PI Apparel 2017 | Speakers

In a commitment to advancing true innovation across PVH Corp's brands, the Innovation Next group was created to tie innovation directly into the business bottom line. Innovation has become a key priority for brands across the apparel industry but attempts to realize innovation in practice has created exciting think tanks delivering mixed results. Innovation Next aims to challenge this norm by developing a research and fact based approach to that delivers tangible ROI to all PVH Brands. 

Barry McGeough now leads this newly formed Innovation Next division having previously been part of PVH at Speedo USA developing elegant and compelling solutions to train the worlds premier aquatic athletes. With success adapting the concepts of Biomimicry that Speedo International used in the 2008 Olympics in their LZR Pro and LZR Elite suits to Speedo training aids goggles and gear, and creating innovative brand building technologies across the swimwear, footwear, and hardgoods categories, successfully expanding comfort and performance paradigms, PVH sought to apply this thinking to the rest of the PVH brands.

In this session, Barry will explore a fast future forward journey into the recently unanticipated current state of retail apocalypse, endemic consumer driven change in the marketplace and how Brands utilize the insights driven by Innovation to identify these directions in travel to build and sharpen their competitive edges.

Every few days there’s a headline about an apparel company in trouble and next to big oil, apparel is the second largest polluting industry in the world. But now companies have the ability to break this cycle and propel themselves forward with smart solutions in digital manufacturing; improving their bottom lines drastically, while making significant improvements in sustainability.

Marleen co-founded Shapeways, the world's largest 3D printing service and marketplace for consumers. Being taller than average, and thus a non-standard size/shape catered for by most brands, she began wondering about the possibilities of apparel made specific to her. When analysing the apparel market she soon recognized there was a business opportunity in creating on-demand collections to meet the need of fit, personalisation and the growing number of small brands whilst solving the disconnect between cost of goods made and cost of goods sold in the industry. Like at Shapeways, she is now putting the retail model on it's head.

In this session, Marleen will explore:

• The shortfalls of today's apparel production model across speed, flexibililty, costs and customer satisfaction
• What on-demand manufacturing means and how it can revolutionize the apparel industry
• Automating the design process, modularising product design and customization
• Rewriting the rules of the industry: how going on-demand not only impacts your bottom line but is friendlier on the environment as well
• Providing agility in collections and the redundancy of inventory waste
• Process innovation - using existing production tech in a novel manufacturing model

Moritz Waldemeyer is an internationally renowned artist based in London. His work occupies a diverse range of creative spaces, from art and product design through to fashion and entertainment.

His philosophy is based on playful experimentation; by forging links between technology, art, fashion and design, his approach has resulted in a number of bespoke installations for Audi, Bombay Sapphire and Microsoft, as well as light-studded costumes for the likes of Jamiroquai, U2, Rihanna, and the London Olympics Ceremony performers. 

To be truly innovative and unique, Moritz looks for inspiration from a number of places including the maker-culture community, electronics, product design software, architecture and photography. With each of these elements feeding into his product design, he approaches each and every project with childlike curiosity that allows for the creation of the weird and wonderful.

In this session, Moritz will explore the overriding theme of innovation, collaboration, cross-sector learnings and how these are all vital to the continuing success, growth and novelty of the fashion industry. With the backing of specific fashion-orientated projects, Moritz will delve into the shortcomings of the current fashion ecosystem's innovation model and describe more productive ways of tackling creativity, design and product creation.

Hear live testimonials from Derek Lam, One Jeanswear Group and a Bass Pro veteran!

An experienced panel of industry experts, will discuss some of the biggest challenges that the industry is facing today.

The discussion will focus on:

• Best practices, key learnings and advice about PLM
• Resolving challenges whatever your company size, product offer or business model
• Customer testimonials about real life return on investment

Easy to use and fast to implement, Centric Software’s PLM solutions are designed to accelerate time to market, reduce costs and increase market responsiveness. This session will cover:

• What to expect with PLM
• The benefits of PLM and the changes it will bring
• How to make a business case for a PLM project

As is the case with most PLM investments, Greg Norman had, for a long time, relied on a copy and paste model within excel spreadsheets and single file sharing to manage product. Koskia Bello was familiar with PDM from a previous professional life so when it was deemed necessary for Greg Norman to abandon their manual way of working and to invest in their first ever web-based system, she leveraged on that inherited relationship when moving forward with PLM. In golf apparel, polos are the key category so they are often working with basic styling templates that they vary from season to season. The minute they started on PLM, they began seeing the benefits of being able to catalogue product information that they could arrange into libraries across style, color, pattern and fabric. 

All in all, PLM has drastically improved their communication across their global operation and has helped expedite the time it takes to take a product from concept through to consumer.

In this session, Koskia will discuss:

• Why PLM?
• The Color Library – basic and seasonal colors uploaded and searchable making it incredibly easy to add to pitch a new pattern
• The Fabric Library – the ability to search previously used fabrics and their associated sourcing times, costs and partners
• How the library format has aided in expediting the transfer from design to tech design to add fit and measurements
• Real time communication and product changes across a globally operated organization
• How has PLM impacted the relay of information between brand and vendor?
• How can retail information be fed back and saved with PLM alongside a product to avoid repeat mistakes?
• The next steps – onboarding sales and merchandising users; extending its reach and function; enhancing visibility of a whole collection in real time

It is no secret that the integration of PLM with ERP has a proven track record of cutting timelines, lowering costs and improving quality by expediting the product development process. However, the complementary roles of PLM and ERP are not always well understood, leading to complexity when implementing and connecting these two systems together.

Ariat International, divided into two business units, already functions on two successful PLM roadmaps and has operated on SAP ERP for years. They know that inevitably they will want, at some stage in the near future, to have their PLMs and ERP communicating but to ensure they avoid any traps, are taking the time from now to have the pre-requisite processes and planning in place to ensure a smooth transition. 

In this session Ryan and Vanessa lead a discussion on how to ensure consistent, standardized and aligned configuration and management across both platforms so that when the time comes, an integration is seamless, error-free and ultimately, fruitful in both the short and long term.

No matter your PLM maturity or roadmap stage, you will be exploring how you might extend its functionality beyond traditional design and development and into the wider end-to-end company operation. While the original drivers behind a PLM investment may have largely been about solving a problem, what if the platform could be instead leveraged to create additional and unexplored opportunities for your business and bottom line?

Historically, the sourcing process has been somewhat messy; there has been no one central place to store, manage and/or rank the sourcing network community and companies largely rely on existing vendor relationships because there is neither the time nor process to effectively evaluate new ones.

But this does not have to be the case; Victoria Brown of IDC joins PI Apparel NYC to discuss:

• Leveraging PLM as a B2B Sourcing Management tool
• Consolidating all vendor information into one place and subsequently streamlining the sourcing process
• Creating an integrated 'LinkedIn of Suppliers' such that all new design information can be sent out to the suppliers and they can contact you for your business
• PLM as a bidding war platform
• Intelligent portfolio design or component recommendations based on past sales performance
• Adding a whole new layer of operational efficiency and logged communication into your PLM

The Digital Supply Chain demands that information and data flow throughout the entire value chain. Every PLM system in use today only contributes to a sector of that value chain but whilst its role is rapidly changing, almost no global fashion company knows the proper approach to execute a Connected Enterprise.

