How does interoperability affect innovation and user experience? (Other industries have been able to overcome that, how could we – is that through standards, open platforms, etc)
- How would interoperability unlock other related technologies to move the industry faster in digital transformation?

Sandra Gagnon
Target
USA
Sandy is the Director of Apparel Innovation and 3D Digital Transformation at Target. Her role in Product Design and Development focuses on the application of 3D software and other emerging technologies to drive apparel development forward. She has over 20 years of experience leading apparel teams in technical design, product development, and sourcing. She is one of the founders of the 3D.RC, (3D Retail Coalition) a collaborative, industry wide group focused on providing direction, resources and networking opportunities to members to unlock and accelerate the value of 3D transformation.
Virtual Reality (VR) Technology - Unlocking the Potential for Product Development
Focus Group - 3D.RC Mission, Goals & Steering Committee
Panel Discussion - Driving the Uniformity of Material Measurements for Accurate Virtual Simulation
VR (Virtual Reality) technology has the power to drive smarter decision making, save time and reduce the costs of product development. Various industries have deployed the technology, but what are the applications for an apparel based company?
In this session, Target will explore VR – what’s being done now and its potential for the future.
Specifically:
- VR is a powerful tool that can be incorporated into the product development process, allowing companies to iterate on styles faster, understand how the customer interacts with the product, and transport users to new experiences with the product
- VR technology unlocks efficiencies for lean design by reducing waste, waiting for samples, and transportation costs
- VR provides increased utilization of 3D virtual assets, while creating a platform for further gains in personalization/customization of product
The 3D Retail Coalition (3D.RC), is a collaborative group of global retailers and brands, working together to advance 3D Technology in lifestyle categories. The group works toward accelerating and unlocking the potential available via 3D visualisation/virtualization, alongside helping members maximise it's impact within their organisations.
The group is open to any retailer/brand currently using (or planning to use) 3D technology.
During this session, delegates are welcome to meet certain members of the Steering Committee to hear the group mission, goals, and priorities.
3D digital platforms have revolutionised the way the industry approaches design and development; whilst the technology has saved companies time and money on prototyping and sampling, it still falls short when it comes to materials simulation based on physical and mechanical properties.
But why is this? It is not the inability of 3D to create the simulations, but the lack of uniformity in how materials are measured across different software systems. These days it is common for companies to work across multiple 3D platforms; material properties are measured either using platform-specific tool kits or general validation systems based on which a simulation is then rendered. But if these measurements are taken within one platform, they often are not compatible with any others so when uploaded, create corrupted algorithms and thus inaccurate virtual representations.
In an ideal world, measurements would be standardized to the point that fabric suppliers can provide a swatch of materials complete with all general properties needed to simulate in all and any 3D environment without ever needing to buy a material sample; but how do we get there?

Ed Gribbin
Alvanon
USA
Ed Gribbin is President of Alvanon, Inc., the retail, apparel and fashion industry’s leading consulting firm. Ed leads Alvanon teams around the globe helping fashion industry clients develop and implement growth strategies and solutions in disciplines ranging from marketing and merchandising to product development and supply chain. Ed is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on apparel sizing and fit and serves numerous global boards dedicated to the success of the retail, apparel and textile sectors.
Panel Discussion - Standardizing Digital Platforms to Overcome Issues of Systems Interoperability and Data Transfer
- What do you see as the win-win scenario for the industry and the technology partners if interoperability is achieved?
- What does the 3D technology industry see as the biggest challenges to interoperability and what steps need to be taken?
- How does interoperability affect innovation and user experience? (Other industries have been able to overcome that, how could we – is that through standards, open platforms, etc)
- How would interoperability unlock other related technologies to move the industry faster in digital transformation?

Raphael Guth
Morph Clothes
UK
Raphael Guth has a BSc in Geochemistry from Imperial College London and hails from a German retail family. He co-founded Morph in 2014 with the mission of using data science to improve how clothing fits and solving the bottleneck of return rates in retail e-Commerce. He is currently the CMO of Morph.
Overturning Traditional Approaches to Fit to Engage & Empower Consumers Both Physically & Psychologically
Until investing his full time and focus into his brand, Niels Thone was a consultant and in this capacity worked alongside a number of fashion brands helping to realise innovation and leverage technology. During this time, Niels noticed an ongoing theme: popular brands were documenting falling levels of consumer engagement whilst return rates, both in store and online, were increasing. This almost always boiled down to poor fit but rather than taking a hard look at redefining base patterns, brands continued to unsuccessfully overcome this with incremental changes to the process.
After extensively researching the current industry fit models, drawing on his own background in consumer psychology, and partnering with his engineering co-founder, Niels has launched Morph Clothes, a brand that overcomes poor fit by challenging the traditional shape and size patterns of the industry, by using body types as the new standard.
In this session, Raphael will discuss:
- How have the base patterns and attitudes towards fit, born out of the military in the 50s, corrupted brands' approach to sizing and shape to this day?
- Why have incremental improvements to the process failed to resolve falling consumer engagement?
- The problem of inconsistent sizing on a global scale - from USA to Japan.
- Understanding the psychology of the consumer and how that ties in with buying patterns and the stereotypes of traditional size grades
- Big data analytics of sizing information gathered globally to create 3 novel shape/size categories: slim, athletic broad
- Why did this approach fail as a b2B venture with traditional brands?
- Assigning each option a heroic archetype from Greek mythology to empower consumers' attitudes and comfort with their respective bracket
- The possibility of adapting this approach to womenswear - the pros and cons.

Christian L Harris
Christian L Harris
USA
Christian has a broad collection of experiences which include high-end womenswear design, menswear design, analog and digital patternmaking, garment design and engineering for extended sizes, 3D virtual sampling for apparel and software product management. Today, Christian is a Senior Technical Design & 3D Lead in athletic apparel. Christian has a BFA in Fashion Design and Marketing and an MFA in Fashion Design. He has earned accolades from publications like Elle, Esquire and Women’s Wear Daily.
3D Virtual Design - Are You Ready to Innovate?
Lessons from a real world implementation
Since their creation in 1989, G-Star’s philosophy has always been, ‘Just the Product.’ This single-minded approach has led to many denim ‘firsts’: the introduction of ‘luxury denim for the streets,’ by fusing high-level craftsmanship with street level edge to create a new denim sector; the positioning of raw, untreated denim as a wearable and desirable material; and the evolution of our distinctive denim silhouette, through the adoption of architectural and 3D thinking into denim construction.
In any workflow that includes 3D, the 2D pattern is the bridge to production. Successful adoption of 3D requires well-planned and reliable 2D pattern data. Now is the time to narrow the divide between 3D and production. With careful and steady implementation, 3D virtual sampling will begin to revolutionize your workflow.
Lesson Learned:
- Start with pattern design - you want to know that you can produce what you see, vs. just a pretty picture
- Start slow – adjust your workflow and expand
- Plan to dedicated time for adoption
- Now is the time to adopt - get started early so you can begin to institute change in your organization
- Track your progress to prove out the benefits