This session will discuss how PLM is expanding across its traditional boundaries and the steps you should be taking to make full use of its transformative potential.

• How are Gen Z/Millennial shopping habits shaking up conventional wisdom in retail?
• What are the 3 most important philosophies in retail?
• Where is retail really headed? – A glimpse into the future
• Why the “assembly line” approach to fashion PLM is still so prevalent – and why it no longer works.
• The Connected Enterprise – how to break down organizational silos with PLM to become a consumer-focused, agile, responsiveness organization.
• PLM’s new role within the Value Chain – why extending PLM throughout the value chain is the key to survival

Genesco really just wanted correct data – one point of entry for a validated single version of the truth to port into their ERP and integrate into marketing easily. Excel spreadsheets weren’t cutting it anymore, but a hefty system with all the bells and whistles was overkill. The answer? Start with PIM and slowly add in key aspects of a PLM, creating a right-sized new hybrid known fondly as PLIM.

With growing Omni-channel requirements, managing and validating assets became one of the company’s largest hurdles.

In this session, Alex Carpenter, Senior Business Analyst at Genesco, will present how the company adopted a solution that not only streamlined development, but also prepared product information and visual assets to seamlessly integrate with ERP and provide a one stop multi-channel hub for downloading assets globally.

• Challenges and successes in launching multiple wholesale/retail footwear brands in a "PLM Lite" environment
• Empowering designers to move from idea to sketch to bill of materials in a seamless workflow
• Leveraging custom reporting to replace manual and legacy line sheets and product data sheets
• Using PIM and modern tools to simplify data collection and create "one version of the truth"
• Integrating PIM solutions with legacy ERP systems

Genesco sells footwear, headwear, and sports apparel through more than 2,775 shoe and cap stores globally. Their operations include Journeys, Johnston & Murphy, Lids Sports division and Schuh, as well as sales of licensed brands such as Dockers and G.H. Bass footwear. 

With two successful deployments under it's belt and an ongoing 4-in-1 upgrade roadmap in motion, Ariat International is no stranger to PLM and the work needed to ensure its long term success and adoption. Karen, the company's Director ot PLM & Data, attended PI Apparel NYC last year and noticed three key areas that people were desperate to explore further in an attempt to better their own understanding and strategy.

Today, Karen brings along her expertise and Vanessa, Ariat's Business Analyst, to this session to discuss:

1. Attaining and maintaining senior-level PLM buy-in and support
2. Ensuring a PLM investment and roll-out is managed in partnership with IT
3. PLM is only as successful as the data it manages; how can we configure the system, train the users and standardise its use and language to maximize extractable value?

Come prepared to share your own experiences and ask questions.

It is no secret that the integration of PLM with ERP has a proven track record of cutting timelines, lowering costs and improving quality by expediting the product development process. However, the complementary roles of PLM and ERP are not always well understood, leading to complexity when implementing and connecting these two systems together.

Ariat International, divided into two business units, already functions on two successful PLM roadmaps and has operated on SAP ERP for years. They know that inevitably they will want, at some stage in the near future, to have their PLMs and ERP communicating but to ensure they avoid any traps, are taking the time from now to have the pre-requisite processes and planning in place to ensure a smooth transition. 

In this session Ryan and Vanessa lead a discussion on how to ensure consistent, standardized and aligned configuration and management across both platforms so that when the time comes, an integration is seamless, error-free and ultimately, fruitful in both the short and long term.

Markdowns and excess inventory seem to escalate every year. Even experienced merchants struggle to pick products that will win in the market, and expert planners are challenged to get the buy quantities right. Leveraging the power of predictive analytics, retailers and brands can identify which products will resonate best with customers, and their supply chain teams can make better decisions armed with both history-based planning tools and the voice of the customer. 

Join Gretchen Jezerc, VP Marketing and Mark Chrystal, SVP and Chief Supply Chain Officer at David’s Bridal, as they discuss how incorporating the voice of the customer into assortment and planning decisions can significantly reduce markdowns and inventory costs. 

• Eliminate excess inventory and avoid stockouts by adding the voice of the customer to the supply chain toolkit
• Reduce markdowns by more accurately forecasting demand, AUR price and margin for each item
• Cut product testing and sampling costs and increase new product success rates using customer-powered predictive analytics

During this session hear how Vera Bradley leverages technology to manage their quality assurance process. Find out how they work with their raw material suppliers to develop innovation in prints, patterns and fabrications while maintaining their high quality standards.

Vera Bradley is a leading designer of women's handbags, luggage and travel items, fashion and home accessories and unique gifts.  Founded in 1982 by friends Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia R. Miller, the brand's innovative designs, iconic patterns and brilliant colors continue to inspire and connect women unlike any other brand in the global marketplace.  The Company's commitment to bringing more beauty into women's lives includes its dedication to breast cancer research through the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer in which they have raised over $28 million to date.

When sales are where they are, organizations are being constantly challenged to be faster with fewer resources. PLM is of course a tool that, in the long-run, somewhat alleviates such pressures but it does become difficult to balance a resource-heavy deployment that demands a huge amount of planning, strategizing and management with a business in flux, that steals and reallocates said resource constantly.

There is no way to tackle the volatily of the marketplace but what you can do is better prepare for it by asking yourself how you might keep PLM one of the organization's top priorities regardless.

Heidi Goold with Kohl's has firsthand experience with this challenge and leads a discussion around how you must constantly be re-assessing what value PLM can provide and in doing so, become adaptive, understanding its expanded value and re-selling it internally at all times to maintain buy-in and ownership. 

Hear live testimonials from Derek Lam, One Jeanswear Group and a Bass Pro veteran!

An experienced panel of industry experts, will discuss some of the biggest challenges that the industry is facing today.

The discussion will focus on:

• Best practices, key learnings and advice about PLM
• Resolving challenges whatever your company size, product offer or business model
• Customer testimonials about real life return on investment

Easy to use and fast to implement, Centric Software’s PLM solutions are designed to accelerate time to market, reduce costs and increase market responsiveness. This session will cover:

• What to expect with PLM
• The benefits of PLM and the changes it will bring
• How to make a business case for a PLM project

The time it takes for a trend to disseminate into mass market products has dramatically reduced the past several years. With this pressure comes an immense need to reduce cycle time and deliver innovative products to maintain competitiveness.  

Come join us to find out how digitizing your design and development processes can help you go from trend to store faster than ever before.

The Fila® brand was founded in 1911 in Italy but since 2007, has been owned and operated by Fila Korea Ltd. Fila USA designs, develops and markets Fila® branded athletic and leisure shoes, apparel and a range of sport accessories. The former Italian ownership operated using a home grown and ancient mid 90s PDM platform that managed certain products only. But when it was acquired and a Korean lab for advancing technology and fabrics as well as a new China office were established, the absence of a non-centralized and tethered approach to global product development soon began causing expensive problems.