Ingrid Heijnen
G-Star Raw
Netherlands
Ingrid Heijnen is the Manager of Specialist Fit & Construction within G-Star Raw's Atelier Development Centre, a position she has held since 2013. In this capacity, Ingrid oversees the advising, coordination and implementation of improved ways of working with fit, grading, construction, development and production. Ingrid specialises in all things related to correct measurements of the garment on the specified body across a multitude of product categories.
3D Virtual Design - Are You Ready to Innovate?
Lessons from a real world implementation
Since their creation in 1989, G-Star’s philosophy has always been, ‘Just the Product.’ This single-minded approach has led to many denim ‘firsts’: the introduction of ‘luxury denim for the streets,’ by fusing high-level craftsmanship with street level edge to create a new denim sector; the positioning of raw, untreated denim as a wearable and desirable material; and the evolution of our distinctive denim silhouette, through the adoption of architectural and 3D thinking into denim construction.
In any workflow that includes 3D, the 2D pattern is the bridge to production. Successful adoption of 3D requires well-planned and reliable 2D pattern data. Now is the time to narrow the divide between 3D and production. With careful and steady implementation, 3D virtual sampling will begin to revolutionize your workflow.
Lesson Learned:
- Start with pattern design - you want to know that you can produce what you see, vs. just a pretty picture
- Start slow – adjust your workflow and expand
- Plan to dedicated time for adoption
- Now is the time to adopt - get started early so you can begin to institute change in your organization
- Track your progress to prove out the benefits

Jimmy Herdberg
Atacac
Sweden
Jimmy Herdberg is the founder of Kokokaka, a creative studio and producers of digital haute couture. He discovered the world of programming when he was 12 years old and has since then been obsessed by the power of the digital world. Since the beginning of the 21st century Jimmy and his creative team have explored the world between digital and fashion for clients such as Wrangler, Prada, Burberry, Louis Vuitton and Dolce & Gabbana.
Realising Creative Output and Agile Processes from the Digitalization of Fashion Design
Founded by Rickard Lindqvist and Jimmy Herdberg, Atacac is a Swedish-based fashion studio that aims to rethink the way we design, sell, and produce garments. With a background in developing alternative approaches to garment construction, Rickard began complimenting his novel operational ideas with the use of CLO. After having invested in CLO only last year, 3D has transformed the label into a more self-serving, efficient, and agile enterprise, able to bring garment concepts to the consumer much faster and more effectively.
In this session, Rickard and Jimmy will share:
- The Pilot — how 3D renderings have been used to sell to the consumer so garments are not physically manufactured until purchase
- 3D and Pricing — how 3D renderings have helped Atacac develop an alternative pricing model for their consumers
- Becoming More Vertical — a look at the role of 3D in creating an in-house microfactory to deliver a flexible and streamlined process from concept to sale
- Creative opportunities for new digital garment experiences
- The role of digitalization in experimenting with new design and new business models
- How 3D establishes more open-minded approaches to product creation
- Collaboration with Salomon Group — opportunities of 3D in design collaboration and communication with an ongoing design project with Salomon
- Next Steps — the virtual fitting experience

Keith Hoover
Black Swan Textiles, LLC
USA
Keith Hoover, President of Black Swan Textiles, LLC, is a recognized global pioneer in developing and implementing manufacturing-centric product development processes. His expertise spans creative product design through technical manufacturing execution. Prior to the formation of Black Swan Textiles, Mr. Hoover championed Project Glory at the Under Armour Lighthouse, a new model for product development and manufacturing based on virtualization and local-for-local sourcing. He has served in key roles at Ralph Lauren, Fruit of the Loom, Target Corp, Lands’ End, JCPenney and Under Armour.
MetaVertical and the Digital Twin
Imagine a multi-billion dollar industry relying on centuries old technology to drive product development and manufacturing. What if social, economic, and policy changes shook that paradigm down to its very foundation?
This session provides insights on how to solve these challenges by focusing on the emergence of the Digital Twin – the virtual modeling of a physical object that simulates its appearance and performance – as a catalyst to reconstitute an apparel industry historically written off as expendable. The MetaVertical approach uses a manufacturing-centric focus as a lens through which product development systems are built. Together, the Digital Twin with a MetaVertical direction will integrate design and manufacturing requirements so that virtual designs facilitate digital production seamlessly, providing a path to fill the factories of the future.
- Solving the problem vs admiring the problem
- Digitization vs digitalization
- The death of the design season
- Right first-time design
- Local for local manufacturing
Keith Hoover's past experience includes key roles at Ralph Lauren, Fruit of the Loom, Target Corp, Lands’ End, JCPenney, and Under Armour.

Christian Kaiser
Deutsche Institute für Textil- und Faserforschung (DITF)
Germany
Christian Kaiser works in Project Management as a Senior Researcher at the German Institute of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF), where he has worked since 2012 with a specific focus on digital process chains for the garment industry, cooperations within the textile chain and simulation-based assessment of fit for garments.
The MICROFACTORY - Proof that a Fully Integrated, Automated and Adaptable Workflow Process from Design Concept to Finished Garment is Possible with Digital
Focus Group - Industry 4.0 as a Foundation of Digital Transformation and as a Means of Meeting Consumer Demand
Consumers and their buying behaviors are fickle and ever-changing and yet the antiquated fashion supply chain is rigid and slow. To tackle this, digital technologies have started making more and more of a splash in fashion design, development and production, but the siloed nature of the supply chain still means a lack of the flexibility, agility and adaptability needed. Brands are trying as we can see from our own agenda; companies are adopting more and more digital tools but in a siloed manner, targeting quick-wins only, like virtual sampling and speed to market, thus missing huge gains in ensuring that every product digitally created is commercially produceable from the get go.The Deutschen Institute für Textil- und Faserforschung (DITF), arguably Europe's largest and best-in-class digital technology research institute, is out to change this by milking digitization for all its worth.
By partnering with industry tech and material leaders, the DITF have created the MICROFACTORY, a fully integrated and practical technology workflow model that seamlessly connects and automates each stage from design of concept through to garment manufacture.
In this session, the team will discuss:
- How is the current fashion supply chain model failing to meet the demands of a global consumer base?
- In what ways are digital technologies being underused and undervalued, ultimately meaning loss of prime opportunity for disruption and change
- Building and integrating manufacturability data and requirements into the design process to create an automated and adaptable workflow process
- What impacts does this model have on cost and efficiency?
- In what ways is this process powered almost entirely by data the fashion industry is currently under-using?
- The role of Industry 4.0 as a foundation for digital model success
- Digitally realising your product:
(i) CAD Design creation, cutting and assembly with 3D simulation
(ii) Identifying QR codes and integrating position markers for position detection
(iii) Preparation of design data ready for digital printing, transfer and colour control
(iv) Order and position detection via cameras and tags
(v) Automatic digital cutting in accordance with pre-set parameters
(vi) Ultrasonic welding of individual pieces into a finished product
- In earnest, how will this fully automated and adaptable process impact the future of fashion design and technology?
Most companies approach an investment in Industry 4.0 from the perspective of improved production and flexibility on the factory floor only. In doing so, they are missing out on the added opportunities it offers in redefining how they interact with, and meet the demands of, their consumer community.
Though many have become much better at managing product-related data along the value chain in parallel to collecting retail data at POS, the bridging together of these to-date-siloed datasets has been an area most have failed to yet achieve.
In this session, the DITF team lead a discussion on how an investment in Industry 4.0 can offer more than improved factory floor efficiency and, when leveraged correctly, can give a voice to the consumer, maximising informed product design, development, production and retail experience.

Alexis Kantor
Target
USA
Alexis Kantor is Target’s VP of Owned Brand Technical Development and Quality.
She leads multiple teams around the globe, focused on technical design, raw material development, and product quality assurance.
Through collaboration with cross functional teams across the enterprise and continuous innovations in technology, raw material development, body size studies, and construction standards, these teams focus on ensuring quality, fit, function, safety and value for the guest.
Prior to joining Target, Alexis worked for Victoria’s Secret in all aspects of product development including working overseas in Israel for VS/Mast. Alexis graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in Women’s Studies.
As a leader of people, Alexis strives to maintain an environment where challenge is expected and risk is rewarded, where personal and professional achievements are celebrated, and where a balance between professional and personal growth is possible and encouraged.
In addition to responsibilities related to her title, Alexis is involved with multiple business councils at Target. She acts as an advocate for The African American, The Hispanic, and The Women’s Business Council(s), and is a sponsor for the Pride+ Business Council.
Alexis is very active with various local community organizations. She is on the Board of Directors for Family Equality Council and is very actively involved with Avenues for Youth, a local non-profit with national recognition. Her family has been participating as a Host home for LGBT homeless youth for multiple years.
Virtual Reality (VR) Technology - Unlocking the Potential for Product Development
Panel Discussion - What is Academia Doing to Overcome the Digital Skill Deficit and What Can Industry be Doing to Support Them?
Panel Discussion - Standardizing Digital Platforms to Overcome Issues of Systems Interoperability and Data Transfer
Focus Group - 3D.RC Mission, Goals & Steering Committee
VR (Virtual Reality) technology has the power to drive smarter decision making, save time and reduce the costs of product development. Various industries have deployed the technology, but what are the applications for an apparel based company?
In this session, Target will explore VR – what’s being done now and its potential for the future.
Specifically:
- VR is a powerful tool that can be incorporated into the product development process, allowing companies to iterate on styles faster, understand how the customer interacts with the product, and transport users to new experiences with the product
- VR technology unlocks efficiencies for lean design by reducing waste, waiting for samples, and transportation costs
- VR provides increased utilization of 3D virtual assets, while creating a platform for further gains in personalization/customization of product
- What are the challenges within academia (technological, systemic, and psychological) to better education around new digital technologies and innovations?
- How can industry best leverage the expertise of academia in exploring and making the transition to new technologies and innovations in the product development process?
- What are the most exciting ways that new technologies can disrupt old habits and thinking, and support better product and more sustainable systems?
- We endeavor to train students for a wide variety of positions yet have to choose what software is best for our budgets. What types of technology are taught in the university setting and why?
- What corresponding skill sets should be provided so that students are prepared for internships/careers?
- How is academia relevant to the world of fit?
- How does academia tackle the integration of different technologies in order to simulate the work flow?
- How does academia seek industry partnerships and how are these fostered/developed?
- What do you see as the win-win scenario for the industry and the technology partners if interoperability is achieved?
- What does the 3D technology industry see as the biggest challenges to interoperability and what steps need to be taken?
- How does interoperability affect innovation and user experience? (Other industries have been able to overcome that, how could we – is that through standards, open platforms, etc)
- How would interoperability unlock other related technologies to move the industry faster in digital transformation?
The 3D Retail Coalition (3D.RC), is a collaborative group of global retailers and brands, working together to advance 3D Technology in lifestyle categories. The group works toward accelerating and unlocking the potential available via 3D visualisation/virtualization, alongside helping members maximise it's impact within their organisations.
The group is open to any retailer/brand currently using (or planning to use) 3D technology.
During this session, delegates are welcome to meet certain members of the Steering Committee to hear the group mission, goals, and priorities.

Sandra Kuijpers
AMFI
Netherlands
Having started her career in positions managing CAD-CAM departments Sandra realized the transfer from manual into digital pattern drawing; in 1990 at Du Pon & De Bruin and in 2000 at Articles. In 2004 she worked in Germany at Hugo Boss for the Boss Black Woman line. Sandra left the industry in 2005 to teach CAD pattern drawing at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) -Amsterdam Fashion Institute (AMFI). Since 1990 Sandra has worked with Lectra, Assyst, Gerber and CLO3D software, and began researching 3D virtual prototyping in 2007. At AMFI Sandra teaches since 2009 3D virtual garment creation and since 2016 textile measurement required to create digital textiles, as well as the verification between physical | digital textiles. Next to her teaching Sandra is doing a PhD research into novel methods to linking physical | digital textiles at the AUAS Fashion Research and Technology group and the University of Amsterdam. Sandra holds an Master of Philosophy (MPhil) from the University of Manchester, where she researched the correlation between physical and virtual fabric drape created from objective fabric properties, also including: fabric measurement; the correlation between fabric properties and drape; the perception of fabric drape. Sandra has published work based on her studies, as well as on virtual tailoring and has presented in various events on these topics. Sandra is interested in accurate virtual fitting, comprehendible and scalable physical to digital materials, accuracy of the simulated replica and in training students to prepare them for future positions.
Panel Discussion - What is Academia Doing to Overcome the Digital Skill Deficit and What Can Industry be Doing to Support Them?
Panel Discussion - Driving the Uniformity of Material Measurements for Accurate Virtual Simulation
- What are the challenges within academia (technological, systemic, and psychological) to better education around new digital technologies and innovations?
- How can industry best leverage the expertise of academia in exploring and making the transition to new technologies and innovations in the product development process?
- What are the most exciting ways that new technologies can disrupt old habits and thinking, and support better product and more sustainable systems?
- We endeavor to train students for a wide variety of positions yet have to choose what software is best for our budgets. What types of technology are taught in the university setting and why?
- What corresponding skill sets should be provided so that students are prepared for internships/careers?
- How is academia relevant to the world of fit?
- How does academia tackle the integration of different technologies in order to simulate the work flow?
- How does academia seek industry partnerships and how are these fostered/developed?
3D digital platforms have revolutionised the way the industry approaches design and development; whilst the technology has saved companies time and money on prototyping and sampling, it still falls short when it comes to materials simulation based on physical and mechanical properties.
But why is this? It is not the inability of 3D to create the simulations, but the lack of uniformity in how materials are measured across different software systems. These days it is common for companies to work across multiple 3D platforms; material properties are measured either using platform-specific tool kits or general validation systems based on which a simulation is then rendered. But if these measurements are taken within one platform, they often are not compatible with any others so when uploaded, create corrupted algorithms and thus inaccurate virtual representations.
In an ideal world, measurements would be standardized to the point that fabric suppliers can provide a swatch of materials complete with all general properties needed to simulate in all and any 3D environment without ever needing to buy a material sample; but how do we get there?