In an attempt to increase collaboration and communication between global parties, Fila turned to PLM. In this session Sandy Hamilton, IT Director at Fila USA discusses:

• The complications of using an antiquated PDM system, and relying heavily on spreadsheets & email for a well-oiled global collaboration
• Working alongside the vendor to develop and perfect a PLM tool specific to footwear management
• Leveraging the added efficiencies of PLM to maintain workforce numbers vs increasing resources and investment
• What have the impacts of a PLM system been on the global development of Fila lines?
• What are the now-possible overlaps in design collaboration?
• Selectively migrating legacy data into the new system
• What were the cultural aspects of the journey when working across the US, Korea and China?
• How has the investment in PLM impacted the internal model, structure and operation of Fila USA?
• Future phases - translating best practices from footwear into Fila apparel
• Planning for ERP-PLM integration post a new ERP evaluation

Markdowns and excess inventory seem to escalate every year. Even experienced merchants struggle to pick products that will win in the market, and expert planners are challenged to get the buy quantities right. Leveraging the power of predictive analytics, retailers and brands can identify which products will resonate best with customers, and their supply chain teams can make better decisions armed with both history-based planning tools and the voice of the customer. 

Join Gretchen Jezerc, VP Marketing and Mark Chrystal, SVP and Chief Supply Chain Officer at David’s Bridal, as they discuss how incorporating the voice of the customer into assortment and planning decisions can significantly reduce markdowns and inventory costs. 

• Eliminate excess inventory and avoid stockouts by adding the voice of the customer to the supply chain toolkit
• Reduce markdowns by more accurately forecasting demand, AUR price and margin for each item
• Cut product testing and sampling costs and increase new product success rates using customer-powered predictive analytics

As is the case with most PLM investments, Greg Norman had, for a long time, relied on a copy and paste model within excel spreadsheets and single file sharing to manage product. Koskia Bello was familiar with PDM from a previous professional life so when it was deemed necessary for Greg Norman to abandon their manual way of working and to invest in their first ever web-based system, she leveraged on that inherited relationship when moving forward with PLM. In golf apparel, polos are the key category so they are often working with basic styling templates that they vary from season to season. The minute they started on PLM, they began seeing the benefits of being able to catalogue product information that they could arrange into libraries across style, color, pattern and fabric. 

All in all, PLM has drastically improved their communication across their global operation and has helped expedite the time it takes to take a product from concept through to consumer.

In this session, Koskia will discuss:

• Why PLM?
• The Color Library – basic and seasonal colors uploaded and searchable making it incredibly easy to add to pitch a new pattern
• The Fabric Library – the ability to search previously used fabrics and their associated sourcing times, costs and partners
• How the library format has aided in expediting the transfer from design to tech design to add fit and measurements
• Real time communication and product changes across a globally operated organization
• How has PLM impacted the relay of information between brand and vendor?
• How can retail information be fed back and saved with PLM alongside a product to avoid repeat mistakes?
• The next steps – onboarding sales and merchandising users; extending its reach and function; enhancing visibility of a whole collection in real time

During this session hear how Vera Bradley leverages technology to manage their quality assurance process. Find out how they work with their raw material suppliers to develop innovation in prints, patterns and fabrications while maintaining their high quality standards.

Vera Bradley is a leading designer of women's handbags, luggage and travel items, fashion and home accessories and unique gifts.  Founded in 1982 by friends Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia R. Miller, the brand's innovative designs, iconic patterns and brilliant colors continue to inspire and connect women unlike any other brand in the global marketplace.  The Company's commitment to bringing more beauty into women's lives includes its dedication to breast cancer research through the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer in which they have raised over $28 million to date.

Hear live testimonials from Derek Lam, One Jeanswear Group and a Bass Pro veteran!

An experienced panel of industry experts, will discuss some of the biggest challenges that the industry is facing today.

The discussion will focus on:

• Best practices, key learnings and advice about PLM
• Resolving challenges whatever your company size, product offer or business model
• Customer testimonials about real life return on investment

Easy to use and fast to implement, Centric Software’s PLM solutions are designed to accelerate time to market, reduce costs and increase market responsiveness. This session will cover:

• What to expect with PLM
• The benefits of PLM and the changes it will bring
• How to make a business case for a PLM project

The time it takes for a trend to disseminate into mass market products has dramatically reduced the past several years. With this pressure comes an immense need to reduce cycle time and deliver innovative products to maintain competitiveness.  

Come join us to find out how digitizing your design and development processes can help you go from trend to store faster than ever before.

Grupo Kaltex is a Mexico-based home textile and apparel vertical enterprise. Like most other companies, they had relied on email and spreadhseet-supported operations for the longest time but, in 2015 and with goals for future expansion, decided that their inefficencies were no longer acceptable and that they needed a universal approach to managing product without having to sacrifice quality and service.

Amongst their many companies were two that worked very closely together: Kaltex Mexico designs and produces products for US-based Revman International that sells them as well as licensed products from other brands. The aim of a PLM investment was to simplify this relationship, using PLM to structure and synchronize processes across the different design and development teams, thus improving time to market, product quality, operational flexibility and international growth.

In this session, Hebe Schecter, President of Grupo Kaltex and corporate technology sponsor will explore:

• The disrepancies of the pre-PLM Kaltex-Revman partership
• The steps taken in evaluating and selecting the right PLM platform for the job
• The way in which the deployment roadmap was formalized and the role she played in its development and execution as the executive level sponsor
• Creating a standardized language across their different teams in design, development and manufacturing 
• Supporting real-time communication between teams to bolster collaboration and visibility over their diverse collection of international product lines, divisons and companies 
• The realities of PLM - much like a baby it doesn't matter how much prep you do before you bring it home, you are never quite prepared for the unexpected changes and new 
• The added complexity of rolling out PLM in two separate companies that needed an aligned and standardized end-result model
• How does PLM allow for a smarter and more proactive approach to the supply chain?

With two successful deployments under it's belt and an ongoing 4-in-1 upgrade roadmap in motion, Ariat International is no stranger to PLM and the work needed to ensure its long term success and adoption. Karen, the company's Director ot PLM & Data, attended PI Apparel NYC last year and noticed three key areas that people were desperate to explore further in an attempt to better their own understanding and strategy.

Today, Karen brings along her expertise and Vanessa, Ariat's Business Analyst, to this session to discuss:

1. Attaining and maintaining senior-level PLM buy-in and support
2. Ensuring a PLM investment and roll-out is managed in partnership with IT
3. PLM is only as successful as the data it manages; how can we configure the system, train the users and standardise its use and language to maximize extractable value?

Come prepared to share your own experiences and ask questions.

Hear live testimonials from Derek Lam, One Jeanswear Group and a Bass Pro veteran!

An experienced panel of industry experts, will discuss some of the biggest challenges that the industry is facing today.

The discussion will focus on:

• Best practices, key learnings and advice about PLM
• Resolving challenges whatever your company size, product offer or business model
• Customer testimonials about real life return on investment

Easy to use and fast to implement, Centric Software’s PLM solutions are designed to accelerate time to market, reduce costs and increase market responsiveness. This session will cover:

• What to expect with PLM
• The benefits of PLM and the changes it will bring
• How to make a business case for a PLM project

Whilst his earlier session outlined one of the hats Mark wears at PVH (specifically in Calvin Klein), he has also been tasked with designing and configuring a holistic and true end-to-end PLM strategy for the entire PVH business. As an acquisition company with little to no integration strategy, they are today a conglomerate with one C-level board operating across 6 different and disparate PLM solutions. As they embark on a selection journey for one true PLM that satisifes all brands' needs, Mark is tasked with understanding and balancing what the users want and what the company needs.