Dick Laan
Van de Velde
Belgium
Dick Laan studied Applied Mathematics at Delft University in the Netherlands. After finishing his studies he worked at Fokker Aircraft in the Field of Computational Aerodynamics and Multi-Disciplinary Design, before joining the Belgium lingerie manufacturer, Van de Velde, in 2005 where he set up an R&D cell to initiate innovations. Presently, Dick acts as Leader of Innovation Studies, focusing on 3D fit related innovations.
3D in Shortening Development Timelines & Gaining First-Hand Consumer Feedback
Launching a small scale 3D project to set up for long-term success
Van de Velde is a product-driven company with an almost 100-year legacy of quality lingerie craftsmanship in helping shape women's bodies and minds. Renowned for their stellar in-store customer fit and style experience, they began exploring how they might bring that service into the digital age and so turned to 3D.
Fast forward to today, whilst they ultimately felt that 3D was not yet at the stage for efficient fit evaluation, they have realized other benefits since their go-live in March 2017, that have made an investment more than worthwhile.
In this session, the Van de Velde R&D team will discuss:
- In what ways is 3D (not yet) ready for use in effective product visualization and fit evaluation?
- Overcoming cultural push-back - attaining design, sales and marketing buy-in by creating early stage 3D visuals to expedite concept evaluation
- Digitising stylist samples to reduce development time and costs
- How digital prototypes are being used to gain early-stage consumer feedback on new lines
- Developing a long term digital styling and fit strategy to eventually translate fitting services from in-store into the digital realm
- Overcoming incompatibilities between their 7 digital development systems to improve communication and mitigate data and visual corruption

Martin Lades
Avalution
Germany
Martin Lades is the Director of Fashion Product Systems for Human Solutions and is the go-to man when it comes to innovation and extensive tasks. Together with a colleague, Martin is expanding the company's product portfolio for fashion and certainly has the necessary skills having been deeply rooted in the technology and apparel industries now for several years, and having the future-thinking ambitions needed to anchor innovation firmly in the market.
Panel Discussion - Standardizing Digital Platforms to Overcome Issues of Systems Interoperability and Data Transfer
- What do you see as the win-win scenario for the industry and the technology partners if interoperability is achieved?
- What does the 3D technology industry see as the biggest challenges to interoperability and what steps need to be taken?
- How does interoperability affect innovation and user experience? (Other industries have been able to overcome that, how could we – is that through standards, open platforms, etc)
- How would interoperability unlock other related technologies to move the industry faster in digital transformation?

Asaf Landau
Optitex
Israel
Asaf is a seasoned executive in the software field. Prior to leading EFI Optitex, he founded Evolven Software, a venture-backed software startup, and held senior positions at Mercury Interactive (acquired by Hewlett-Packard, $4.5B), including leading business units such as Software as a Service (SaaS) and the Performance Tuning Business Unit. Before Mercury Interactive, Asaf held senior general management and sales and marketing positions at a fashion accessories brand and at a Silicon Valley ERP/CRM consultancy.
A Survival Guide to the New Era in the Apparel Industry
Panel Discussion - Standardizing Digital Platforms to Overcome Issues of Systems Interoperability and Data Transfer
A New Era is beginning for the global apparel industry, where online players and fast fashion companies are turning models on their head, and survival of even the biggest players is not to be taken for granted. Speed is quickly changing from an advantage to a requirement.
Today's session will touch upon the macro-economic shift that is occurring throughout the globe, the new set of critical success factors for leadership in the future, and practical examples for how to drive the changes needed within the design team, product development, and the supply chain; enabling you to influence your company, and your partners.
- What do you see as the win-win scenario for the industry and the technology partners if interoperability is achieved?
- What does the 3D technology industry see as the biggest challenges to interoperability and what steps need to be taken?
- How does interoperability affect innovation and user experience? (Other industries have been able to overcome that, how could we – is that through standards, open platforms, etc)
- How would interoperability unlock other related technologies to move the industry faster in digital transformation?

Sean Lane
A42 Innovations
USA
Sean Lane is the founder of A42 innovations. His recent endeavors included consulting for the largest eTail company in Europe, delivering a foundation for digital product creation (DPC) and a roadmap for the future. Before consulting, Sean was the Head of Product Technologies & Digital Innovation at Columbia Sportswear, where he was responsible for the technologies that supported Product Creation from design through development, sourcing, costing, and quality. Prior to Columbia Sportswear, Sean was with Nike for 15 years where he held several leadership roles in operations and technology, including Director of Product Creation Technology, focused on merchandising and analytics.
Digital Innovation - 3D Prototyping, Body Scanning and Virtual Reality in Action
After an initial 3D Development technology rollout, it is important to consider how one might improve and extend its functionality beyond the product development cycle. Fit, Training, Productivity, and Consumer Experience are all opportunities for innovation with digital assets! Fit for example; by investing in body scanning technology, and integrating virtual avatars into existing 3D software platforms, we can build capabilities that enable improved fit, improved consumer experiences online, improved internal efficiencies, and much more.
This is really the beginning of innovating with digital technology at Columbia Sportswear. With our digital landscape, designing new lines becomes much more efficient, agile, and flexible.
More specifically:
- Columbia's 3D story to date - the what, where, and how
- Why does fit remain one of the most consistent topics within the commercialization process?
- Integrating 3D body scanning technology into existing platforms
- How can these technologies work in parallel? Exploring the benefits and challenges of such an integration
- Additional challenges and successes with driving innovation across the entire landscape
- Pushing beyond the intersection of emerging VR/AR technologies through prototyping

Rickard Lindqvist
Atacac
Sweden
Rickard Lindqvist is a fashion designer and researcher, and together with Jimmy Herdberg, runs the fashion studio Atacac. His research and designs propose new foundations, theories and methods for fashion design and cover blue sky research and applied projects. Rickard was originally trained as a men's tailor, in addition to studying fashion design at the Swedish School of Textiles from where he also holds a PhD in fashion design methodology. Between 2007 and 2011 he ran the eponymous Rickard Lindqvist fashion label. As a consultant he has served clients such as Vivienne Westwood, Nudie Jeans and Salomon.
Realising Creative Output and Agile Processes from the Digitalization of Fashion Design
Founded by Rickard Lindqvist and Jimmy Herdberg, Atacac is a Swedish-based fashion studio that aims to rethink the way we design, sell, and produce garments. With a background in developing alternative approaches to garment construction, Rickard began complimenting his novel operational ideas with the use of CLO. After having invested in CLO only last year, 3D has transformed the label into a more self-serving, efficient, and agile enterprise, able to bring garment concepts to the consumer much faster and more effectively.
In this session, Rickard and Jimmy will share:
- The Pilot — how 3D renderings have been used to sell to the consumer so garments are not physically manufactured until purchase
- 3D and Pricing — how 3D renderings have helped Atacac develop an alternative pricing model for their consumers
- Becoming More Vertical — a look at the role of 3D in creating an in-house microfactory to deliver a flexible and streamlined process from concept to sale
- Creative opportunities for new digital garment experiences
- The role of digitalization in experimenting with new design and new business models
- How 3D establishes more open-minded approaches to product creation
- Collaboration with Salomon Group — opportunities of 3D in design collaboration and communication with an ongoing design project with Salomon
- Next Steps — the virtual fitting experience