Ada is Mark's counterpart, working on the early stages of a 3D technology investment workstream for the business. 

Unlike in most cases, the two parties have a real opportunity to work in parallel and in unison from day dot to together achieve the the goal of a fully integrated PLM-3D utopia, whereby each product is created digitally in 3D and then seamlessly fed and integrated into PLM.

They lead a discussion on the steps and mindset needed to drive such planning and to achieve such a vision.

According to a recently published retail innovation report by Kalypso and Indiana University, the integration of VOC into product design and development was ranked the most important emerging future practice for those companies polled. However, though an overwhelming majority recognized its strategic importance, it's successful adoption has thus far been reportedly very poor.

John Talbott, co-author of the publication and a member of Indiana University's Center for Education and Research in Retailing, believes that before we can find success in VOC, we first need to understand what it is that we are doing now within design and development that is failing us and where the consumer can help overcome those shortfalls.

In this session John will discuss:

• We rightly hold our product designers in very high esteem but how good are they at truly predicting and understanding what the market wants?
• Glancing backwards to move forwards - where have past product designs and market forecasts failed and what were the reasons?
• How can you begin to collate and gather VOC data?
• When should you listen to what the customer has to say?
• How can you transform what a customer is saying into usable and profitable action?
• Data, data, data - what are a few ways in which you can move beyond being just good at collecting data into actually extracting value from it?
• How can we complement and improve our design vision and creativity with consumer feedback?
• How do we test it to ensure we are in fact making the right customer-centric decisions?

Grupo Kaltex is a Mexico-based home textile and apparel vertical enterprise. Like most other companies, they had relied on email and spreadhseet-supported operations for the longest time but, in 2015 and with goals for future expansion, decided that their inefficencies were no longer acceptable and that they needed a universal approach to managing product without having to sacrifice quality and service.

Amongst their many companies were two that worked very closely together: Kaltex Mexico designs and produces products for US-based Revman International that sells them as well as licensed products from other brands. The aim of a PLM investment was to simplify this relationship, using PLM to structure and synchronize processes across the different design and development teams, thus improving time to market, product quality, operational flexibility and international growth.

In this session, Hebe Schecter, President of Grupo Kaltex and corporate technology sponsor will explore:

• The disrepancies of the pre-PLM Kaltex-Revman partership
• The steps taken in evaluating and selecting the right PLM platform for the job
• The way in which the deployment roadmap was formalized and the role she played in its development and execution as the executive level sponsor
• Creating a standardized language across their different teams in design, development and manufacturing 
• Supporting real-time communication between teams to bolster collaboration and visibility over their diverse collection of international product lines, divisons and companies 
• The realities of PLM - much like a baby it doesn't matter how much prep you do before you bring it home, you are never quite prepared for the unexpected changes and new 
• The added complexity of rolling out PLM in two separate companies that needed an aligned and standardized end-result model
• How does PLM allow for a smarter and more proactive approach to the supply chain?

• 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 methods does your company use to capture fit data?
• How are we communicating our fit to our customers?
• How do you see the rapidly evolving digital environment changing the way your company evaluates fit?
• Brands and retailers still capture consumer fit data in some pretty old-fashioned ways today; what innovations and new technologies can we expect in this area in the future?
• What is your opinion on virtual fit? Could it ever replace a physical fit sample?
• In using digital assets, how would you like to see fit communication with consumers evolve?
• What are the various strategies that brands employ regarding fit and sizing when they enter new global markets? Are some more effective than others?
• Will product customization make the idea of global or regional fit standards obsolete? When?
• Are return rates reliable metrics for either good fit or poor fit? 

• 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?

As a catalogue-only company, Fullbeauty Brands deals in an excess of 100,000 samples every year, the management of which is all done manually. With limited space in the center of NYC and samples flying in and out daily, there is a huge problem with losing samples, leading to huge wastes of money and time.

Crystal Button, VP of Global Sourcing & Technical Design, has formulated a statement of work surrounding an investment in RFID and plans to have started executing the initiative pre-PI Apparel NYC. If each sample was tagged and scanned on arrival and this then physical sample, once photographed, paired with and tracked in a digital asset management platform, the days of delays and/or re-orders would be over.

Crystal leads a discussion on the benefits of an RFID scanning investment and how you as a company might prepare for it's integration.

RFID with scanners; know when in the building; when pass to merchants then when it has been passed to create photos

Pepkor is a massive fashion/apparel conglomerate made up of 12 seperate brands based around Europe, Australia, the USA and Asia. In an attempt to drive a more customer-centric approach to product creation, a project team was established to build 3D capability across look, feel and fit within the supply chain of Pepkor’s central European retailer, PEPCO. Established in 2004, PEPCO is growing rapidly and wanted to improve its product offer; with a hugely successful 3D pilot across the pre-kids division and the realization of the time and costs savings available through 3D, not only is PEPCO moving ahead with a brand-wide rollout but the other group brands have demanded to be aggressively onboarded also.  

Nelly Casas, Senior Executive of BD & Operations, has been tasked with the creation of a standardized 3D model and process that will be applicable to all brands: their product lines, varied product quality grades and all of their operational geographies. An incredibly difficult task to say the least!

This session will discuss:

• The PEPCO Pilot - drivers, strategy, rollout and challenges
• Exploring Phase II - Developing a strategy for the onboarding of the remaining product categories within the next 2 years
• Developing a standardized company-wide rollout across brands, products, quality grades and geographies
• Understanding existing individual brand processes and architecture and ascertaining the stages needed to incorporate 3D
• Understanding the needs and requirements of each brand group and subsequently feeding this into the creation of one standardized 3D model
• Getting the fit right - the role of 3D in fit improvements and sales growth
• Defining geography-specific shape and fit avatars
• Reducing sample numbers to nil and tackling designer-centric push back
• Why one technology is not enough - how Pepkor are incorporating components of multiple platforms to make 3D work for them

In the last few years it is no secret that 3D technology has made leaps and bounds in its advancement and readiness for apparel's use, but also in the adoption rate by said industry. But it has taken a while to get there; being from Israel, Shaul had the luxury of becoming very familiar with a couple of the largest tech providers in this arena. As someone who has been watching and searching for new technology throughout his career, he has been following 3D for the last 15 years but only deemed it fully ready for use in the last couple. And it was in the last couple that Shaul led the selection and rollout of 3D for Jordache.

Everyone is interested in 3D and the short term benefits are clear and yet some struggle still with attaining that first initial buy-in from:

1. Management who deem the often costly investment unecessary vs maintaining the current operation
2. Users who push back on process changes

Shaul jumped aggressively into 3D but he was sensible; by starting with a narrow application scope of 3D as a facilitator of process improvement vs an organizational transformative platform, and by keeping its use somewhat exclusive in Phase I, he not only managed to prove it's ROI but has created sex appeal and allure around the platform such that now everyone wants in on Phase II and the buy-in has grown organically as a result.

Shaul will lead a discussion on his unique approach to attaining user buy-in and how, if done right, its maintenance and growth will be self-sufficient making your life as the platform owner much easier moving forward.

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?

Pepkor is a massive fashion/apparel conglomerate made up of 12 seperate brands based around Europe, Australia, the USA and Asia. In an attempt to drive a more customer-centric approach to product creation, a project team was established to build 3D capability across look, feel and fit within the supply chain of Pepkor’s central European retailer, PEPCO. Established in 2004, PEPCO is growing rapidly and wanted to improve its product offer; with a hugely successful 3D pilot across the pre-kids division and the realization of the time and costs savings available through 3D, not only is PEPCO moving ahead with a brand-wide rollout but the other group brands have demanded to be aggressively onboarded also.  

Nelly Casas, Senior Executive of BD & Operations, has been tasked with the creation of a standardized 3D model and process that will be applicable to all brands: their product lines, varied product quality grades and all of their operational geographies. An incredibly difficult task to say the least!

This session will discuss:

• The PEPCO Pilot - drivers, strategy, rollout and challenges
• Exploring Phase II - Developing a strategy for the onboarding of the remaining product categories within the next 2 years
• Developing a standardized company-wide rollout across brands, products, quality grades and geographies
• Understanding existing individual brand processes and architecture and ascertaining the stages needed to incorporate 3D
• Understanding the needs and requirements of each brand group and subsequently feeding this into the creation of one standardized 3D model
• Getting the fit right - the role of 3D in fit improvements and sales growth
• Defining geography-specific shape and fit avatars
• Reducing sample numbers to nil and tackling designer-centric push back
• Why one technology is not enough - how Pepkor are incorporating components of multiple platforms to make 3D work for 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?

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 will work towards 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.

Come learn about a Retail Industry Collaboration focused on 3D Technology!

Members of the 3D.RC (3D Retail Coalition) can meet the Steering Committee and hear the mission, goals, and priorities for the group

Fast Retailing deployed traditional PLM across their product development operation about 2 years ago. Since then, David Grant has been working hard to see how the platform and it's function can be digitally extended as part of an ongoing, and much larger, digital transformation across their product creation business.

David recognised immediately two parts of their product development process that could benefit from such an extension:

• During fitting, photos were being taken on a camera and notes scribbled into a notebook, both of which were then later being manually uploaded into PLM
• The product development floor was full of product boards covering fabrics, styles, colours, sketch info and so on, but no automated or digital way to track changes or indeed, work on them remotely

Via the digital extension of traditional PLM and the product development process, this session will cover:

• Adding mobile applications around the fitting process so that photos and notes are not only created, stored and saved in one place but that these are automatically uploaded into PLM
• Digitizing PD boards; enabling the mobile entry to all product development-related information remotely, the tracking and logging of all changes and the ability to visualize, product creation in real-time
• Enhancing immediate visibility to track real-time change and impacts on style, colour, fit etc
• Starting the digital journey within the product development space

Most companies are these days jumping aboard the digital transformation train but are doing so with very different internal target areas in mind. David Grant of Fast Retailing has already covered how they are 'going digital' within Product Development and how this is one part of a much larger transformation scheduled to redefine how the company operates and interacts with their consumers.

In this session, David, based on their current projects and future expectations, leads a discussion on ways in which product development could be redefined, restructured and re-engineered across topics including voice recognition, IoT and full mobile design capability.

• What methods does your company use to capture fit data?
• How are we communicating our fit to our customers?
• How do you see the rapidly evolving digital environment changing the way your company evaluates fit?
• Brands and retailers still capture consumer fit data in some pretty old-fashioned ways today; what innovations and new technologies can we expect in this area in the future?
• What is your opinion on virtual fit? Could it ever replace a physical fit sample?
• In using digital assets, how would you like to see fit communication with consumers evolve?
• What are the various strategies that brands employ regarding fit and sizing when they enter new global markets? Are some more effective than others?
• Will product customization make the idea of global or regional fit standards obsolete? When?
• Are return rates reliable metrics for either good fit or poor fit? 

If you talk to most people today, almost all of them will tell you that shopping is boring, not fun, and that stores and malls all look alike. It is not a surprise that you read almost every day about a mall closing or a major retailer closing their stores. 

What is the problem?

Most retailers and malls failed to adjust their store concept to the habits of a new generation of shoppers and failed to adopt technology trends. In an overstimulated world buzzing with technology, the traditional retail method fails to entice. Shoppers are no longer content with being offered a product- they want an experience.  

If you look in malls today what stores are always full? Apple and Lego - two unique concepts.

The session will focus on:

• What are the current problems for retailer and shopping malls
• What is the new generation shoppers look like?
• What is a way to enhance the shopping experience?

Wherever you are on your speed to market journey and regardless of your platform or technology, fit has always been and is now more than ever, the most important element in apparel to get right. And if you are responsible for product fit, the pressure is on.

In our work with apparel brands and retailers around the world and their many and varied business models, cross functional teams, processes, platforms, technologies and length of PLC calendars, we see the commonalities of struggles and successes on the subject of product fit and speed to market.

Join us for an interactive overview of common challenges and best practices that can help you to re-think your approach to fit, improve internal alignment on the subject, get to fit approval faster, and drive fit consistency in your organization.

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?

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 will work towards 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.

Come learn about a Retail Industry Collaboration focused on 3D Technology!

Members of the 3D.RC (3D Retail Coalition) can meet the Steering Committee and hear the mission, goals, and priorities for the group

After an initial 3D Development technology rollout, it is important to consider how one might improve and extend its functionality across the product development cycle. One such area can be fit; by investing in body scanning hardware technology, and integrating these avatars within an existing 3D software platform, one is then able to scan several consumers within each size group and consolidate these into updated and accurate avatars. With these installed within a 3D software, the process of digitally designing new lines becomes much more efficient, agile, and flexible.

Fresh out of their 3D Development discovery and planning journey, Columbia's four-phase implementation began back in August 2016. They reached their Phase I goal of developing ~20% of their apparel product lines by utilizing 3D development software, and are now aggressively working towards their Phase II target of ~50%. Phase II includes the integration of Human Solutions body scanning hardware, alongside their existing Browzwear software.

The Columbia team joins us to share how these two technologies can be deployed in parallel, and how their functions can complement a more agile product development cycle.

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 3D software
• How can the two technologies work in parallel? Exploring the benefits and challenges of such an integration
• Establishing updated avatars for various size groups, maximizing customer understanding, and supporting global expansion
• Creating more accurate prototypes and sales samples at drastically reduced speeds
• How has working with the US Olympic team and their uniforms helped bolster function and improvement of product fit on athletes?

The Global Brands Group have attended PI Apparel for the last two years and have gained a huge amount of value from the sessions and conversations they have seen/had there. However, as the 2016 installment came to an end they noticed one topic was missing: what's next for 3D technology?

The technology has made leaps and bounds in the last few years and nearing on all companies now have a system in place or are actively evaluating it. Global Brands Group now have an established library of digital assets in place and a good grasp of 3D in virtual sampling and rendering. But, as their e-commerce platform continues to grow aggressively and they look to improve consumer satisfaction and the ~40% return rate, they have started to ask could 3D be extended to be more of a consumer facing technology?

In this focus group, Global Brands Group lead a discussion on the potential future applications of 3D in...