Christiane Luible
Kunstuniversität Linz
Austria
Christiane Luible is a university professor and heads the Fashion & Technology department at Kunstuniversität Linz. After an apprenticeship as a tailor, Christiane studied Fashion Design and in 2000, developed her first virtual fashion show as her diploma thesis. Having worked with various apparel companies in Germany and the US, Christiane wrote her PhD thesis at the Miralab University of Geneva on the simulation of fabrics and clothes. She published several papers on this topic, gave speeches at Siggraph and collaborated on large European Clothing Research Projects such as E-Tailor, Leapfrog and Haptex. Today her main field of interest is practice-led design research for fashion design. She focuses on 3D modelling and virtual simulation of clothing as well as the influence of digital media on the process of fashion design.
Panel Discussion - What is Academia Doing to Overcome the Digital Skill Deficit and What Can Industry be Doing to Support Them?
Panel Discussion - Driving the Uniformity of Material Measurements for Accurate Virtual Simulation
- What are the challenges within academia (technological, systemic, and psychological) to better education around new digital technologies and innovations?
- How can industry best leverage the expertise of academia in exploring and making the transition to new technologies and innovations in the product development process?
- What are the most exciting ways that new technologies can disrupt old habits and thinking, and support better product and more sustainable systems?
- We endeavor to train students for a wide variety of positions yet have to choose what software is best for our budgets. What types of technology are taught in the university setting and why?
- What corresponding skill sets should be provided so that students are prepared for internships/careers?
- How is academia relevant to the world of fit?
- How does academia tackle the integration of different technologies in order to simulate the work flow?
- How does academia seek industry partnerships and how are these fostered/developed?
3D digital platforms have revolutionised the way the industry approaches design and development; whilst the technology has saved companies time and money on prototyping and sampling, it still falls short when it comes to materials simulation based on physical and mechanical properties.
But why is this? It is not the inability of 3D to create the simulations, but the lack of uniformity in how materials are measured across different software systems. These days it is common for companies to work across multiple 3D platforms; material properties are measured either using platform-specific tool kits or general validation systems based on which a simulation is then rendered. But if these measurements are taken within one platform, they often are not compatible with any others so when uploaded, create corrupted algorithms and thus inaccurate virtual representations.
In an ideal world, measurements would be standardized to the point that fabric suppliers can provide a swatch of materials complete with all general properties needed to simulate in all and any 3D environment without ever needing to buy a material sample; but how do we get there?

Magdalena Maczkowski
Audi Business Innovation GmbH
Germany
PI Keynote - How Can Augmented and Virtual Reality Technologies Disrupt & Revolutionise Product Creation & Consumer Engagement?
Audi Business Innovation GmbH is responsible for the development, marketing, sales and running of innovative concepts, products and services for the VW Group's mobility, energy and customer IT solutions sectors. Thomas Zuchtriegel has been responsible for Audi City and the Audi VR experience at Audi AG and is now head of AR/VR process and technology at Audi Business Innovation GmbH.
Today VR/AR applications are fascinating consumers as they unlock new, immersive experiences. As the technology matures, these experiences will create new opportunities and value for both consumers and businesses.
In this session Magdalena will explain the future of digital at Audi and why and how AR/VR are a part of it. You will get insights into the opportunities and challenges of VR/AR conception, development and rollout as experienced with the Audi VR experience. Beyond this part, she will share Audi’s learnings as part of the AR/VR industry, provide an outlook into the content strategy and tell you about first ideas and final feedback regarding customer engagement and business value.

Evridiki Papachristou
Technical University of Crete
Greece
Dr. Evridiki Papachristou is a devoted fashion engineer with a research focus in the effective integration of 3D virtual prototyping in the apparel industry. Starting as a CAD systems trainer and later as a fashion designer, she left the industry to teach CAD pattern drawing and principles of body metrics at the Clothing Science & Technology Department (TEI of Central Macedonia). For the last 17 years she has been working with Optitex, Lectra, Gerber, Browzwear, ComputerLife and Polypattern in order to bridge the gap between education and the fashion industry. Her recent Ph.D is a unique blend of fashion and engineering, trying to explore new ways of implementing and adopting new technologies like 3D and PLM. She is currently a research associate at the Technical University of Crete on Artificial Intelligence applications in the fashion product development process.
Panel Discussion - What is Academia Doing to Overcome the Digital Skill Deficit and What Can Industry be Doing to Support Them?
- What are the challenges within academia (technological, systemic, and psychological) to better education around new digital technologies and innovations?
- How can industry best leverage the expertise of academia in exploring and making the transition to new technologies and innovations in the product development process?
- What are the most exciting ways that new technologies can disrupt old habits and thinking, and support better product and more sustainable systems?
- We endeavor to train students for a wide variety of positions yet have to choose what software is best for our budgets. What types of technology are taught in the university setting and why?
- What corresponding skill sets should be provided so that students are prepared for internships/careers?
- How is academia relevant to the world of fit?
- How does academia tackle the integration of different technologies in order to simulate the work flow?
- How does academia seek industry partnerships and how are these fostered/developed?

Tobias Rausch
X-Rite Pantone
Switzerland
Tobias Rausch is responsible for the world-wide product and market management of X-Rite Pantone’s new Total Appearance Capture (TAC) technology. Rausch has been with X-Rite for 8 years and is based at X-Rite’s European Headquarters in Regensdorf, Switzerland. For the last 16 years he has been deeply involved in the development of color and appearance measurement solutions in different positions. He graduated in printing engineering at the Stuttgart Media University and holds a PhD from the University of Arts in London.
Think Tank - Why Virtual Reality is Becoming the Reality of Product Design and Development
We’ve been using 3D rendering as part of the fabric and garment design and development process for some time now. But as we lack the ability to virtually present the physical truth of garment, shoe or other, design has been a barrier to minimizing the costly and time-consuming need to create and ship physical mock-ups and samples around the globe.
What if you could actually represent the physical truth of your product without ever making a physical sample? What if the specification of both color and appearance were detailed enough to allow manufacturers to begin producing products based on a visually accurate 3D rendering that takes into account both color and appearance – from any angle from which an observer might view it? What if that 3D rendering is accurate enough that it can be used instead of expensive photo shoots for ecommerce, packaging and point-of-sale materials? What if you could quickly and easily modify the garment or shoe to show different colors, finishes, textures and more?
X-Rite and Pantone have long been known as experts in the art and science of color. Now they are turning their attention to adding appearance expertise as well, and partnering with a large variety of industry players to make this new technology available in an end-to-end ecosystem.
In this Think Tank, we will explain the future of color and appearance, why both are important and how VR can revolutionize the product design and development process. We’ll inspire participants to think about how this type of technology could be applied in their own businesses, and what the impact might be.
Whether it is fabric or garment design, coming up with the next hot sports shoe, virtual fittings for fast fashion, better communication with a globally disparate supply chain, or any of the myriad of other challenges facing the apparel industry, we think the future lies in VR and we think we might know how to get there.