• Leveraging 3D virtual samples in the e-commerce environment
• Supporting a customization model of 'direct to consumer'
• Possibly even putting part of the design process in their hands

...and how this could maximize consumer experience and loyalty and help feedback consumer data into the design process.

• What methods does your company use to capture fit data?
• How are we communicating our fit to our customers?
• How do you see the rapidly evolving digital environment changing the way your company evaluates fit?
• Brands and retailers still capture consumer fit data in some pretty old-fashioned ways today; what innovations and new technologies can we expect in this area in the future?
• What is your opinion on virtual fit? Could it ever replace a physical fit sample?
• In using digital assets, how would you like to see fit communication with consumers evolve?
• What are the various strategies that brands employ regarding fit and sizing when they enter new global markets? Are some more effective than others?
• Will product customization make the idea of global or regional fit standards obsolete? When?
• Are return rates reliable metrics for either good fit or poor fit? 

• 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?

After an initial 3D Development technology rollout, it is important to consider how one might improve and extend its functionality across the product development cycle. One such area can be fit; by investing in body scanning hardware technology, and integrating these avatars within an existing 3D software platform, one is then able to scan several consumers within each size group and consolidate these into updated and accurate avatars. With these installed within a 3D software, the process of digitally designing new lines becomes much more efficient, agile, and flexible.

Fresh out of their 3D Development discovery and planning journey, Columbia's four-phase implementation began back in August 2016. They reached their Phase I goal of developing ~20% of their apparel product lines by utilizing 3D development software, and are now aggressively working towards their Phase II target of ~50%. Phase II includes the integration of Human Solutions body scanning hardware, alongside their existing Browzwear software.

The Columbia team joins us to share how these two technologies can be deployed in parallel, and how their functions can complement a more agile product development cycle.

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 3D software
• How can the two technologies work in parallel? Exploring the benefits and challenges of such an integration
• Establishing updated avatars for various size groups, maximizing customer understanding, and supporting global expansion
• Creating more accurate prototypes and sales samples at drastically reduced speeds
• How has working with the US Olympic team and their uniforms helped bolster function and improvement of product fit on athletes?

The Global Brands Group have attended PI Apparel for the last two years and have gained a huge amount of value from the sessions and conversations they have seen/had there. However, as the 2016 installment came to an end they noticed one topic was missing: what's next for 3D technology?

The technology has made leaps and bounds in the last few years and nearing on all companies now have a system in place or are actively evaluating it. Global Brands Group now have an established library of digital assets in place and a good grasp of 3D in virtual sampling and rendering. But, as their e-commerce platform continues to grow aggressively and they look to improve consumer satisfaction and the ~40% return rate, they have started to ask could 3D be extended to be more of a consumer facing technology?

In this focus group, Global Brands Group lead a discussion on the potential future applications of 3D in...

• Leveraging 3D virtual samples in the e-commerce environment
• Supporting a customization model of 'direct to consumer'
• Possibly even putting part of the design process in their hands

...and how this could maximize consumer experience and loyalty and help feedback consumer data into the design process.

• What methods does your company use to capture fit data?
• How are we communicating our fit to our customers?
• How do you see the rapidly evolving digital environment changing the way your company evaluates fit?
• Brands and retailers still capture consumer fit data in some pretty old-fashioned ways today; what innovations and new technologies can we expect in this area in the future?
• What is your opinion on virtual fit? Could it ever replace a physical fit sample?
• In using digital assets, how would you like to see fit communication with consumers evolve?
• What are the various strategies that brands employ regarding fit and sizing when they enter new global markets? Are some more effective than others?
• Will product customization make the idea of global or regional fit standards obsolete? When?
• Are return rates reliable metrics for either good fit or poor fit? 

To meet changing market demands and improve competitiveness, fashion companies are undertaking technology deployments and setting up more collaborative, agile and efficient organization structures that are key to their digital transformation. In this session, you will experience how fashion brands and retailers are using the power of advanced technology to enable winning strategies in the current evolving market.

In way of shared case studies of Les Enphants, Tesco F&F, Imperial, Group Zannier and JC Penney, gain Insights Into: 

• The four mega Trends influencing the fashion industry 
• The relevance of data exchange in the fashion supply chain 
• The platform for fashion Industry 4.0

Fast Retailing deployed traditional PLM across their product development operation about 2 years ago. Since then, David Grant has been working hard to see how the platform and it's function can be digitally extended as part of an ongoing, and much larger, digital transformation across their product creation business.

David recognised immediately two parts of their product development process that could benefit from such an extension:

• During fitting, photos were being taken on a camera and notes scribbled into a notebook, both of which were then later being manually uploaded into PLM
• The product development floor was full of product boards covering fabrics, styles, colours, sketch info and so on, but no automated or digital way to track changes or indeed, work on them remotely

Via the digital extension of traditional PLM and the product development process, this session will cover:

• Adding mobile applications around the fitting process so that photos and notes are not only created, stored and saved in one place but that these are automatically uploaded into PLM
• Digitizing PD boards; enabling the mobile entry to all product development-related information remotely, the tracking and logging of all changes and the ability to visualize, product creation in real-time
• Enhancing immediate visibility to track real-time change and impacts on style, colour, fit etc
• Starting the digital journey within the product development space

As the second wave of wearable technology hype passes, consumers and brands alike are left wondering whether there is any intrinsic benefit to wearing technology and if so, how it can be better implemented to meet fundamental, durable consumer needs and wants. However, the explosion in consumer products in the last 5-7 years has also seen a dramatic concentration on a few focused application areas and device types, most of which are almost entirely dissociated from mainstream apparel. The full landscape of potential future development in wearable technology and smart clothing is vast and still full of exciting potential, both in the near term and in longer term vision.

The rift in culture, practice, and perspective between consumer electronics and apparel stands in the way of many of the more exciting futures for wearable technology. Speaking from a perspective built on 15 years of research in this domain, Lucy will explore key barriers (both technological and cultural) and opportunities in the pursuit of a future for wearables beyond wristbands and step-counters, including:

• Evidence and drivers of scope myopia in wearable technology applications
• The manufacturing challenge: soft goods meets hard goods
• Key technological obstacles: sensing and actuating
• Data and the domain-knowledge gap
• Disciplinary cultures and their effect on multi-disciplinary product development
• The relationship between industry and research in innovation and product development

The death spiral of chasing lower costs versus creating products that demand higher value (e.g. a cheap stocking vs a $50 pair of Spanx) has reverberated throughout industry, with one clear antidote: innovation.

The new challenge becomes not "do we invest in innovation?" but "how". Innovation 'labs' and divisions are becoming more and more common place, and yet time and time again we see scrappy startups upending giants, who, had they identified potential allies before they became threats, could deploy resources for mutual gain.

This chat discusses ways corporations can leverage internal and external teams to create and maintain an innovation edge. 

The launch and success of wearable smart fitness trackers back in 2015 led the fashion, apparel, footwear and accessories industry into a frenzy; with consumers jumping on the bandwagon and the media feeding the hype, many brands began wondering, and some rather desperately, how they might incorporate smart wearable tech into their product offering. This has been mirrored rather precisely in how many of you have answered our evaluation forms, surveys and questionnaires surrounding PI Apparel.