Audrey Renard
Decathlon
France
Audrey Renard works within the 3D Model Making team at Decathlon, a position she has held for the last 3 years. In this capacity, Audrey spends half of her time as a modelist and the other half on the company's 3D project, specifically coaching and training the 3D user team and promoting 3D's potential to the company's numerous brands. Before Decathlon, Audrey worked for Promod, a French company specialising in womenswear as a Pattern Maker for 6 years.
The Power of 3D - Working within a Digital Network to Expedite the Design Process
Founded in 1976, Decathlon is a French sports equipment manufacturer that today retails in 44 countries around the world. Their mantra is to offer sports equipment to everyone, everywhere and at the best price.
This year Decathlon was voted in as the best company to work at thanks to a combination of team spirit and innovative creation. As part of this innovative transformation, Decathlon has been developing internal 3D capabilities over the last 3 years with a specific focus on opportunities across their 20-brand apparel offering.
In this session, Audrey will discuss:
- The history of 3D within Decathlon
- How was 3D piloted at Decathlon? - lessons and opportunities learnt from 3D in their simplest brand offering
- How has 3D been leveraged across product modelling, design, development and merchandising processes to date?
- Who have Decathlon determined to be the 3D user community and why?
- Understanding the short and long term benefits of a 3D investment
- Standardising product development across all 20 brands with 3D
- What next for 3D at Decathlon? - extending 3D capability to manage in-store product merchandising and maximise online consumer experience

Philippe Ribera
Lectra.
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Philippe Ribera has extensive and diverse experience in strategic marketing, product marketing, and management across multicultural environments as well as international business development and consultancy for B2B solutions in Europe, North America and Asia. He has a deep understanding of the soft-goods and retail supply chain and after a few years as a consultant at Kurt Salmon Associated (KSA), he joined Lectra as Regional Managing Director. Despite leaving to launch his own consulting company that specialized in part-time management support to SMBs, he returned to Lectra in 1996 focusing on strategic marketing, key account management and consulting. Since then, Philippe has held a number of executive positions in different countries including Morocco, Portugal, and the United States; since 2017 Philippe has acted as Vice President of Innovation.
Panel Discussion - Standardizing Digital Platforms to Overcome Issues of Systems Interoperability and Data Transfer
- What do you see as the win-win scenario for the industry and the technology partners if interoperability is achieved?
- What does the 3D technology industry see as the biggest challenges to interoperability and what steps need to be taken?
- How does interoperability affect innovation and user experience? (Other industries have been able to overcome that, how could we – is that through standards, open platforms, etc)
- How would interoperability unlock other related technologies to move the industry faster in digital transformation?

Abinash Sahoo
Target
Hong Kong
https://www.linkedin.com/in/abinash-sahoo-350b2a25/
Panel Discussion - Driving the Uniformity of Material Measurements for Accurate Virtual Simulation
3D digital platforms have revolutionised the way the industry approaches design and development; whilst the technology has saved companies time and money on prototyping and sampling, it still falls short when it comes to materials simulation based on physical and mechanical properties.
But why is this? It is not the inability of 3D to create the simulations, but the lack of uniformity in how materials are measured across different software systems. These days it is common for companies to work across multiple 3D platforms; material properties are measured either using platform-specific tool kits or general validation systems based on which a simulation is then rendered. But if these measurements are taken within one platform, they often are not compatible with any others so when uploaded, create corrupted algorithms and thus inaccurate virtual representations.
In an ideal world, measurements would be standardized to the point that fabric suppliers can provide a swatch of materials complete with all general properties needed to simulate in all and any 3D environment without ever needing to buy a material sample; but how do we get there?

Ram Sareen
TUKATECH, INC
USA
In his 47 years in the garment industry, Ram Sareen has worn hats as diverse as the business itself. In addition to being the top expert in bra manufacturing, he is also well-versed in the complexities of men’s suit tailoring, and everything in between. Sareen’s extensive and storied history can be characterized with one word: disruptive. In fact, his mantra has always been, “Change is constant, growth is optional.” Sareen has demonstrated this philosophy and expertise in his invaluable work as a consultant for retailers, brands, and manufacturers. Now it is ingrained in the very DNA of Tukatech, the fashion software company he founded in 1995, and the leader in innovative technology for the apparel industry.
Panel Discussion - Standardizing Digital Platforms to Overcome Issues of Systems Interoperability and Data Transfer
- What do you see as the win-win scenario for the industry and the technology partners if interoperability is achieved?
- What does the 3D technology industry see as the biggest challenges to interoperability and what steps need to be taken?
- How does interoperability affect innovation and user experience? (Other industries have been able to overcome that, how could we – is that through standards, open platforms, etc)
- How would interoperability unlock other related technologies to move the industry faster in digital transformation?

Dominic Sluiter
Stitch
Netherlands
Dominic Sluiter leads PVH-backed startup STITCH, building software products & transformation services that enable fashion brand to scale their digital value chain with 3D capabilities. STITCH started its journey with the 3D transformation at Tommy Hilfiger & Calvin Klein and is now moving beyond PVH.
Panel Discussion - Driving the Uniformity of Material Measurements for Accurate Virtual Simulation
3D digital platforms have revolutionised the way the industry approaches design and development; whilst the technology has saved companies time and money on prototyping and sampling, it still falls short when it comes to materials simulation based on physical and mechanical properties.
But why is this? It is not the inability of 3D to create the simulations, but the lack of uniformity in how materials are measured across different software systems. These days it is common for companies to work across multiple 3D platforms; material properties are measured either using platform-specific tool kits or general validation systems based on which a simulation is then rendered. But if these measurements are taken within one platform, they often are not compatible with any others so when uploaded, create corrupted algorithms and thus inaccurate virtual representations.
In an ideal world, measurements would be standardized to the point that fabric suppliers can provide a swatch of materials complete with all general properties needed to simulate in all and any 3D environment without ever needing to buy a material sample; but how do we get there?