Of course there are a number of specialised cases where the outcomes of such an investment have been a huge success but they are just that, specialised. John joins us from Indiana University to lead a discussion on why of course the industry should be well aware of technology, but why sometimes, in an effort to be on the bleeding edge, some are getting caught up in what could be versus what should be and what their consumer base really wants moving forward.

The weird and wonderful world of wearables has, to date, gone relatively unchecked by a formalized set of standards and tests that are yet to be created. The AATCC, or Association of Textile, Apparel and Materials Professionals, has been asked to change this. The absence of standards is of course sufficient if making one off custom pieces, but if you are to fully invest in a commercial line of smart wearable products, it is important that these be fully considered, tested and ultimately that they live up to the expectatons of your customer.

This session will cover:

• What is the point of moving into wearables and who should own this addition?
• How should wearable development be more fully integrated into the existing design process?
• What are the standards and metrics that are needed by industry?
• What are the methods by which we can currently test functionality, durability and safety?
• Additional considerations - laundering, perspiration, interaction with other connected products, interaction with topical lotions/gels and stretch
• What to ask and what to consider?
• How are future developments, such as woven e-textiles or the abandonment of bulky batteries, being considered when developing these standards?

Ask any RFA executive about current and ongoing investment areas and sustainability will no doubt appear in the list. This is no different for VF, where their traditional efforts focused on quick-wins: resource/energy efficiences and PR type initiatives. Whilst somewhat effective and well-liked, these seldom had any real impact on the bottom line and as executive sponsors of the program came and left, the program found itself having to constantly start from scratch time and time again. This is a common tactical approach to sustainability.

VF began to recognize that this way of tackling sustainability would only achieve so much. They needed to re-evaluate the way the initative was setup, approached and transcended throughout the organization, and ultimately, needed to transform it into a value-generating practice that was intricately integrated with overall business strategy.

This session will discuss how best to align resources and launch projects to drive more expert-based sustainability-orientated value for your company. Specifically:

• Why are traditional and tactical approaches to sustainability unproductive and non-sustainable?
• Sustainability Genesis -  understanding how and why sustainability could be integrated into business strategy?
• Flipping the mindset around sustainability - From low hanging targets to asking ourselves how sustainability could solve core business challanges
• Re-evaluating the capabilities of sustainability personnel - Ensuring they can, and want, to understand existing and emerging function-based challenges and how sustainability could be a viable solution
• Without the right perception, there is no credibility

Today’s industry headlines are filled with bankruptcies, layoffs, store closings and missed earnings reports, yet contrasted with exciting new business models, product innovations and digital technologies, such as 3D, machine learning, voice of the customer analytics and internet of things. 

For leaders with product responsibilities, what is their vision for transforming or even disrupting their own businesses in the midst of these headlines? What is their obligation to help shape industry thinking? How should they engage the digital era, while still meeting quarterly obligations?  How do they educate and inspire their teams?  In this panel discussion led by Kalypso, senior leaders from Nike and Tailored Brands share their views on these topics and more.

Overcoming the challenges of getting fashion products to market faster is resulting in retailers and brands re-evaluating their end-to-end product development and supply chain processes.  No longer are retailers and wholesalers developing their assortments utilizing a “one size fits all” approach to their seasonal calendars. Instead they are employing different speed models to capture trends and maximize innovation in product design and development.

In this session you will learn how retail, footwear, and apparel companies are reducing cycle time and improving product flow to ensure a relevant, on-trend assortment. Included will be an overview of the latest Kurt Salmon benchmarking report covering how to meet the quality and speed expectations of the “see now, buy now” consumer while optimizing around product, price and profits.

In the 20th century the priority for all businesses was growth and expansion above all else. The model worked and business flourished but at the expense of the planet and her people. Today, in the 21st century, the same businesses are being pressured to undo this damage.

The mistake many make when it comes to sustainability (human rights, environment, philanthropym, strategic partnerships, etc.) is that it is often an after-thought and dealt with in a siloed manner; the 'think about the product first and deal with its impacts later' model is, however, completely counter-productive. Sustainability needs to be embedded deep within the brand, the workplace culture, and its entire vendor network.

Amy Hall leads the Social Consciousness team at EILEEN FISHER and joins the event to discuss:

• What did EILEEN FISHER’s early commitment to environmental and human sustainability look like and how has it evolved over the years?
• Creating a cross-functional team to foster the right culture and provide resources for success
• Taking an integrated decentralized approach where many people own sustainability goals
• What are their bold goals for 2020 and how do they measure progress?
• How are they engaging with their global vendor and supplier network and working with them to achieve a unified vision?
• Understanding how the actions of the brand force their external network to cut corners
• Recognizing the need to change internal practices to alleviate stress on supply chain partners
• Creating a network wide win-win partnership vs a commanding top-down approach to support success
• Listening to your partners and their concerns
• Ensuring people are thriving and not just existing

For a long time the fashion, apparel and footwear industry has operated with its cards very close to its chest; brands believed that in order to thrive they needed to work in an insular way but whilst that may have supported growth for a while it has become increasingly obvious that this is not sustainable. One area that this has impacted dramatically is technological advancement.

In speaking to the Under Armour team one comment stood out in particular: the lack of collaboration between different parties has left the industry lagging behind. Much of the sector is still working with antiquated or legacy platforms and there has been few outstanding advancements in technology in the last 150 years. However, with the digital age now in full force and technology having become the very core of our operation, we are forced to ask ourselves, what needs to change?

In this session, the Under Armour team will lead a discussion on:

• Realizing you don't have all the answers and looking outside of your own four walls to find people that might
• Building a collaborative think tank of skills without having to formally hire the world's experts
• How best to leverage the strength of your innovation partners and ensuring any relationship has mutual gains
• Realizing that this is not about selling more but creating advancements that will transform industry

This session will be split into 2 x 20-min blocks, each one mediated by a different technology start-up, namely:

2:15-2:35 
Robotic Sewing & The Future of Apparel Manufacturing with Jon Zornow, Sewbo

Sewbo is an early stage startup that’s brought the long-sought goal of automated sewing within reach. Despite widespread use in other sectors, industrial automation has failed to find a place in apparel manufacturing. Sewbo's approach is to temporarily stiffen fabrics, making it easy for off-the-shelf robots to build clothes as if they were made from sheet metal.

2:35-2:55
Creative minds - Redesigning PLM for a new generation with Oshana Pinto, BeProduct

BeProduct is what you get when the brains behind some of the fashion’s biggest software install bases take PLM back to the drawing board.  An uncommon commitment to UX. Lightweight, low-cost cloud installation. A laser focus on collaboration and creativity. BeProduct is built to bring the best of today’s talent together in an environment they love - not just one they tolerate. From a whole new drag-and-drop developer ecosystem to a private social network uniting people passionate about product, BeProduct is PLM done differently.

Today’s industry headlines are filled with bankruptcies, layoffs, store closings and missed earnings reports, yet contrasted with exciting new business models, product innovations and digital technologies, such as 3D, machine learning, voice of the customer analytics and internet of things. 