Alexander Thomas
VF Corporation
Hong Kong
Alex Thomas is the Vice President of Manufacturing Excellence and Technical Services at VF. He has spent his professional life between Europe and Asia working with various brands and retailers. In the 1990's, Alex was based in Switzerland, India, Denmark and London working with various European fashion brands. In 2002, Alex moved to China to work with K-Swiss where he led the company's portfolio of brands in China and SE Asia in many functions from Design and Development through to Operations, Production and Quality over a 10 year period. In 2012, Alex joined VF Asia in Hong Kong, where he is currently based leading the Engineering teams and VF's 3rd Way program.
Focus Group - Re-inventing Consumer-Product Interaction with a Fully Digital Online Design Experience
Custom shoes have been an integral part of Vans heritage since its founder, Paul Van Doren opened up shop in Anaheim, CA back in 1966. In the early days, Vans offered customers the ability to use their own fabric in the design of their Custom shoes and off the back of that, to celebrate their 50th anniversary Vans built and launched a completely new Customs platform putting new tools of creativity in its followers’ hands. Vans enables users to create a truly one of a kind pair of shoes that utilizes their own images, designs and most importantly imagination.
The new Vans Customs platform cements the brand’s commitment to enabling creative expression and youth culture. It features an industry first, highly interactive 3D configurator, which allows customers to visualize and manipulate their shoe in a photorealistic way. It also allows them to customize up to 19 different styles, selecting from over 95 different colors, prints and materials. In addition to these options, customers can upload their own original artwork and photography to be immortalized on their very own footwear, effectively using the shoes they wear as a canvas for their artwork.
Drawing on this experience, Safir and Alexander lead a discussion on why 3D technology needs to be positioned as a strategic priority, how we should look at what has been done in adjacent industries like automotive, apparel, furniture and gaming, and why now is the most opportune time for investment.

Lien Van de Velde
Van de Velde
Belgium
Lien Van de Velde is Project Manager within the Van de Velde R&D team. She has been with the Belgian lingerie company since 2007 in various capacities of product development and design. Passionate about the company’s heritage and eager to explore innovative product design and consumer services, she rallies cross functional teams to support diverse R&D projects. Most recently she developed a chatbot/digital lingerie advisor and a small scale 3D consumer feedback platform.
3D in Shortening Development Timelines & Gaining First-Hand Consumer Feedback
Launching a small scale 3D project to set up for long-term success
Van de Velde is a product-driven company with an almost 100-year legacy of quality lingerie craftsmanship in helping shape women's bodies and minds. Renowned for their stellar in-store customer fit and style experience, they began exploring how they might bring that service into the digital age and so turned to 3D.
Fast forward to today, whilst they ultimately felt that 3D was not yet at the stage for efficient fit evaluation, they have realized other benefits since their go-live in March 2017, that have made an investment more than worthwhile.
In this session, the Van de Velde R&D team will discuss:
- In what ways is 3D (not yet) ready for use in effective product visualization and fit evaluation?
- Overcoming cultural push-back - attaining design, sales and marketing buy-in by creating early stage 3D visuals to expedite concept evaluation
- Digitising stylist samples to reduce development time and costs
- How digital prototypes are being used to gain early-stage consumer feedback on new lines
- Developing a long term digital styling and fit strategy to eventually translate fitting services from in-store into the digital realm
- Overcoming incompatibilities between their 7 digital development systems to improve communication and mitigate data and visual corruption

Alan Wragg
Tesco PLC
UK
After getting a degree in Pure Chemistry, Alan joined M&S and immediately re-trained as a Fabric Tech at Leeds University. Alan worked in the M&S head office for 6 years before taking up an opportunity to run an M&S supplier buying office in Hong Kong. He ended up working for 3 different buying offices in Asia before joining Tesco Sourcing in Hong Kong in 1999. After expanding the Tesco sourcing base to 8 buying offices in Asia (as well as Istanbul), Alan returned back to UK in 2005 and has been F&F Tech Director ever since.
3D Virtual Prototyping to Better Manage Fit and Shape Consistency Across Styles & Suppliers
F&F is the clothing branch of UK supermarket chain Tesco which in 2013 boasted a turnover of $120 billion. F&F pride themselves on value for money, ethically-sourced fabrics, being on-trend and today, offering perfect fit despite the size. F&F sources from over 27 countries and now retails in 23 countries including the USA.
The problem they were facing was that consumers visiting a supermarket often want a speedy and convenient experience and do not want to spend time trying clothes on in-store nor having to return items. Instead, they want to enter the store knowing that in Tesco they are a size 12 and as such, anything in that size should, for the most part, fit with no issue.
It was clear that if they wanted to compete in fast fashion and wanted to engage consumers globally both in-store and online, that they needed to invest in a technology that would better control fit and quality across every style and supplier.
In this session Alan Wragg will discuss:
- Bringing pattern-making in-house to gain control and improve communications with suppliers
- The need for flexibility in the way F&F tackles samples and prototypes to meet the demands of a diverse consumer base
- Deploying 3D virtual prototyping tools to create an almost perfect sample before even ordering a metre of cloth
- Reducing time from buying trip to fit-approved samples to a matter of 2 weeks and time to market to 4 weeks
- Conducting annual fit reviews across every department to translate changes in consumer shape and behaviour into product creation
- Reducing online return rates to ~14% versus the average retailer rate of ~25%
- How is 3D allowing for global collaboration across multiple suppliers in multiple geographies
- Ensuring size X IS size X 99% of the time, boosting customer satisfaction and experience
Innovation

Stephane Boivin
Pivot88
Hong Kong
With over 20 years of experience in the supply chain industry, Stéphane clearly understands the challenges involved in end-to-end manufacturing. The idea of developing Pivot88 came out of his own experience in the supply chain, and in particular on remote quality management and supply chain optimization. During his career, Stéphane held several executive positions at various companies including Toyota Industrial Group of Company, Deloitte Consulting and Ryder Logistics, and spent over 14 years working in China within Quality Management processes. Today with Pivot88 his focus is on helping companies overcome quality management challenges through the use of emergent technologies providing visibility into the most vulnerable and riskiest parts of the supply chain – within suppliers. Stéphane holds an MBA from UQAM University and is a certified professional logistician from the Canadian Logistics Institute.
5 Reasons Why Digitizing Quality Should be Top of your Priority List in 2018
Customers' quality focus is shifting and now manufacturing excellence is a must for market leaders; procurement and quality management must be part of this shift. In this session, Pivot88 will present the Quiksilver story of how they have re-thought traditional concepts of quality control with the disruptive opportunities offered by new and emerging technology.
- Gaining added efficiency by moving from a model of reaction to pro-action and prediction
- Capturing data at the source to help ensure compliance and the closing of the supply chain loop
- Building better partnerships with suppliers through collaborative innovation
- Learning from business cases of different industries

Paul Fowler
Li & Fung
Hong Kong
Paul Fowler is a well seasoned, determined and ambitious IT professional with over 25 years of leading and delivering successful IT projects on a global basis. As the CIO of Li & Fung, Paul leads the delivery of services through an exceptional team of account managers in the verticals of trading, logistics and distribution. The scope of these services include acquisition integration, business process improvement, project management, support and training across a broad range of integrated industry standard applications and bespoke solutions.
PI Keynote - Creating The Future of Supply Chain
As brands and retailers face the heat of changing customer buying behaviors and the challenges of the new age economy, Li & Fung has its job cut out to transform the supply chain to help brands and retailers overcome today's challenges and prepare for the future.
Join us to know how Li & Fung is creating the future of supply chain and how digitalization is at the heart of this journey.