For leaders with product responsibilities, what is their vision for transforming or even disrupting their own businesses in the midst of these headlines? What is their obligation to help shape industry thinking? How should they engage the digital era, while still meeting quarterly obligations?  How do they educate and inspire their teams?  In this panel discussion led by Kalypso, senior leaders from Nike and Tailored Brands share their views on these topics and more.

The rapidly evolving world of digital is set to change retail product development more in the next five years than it has in the last 15. As a result of this disruption, fashion, apparel and footwear leaders are being forced to find new ways to transform their end-to-end product development lifecycles, and in doing so, deliver top and bottom-line results.

To understand where industry leaders are focusing their transformation investments, PI Apparel, Kalypso and Indiana University partnered on a research study of leading product development practices in the industry.  This session presents those findings and starts the conversation of how to pursue an evolved product development lifecycle that delivers results from innovation in a digital world.

The rapidly evolving world of digital is set to change retail product development more in the next five years than it has in the last 15. As a result of this disruption, fashion, apparel and footwear leaders are being forced to find new ways to transform their end-to-end product development lifecycles, and in doing so, deliver top and bottom-line results.

To understand where industry leaders are focusing their transformation investments, PI Apparel, Kalypso and Indiana University partnered on a research study of leading product development practices in the industry.  This session presents those findings and starts the conversation of how to pursue an evolved product development lifecycle that delivers results from innovation in a digital world.

To understand this discussion, it is important to first know a little about the people leading it: 

• Walter is widely recognized as one of the most innovative and "connected" executives in the softgoods industry, and one of the pioneers in creating and implementing technology to streamline the product design and development processes. 
• Barbara, President of a major heritage brand, is described by Walter as 'the most hands-on executive' he has ever met when it comes to technology and as such, has dived head first into every rollout the company has embarked on 
• Hebe, President and CEO of Kaltex America, leads the US division of a 50,000 employee-strong, vertical enterprise. With a background in Finance, Hebe has become the company’s executive champion for many of their investments in technology systems.  

When it comes to tech rollouts, if a company claims the process was pain-free and easy I think we can all agree that they are lying. Every company at some stage down the roadmap has hit a bump, realized they have made a/many mistake(s) or mis-judged the time and energy of continued success.

In this session three seasoned practioners bring an invaluable take on technology: an honest one.Understanding what it takes to get approval, how to get ROI and having directly experienced some successes and some failures across PLM, ERP, 3D, CAD and more, our mediators will share honest insights into what has and hasn't worked, what they would have done differently and the secret ingredients needed to ensure ongoing success.

Runway of Dreams is the authority on adapting mainstream clothing.

Partnering with top brands and retailers, Runway of Dreams works to integrate wearable technology and design modifications into clothing, making it adaptive and wearable for all.

Runway of Dreams researches, develops and produces by:

• Listening to the voices of the differently-abled community in order to overcome clothing challenges that affect both function and fashion
• Based on focus groups and surveys, creating modifications in mainstream clothing for the differently-abled using wearable technology such as Patented MagnaReady® magnets
• Working with top brands to implement Runway of Dreams' modifications into their existing lines that fit the needs of the differently-abled community.

For a long time the fashion, apparel and footwear industry has operated with its cards very close to its chest; brands believed that in order to thrive they needed to work in an insular way but whilst that may have supported growth for a while it has become increasingly obvious that this is not sustainable. One area that this has impacted dramatically is technological advancement.

In speaking to the Under Armour team one comment stood out in particular: the lack of collaboration between different parties has left the industry lagging behind. Much of the sector is still working with antiquated or legacy platforms and there has been few outstanding advancements in technology in the last 150 years. However, with the digital age now in full force and technology having become the very core of our operation, we are forced to ask ourselves, what needs to change?

In this session, the Under Armour team will lead a discussion on:

• Realizing you don't have all the answers and looking outside of your own four walls to find people that might
• Building a collaborative think tank of skills without having to formally hire the world's experts
• How best to leverage the strength of your innovation partners and ensuring any relationship has mutual gains
• Realizing that this is not about selling more but creating advancements that will transform industry

To understand this discussion, it is important to first know a little about the people leading it: 

• Walter is widely recognized as one of the most innovative and "connected" executives in the softgoods industry, and one of the pioneers in creating and implementing technology to streamline the product design and development processes. 
• Barbara, President of a major heritage brand, is described by Walter as 'the most hands-on executive' he has ever met when it comes to technology and as such, has dived head first into every rollout the company has embarked on 
• Hebe, President and CEO of Kaltex America, leads the US division of a 50,000 employee-strong, vertical enterprise. With a background in Finance, Hebe has become the company’s executive champion for many of their investments in technology systems.  

When it comes to tech rollouts, if a company claims the process was pain-free and easy I think we can all agree that they are lying. Every company at some stage down the roadmap has hit a bump, realized they have made a/many mistake(s) or mis-judged the time and energy of continued success.

In this session three seasoned practioners bring an invaluable take on technology: an honest one.Understanding what it takes to get approval, how to get ROI and having directly experienced some successes and some failures across PLM, ERP, 3D, CAD and more, our mediators will share honest insights into what has and hasn't worked, what they would have done differently and the secret ingredients needed to ensure ongoing success.

To understand this discussion, it is important to first know a little about the people leading it: 

• Walter is widely recognized as one of the most innovative and "connected" executives in the softgoods industry, and one of the pioneers in creating and implementing technology to streamline the product design and development processes. 
• Barbara, President of a major heritage brand, is described by Walter as 'the most hands-on executive' he has ever met when it comes to technology and as such, has dived head first into every rollout the company has embarked on 
• Hebe, President and CEO of Kaltex America, leads the US division of a 50,000 employee-strong, vertical enterprise. With a background in Finance, Hebe has become the company’s executive champion for many of their investments in technology systems.  

When it comes to tech rollouts, if a company claims the process was pain-free and easy I think we can all agree that they are lying. Every company at some stage down the roadmap has hit a bump, realized they have made a/many mistake(s) or mis-judged the time and energy of continued success.

In this session three seasoned practioners bring an invaluable take on technology: an honest one.Understanding what it takes to get approval, how to get ROI and having directly experienced some successes and some failures across PLM, ERP, 3D, CAD and more, our mediators will share honest insights into what has and hasn't worked, what they would have done differently and the secret ingredients needed to ensure ongoing success.

This session will be split into 2 x 20-min blocks, each one mediated by a different technology start-up, namely:

2:15-2:35 
Robotic Sewing & The Future of Apparel Manufacturing with Jon Zornow, Sewbo

Sewbo is an early stage startup that’s brought the long-sought goal of automated sewing within reach. Despite widespread use in other sectors, industrial automation has failed to find a place in apparel manufacturing. Sewbo's approach is to temporarily stiffen fabrics, making it easy for off-the-shelf robots to build clothes as if they were made from sheet metal.

2:35-2:55
Creative minds - Redesigning PLM for a new generation with Oshana Pinto, BeProduct

BeProduct is what you get when the brains behind some of the fashion’s biggest software install bases take PLM back to the drawing board.  An uncommon commitment to UX. Lightweight, low-cost cloud installation. A laser focus on collaboration and creativity. BeProduct is built to bring the best of today’s talent together in an environment they love - not just one they tolerate. From a whole new drag-and-drop developer ecosystem to a private social network uniting people passionate about product, BeProduct is PLM done differently.