Martine Jarlgaard
Martine Jarlgaard London
UK
Upon graduating from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, Martine Jarlgaard was hired to work with Vivienne Westwood where she headed the Vivienne Westwood Red Label. Following this Martine worked with All Saints in London and as Head of Diesel Female Apparel in Italy before returning to London to launch her eponymous and exclusive label, Martine Jarlgaard London. Since then, Martine's passion for technology's potential in disrupting the very core of the fashion world and supply chain has been at the centre of how she has approached, created and presented her product.
PI Keynote - From Farm to Finished Garment: How is Blockchain Technology Revolutionising the Fashion Supply Chain?
Upon graduating from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, Martine Jarlgaard was hired to work with Vivienne Westwood where she headed the Vivienne Westwood Red Label. Following this Martine worked with All Saints in London and as Head of Diesel Female Apparel in Italy before returning to London to launch her eponymous and exclusive label, Martine Jarlgaard London.
Since then, Martine's passion for technology's potential in disrupting the very core of the fashion world and supply chain has been at the centre of how she has approached, created and presented her product. This passion and attitude led to her brand presenting the worlds first blockchain-powered supply chain transparency fashion pilot in May of this year in collaboration with Provenance, A Transparent Company and the Fashion Innovation Agency.
Of the project, Martine said, 'When I think about our world and outsourcing now, we've gained a great distance to how things are made. We need to re-educate ourselves. Technology will be what helps to reconnect us to the people and the places involved, and that information will increase consumer expectations, which will put more pressure on the big companies.'
In this session and based on her own pilot experience, Martine will walk you through the power of blockchain technology - a distributed and secure ledger - in creating a digital tracking record and history of each garment and in doing so, re-defining the fashion supply chain to provide a level of transparency, traceability and brand trust that, to date, the industry has never seen.

Debera Johnson
Pratt Institute|Brooklyn Fashion+Design Accelerator
USA
Deb Johnson is the Founder and Executive Director of the Brooklyn Fashion + Design Accelerator. The BF+DA is a hub for ethical fashion and responsible technology that connects the dots between sustainability, technology, entrepreneurship and production. The BF+DA mentors emerging ventures in apparel and design from concept through manufacturing to market and promotes triple bottom line values that link financial success to an ethical and sustainable supply chain. Recently the BF+DA’s production facility was awarded $1.5 million in federal, state and city funding to build an innovation center for the advancement of responsibly sourced smart garments and functional textiles.
The TEK-TILES Project – Connecting Design, Development & Manufacturing to Get ‘Smart Garments’ from Concept to Market
We have entered a new age in material technology that will have a massive impact on the products we use, the clothes that we wear and the way we communicate. Rapid advances in science, computing and connectivity are expanding the boundaries of possibility. Universities, research labs and industry are developing new materials that can capture biometric data and deploy information through sensors, deliver active ingredients into the bloodstream, and provide textiles that are lighter and tougher, reactive to changes in the environment, have increased flexibility, and can transform textiles into interactive surfaces.
These novel materials have incredible potential to redefine the function of apparel and products that incorporate them will be a major driver for economic development. However, the existing manufacturing infrastructure is ill-prepared to meet their demands, and so research needs inputs from apparel and textile design and manufacturing to overcome this to achieve commercialization.
Debera Johnson, with the Brooklyn Fashion + Design Accelerator, has received $486K worth of funding to assemble a diverse team to understand what needs to be done to reach commercial stage technology enabled garments and textiles.
This session will discuss:
· Where is the industry now and where does it need to be to make commercial-scale smart garment production a reality?
· What is the TEK-TILES project? – drivers, members and vision
· Creating a process for ongoing research in embedding technology into fabrics
· Phase I – Collaboratively building a library of 20 technologically-activated material swatches (TEK-TILES)
· Understanding the unique challenges for commercial manufacture of each TEK-TILE
· Exploring the potential applications of each material
· Phase II – Translating TEK-TILES into well-designed garments with a focus on cost, manufacturability, functionality and environmental impacts
· Phase III – Small run production of a series of finished, functional garments for user-testing and validation

Ivano Ortis
IDC
Italy
As Vice President of IDC, Ivano Ortis is responsible for managing IDC Financial Insights, IDC Manufacturing Insights and IDC Retail Insights in Europe, providing strategic directions for the groups and advising vendor and end-user clients. Ivano worked as Managing Director for the Retail Industry at Accenture. In this role, he managed the business and growth plans for large retail enterprises across food and fashion industries in Europe by designing, driving to market and implementing innovative business services and differentiating value propositions leveraging strategy, consulting, technology, digital and business process outsourcing capabilities.
Prior to Accenture, he spent 8 years at IDC managing IDC Retail Insights International business unit for EMEA and APAC and leading IDC’s advisory practice globally on omnichannel retail and consumer experience strategies. Ivano has been exposed to digital transformations from strategy to implementation, and continued focusing on emerging technologies like IoT, software and communication-driven industry innovations throughout his career. He has been a trusted advisor for business and IT executives throughout 20 years of experience in management consulting, system integration, enterprise software, and telecommunication, with past experiences at Nokia, Fiat, Vodafone, Andersen Consulting and Harris semiconductor.
Manufacturing Business Ecosystem Strategies - Realising the Next Generation of Collaboration, Automation and Customer Experience
Nearly all apparel brands and consumer product manufacturers are in the midst of developing some form of smart manufacturing strategy, many leveraging Industrie 4.0 to focus on the Digital Factory as a strong starting point. In doing so, they are not only realising ways to optimise operations and the wider supply chain, but are unknowingly creating new forms of manufacturing business ecosystems for their products and services.
Witnessing this shift but noting that industry was ill-prepared for what it might mean in the short and long term, IDC started working with the industry back in January to theorise all outcomes and simulate concepts and came to an impressive projection: over the next 10-15 years these shifts along with the evolving technology landscape will create an opportunity to automate as much as 80% of all B2B2C processes. This requires a new automation and collaboration platform underpinning supply chains, commerce and production, which IDC calls InTech (Industrial Technology).
In this session, Ivano Ortis joins the event to discuss:
- What has the digital transformation looked like to date and what added potential is being overlooked?
- Digital in supporting a shift from products to services across design, product lifecycles and product extension
- Enabling an enhanced b2c and b2b operation as we move further into customer experience
- How is this shift impacting internal and external collaboration and creating new, dynamic manufacturing ecosystems?
- Understanding the short-term impacts on your wider digital transformation strategy
- What are the longer-term considerations in terms of new automation and collaboration constructs? Why is InTech relevant going forward?
- How is the technology vendor landscape evolving to support this?
- Sharing practical views into how specifically technology and frameworks can make this happen in reality