Emily in Paris? More like LCE in Paris! This year, the Bodywear Lab team joined London Contour Experts Group CEO and founder, Nichole de Carle, at Interfilière Paris, a unique international salon for the lingerie, swimwear and activewear markets. The event is a fantastic opportunity for industry leaders and contour entrepreneurs to gather together to discuss ideas, developments and the future of the fashion industry. One hot topic of conversation was smart technology, and how it can be used intelligently within the contour industry to drive innovation within product design, branding, marketing, sales, consumer experience and so much more! Join us as we fill you in on the tech revolution happening right now, and how your brand can benefit from these amazing advancements!
STYLE 3D
A new digital fashion platform that caught our eye is Style 3D Fashion 3.0. This cutting-edge technology allows users a range of tools and solutions to streamline the design and production process. With the option of working with the Studio program, a comprehensive workshop that allows designers to create and visualise their designs digitally, speeding up the design process and reducing time to market, as well as the environmental impact which is always a plus! There is also the Fabric feature, aimed at helping suppliers to create digital fabrics, allowing for realistic fabric simulations and reducing the need for physical samples. It also helps in managing leftover fabrics efficiently, minimising waste in the production process.
There is also a Cloud feature, offering an interactive space for quick collaborations on projects between all parties involved within the design and production process as well as efficient overall management of the supply chain. To make things even easier for fashion professionals, there is a Market program too, with over 40,000 ready-to-wear 3D styles already free to use and customise which allows a shortened creative process for designers as well as saving costs. Style 3D Fashion 3.0 is a fantastic futuristic digital tool that can enhance productivity, improve efficiency and reduce waste, all whilst creating beautiful designs that appeal to the market. Interested in creating 3D designs of your products? Check out Bodywear Lab’s 3D service offering where we can create all the intricate details for your range.
FASHION FOR BIODIVERSITY
Another company aiming to protect our planet’s wildlife within the fashion sphere is Fashion for Biodiversity Solutions (FFBS), a RegTech Certification Body that focuses on connecting fashion to Earth’s biodiversity. They utilise space technology, such as data from satellites and drones to generate QR codes for clothing labels that provide information about the environmental impact of clothing. FFBS adopts a ‘Traceability and Transparency’ ethos, as understanding where our clothes come from and at what cost to the planet is vital in helping to reduce excessive wastage and consumer overspending on poor quality items. FFBS’s overall goal is to address and prevent the decline of global biodiversity by tackling issues such as soil degradation, deforestation, and pollution caused by fashion raw material cultivation. The company achieves this by complying with EU legislations on sustainable practices, particularly in organic production, and regulations that promote sustainable agriculture, biodiversity preservation, and responsible environmental practices in the fashion industry.
FFBS operates as a Certification Body, offering certifications and compliance management services for fashion companies. They provide expertise in evaluating and verifying sustainable practices, ensuring compliance with regulations, and promoting transparency in the industry. By working with FFBS when building your brand, consumers and other fashion industry professionals will be reassured of your commitment to protecting the environment and therefore mark your business as trustworthy. London Contour Experts is proud to be an eco-conscious company, and as such we have partnerships and certifications from verified and respected governing bodies. If you want to learn more about our ethical standards and commitment to protecting the planet click here, or if you want to know about our partnerships and awards, click here.
RETRACED
Similar to FFBS in aiming to trace where our fashion comes from, Retraced is a platform that specialises in compliance management and traceability in the industry. They work with fashion and textile companies to digitise their supply chain, allowing for transparency which can help shut down exploitative practices as well as allow for more efficient supply chain management, which saves time, energy, and costs. The platform enables companies to implement, measure, and evaluate compliance and sustainability along their supply chains. It helps identify stakeholders, measure risks, collect certificates and documents, and store all data in one platform for a reliable chain of custody, which means better communication between all entities within the supply chain. Retraced’s traceability and proof systems enable trust among supply chain partners, fostering trust and credibility with customers and business partners. By establishing commitment and impact, companies can increase the value of their supply chains and final garments. The platform has already successfully traced over 5000 supply chains, tracing over 5 million products to date! By partnering with Retraced, fashion brands and companies can enhance their supply chain management, ensure compliance and sustainability, build trust with customers, and contribute to positive change in the fashion industry. If sustainability is important to you when creating your contour designs, check out Bodywear Lab’s sustainable practices, with more information on how we ensure we are doing our part to reduce our impact here.
SEAQUAL
The Seaqual Initiative is a collaborative community dedicated to fighting plastic pollution in the oceans by bringing together individuals, organisations, and companies to address the issue of marine plastic, raise awareness, and recognize the heroes working towards solving the problem. One key activity is ocean clean-ups carried out by volunteers who collect marine litter from oceans, beaches, rivers etc. Whilst metals and glass are recycled through traditional methods, plastics are transformed into a new material coined Seaqual® Marine Plastic. This material is fully traceable and can be used to create sustainable products such as swimwear, activewear and other garments. Seaqual already partners with brands and manufacturers from over 60 countries, promoting a more circular economy with sustainable and traceable materials used within the fashion industry. By transforming marine litter, Seaqual Initiative prevents it from ending up in landfills or being incinerated, raises awareness about the issue of marine litter, and highlights the efforts of those involved in cleaning the oceans. The initiative aims to recover plastic waste globally, engage with various industries, and transform this resource into high-quality everyday products. Seaqual’s ultimate goal is to provide consumers with a wide range of sustainable options and pave the way for a sustainable future.
RETAIL-VR
VR is already a swiftly developing technology within the fashion industry with VR catwalks, showrooms and fitting rooms already being experimented by the big brands. Retail-3D is taking it one step further by offering assistance with 3D commerce and 3D merchandising. 3D commerce is a tool that allows businesses to boost their point-of-sale (POS) and e-commerce performance by being accessible 24/7. Customers can then visit whenever it is convenient for them, making purchases at any time, in any place, whenever they choose. This buyer freedom is demonstrated to lead to an increase in revenue, a reduced carbon footprint, higher average basket size, increased website traffic, additional sales, and more time spent on the site. It also offers features like Virtual Showroom and Virtual Store to enhance the customer experience and drive sales as the consumer can ‘try on’ their garment before purchase, all virtually of course.
Whilst the 3D commerce program is geared more towards consumers, the 3D merchandising tool is for the benefit of the business. The tool aims to improve in-store performance by allowing businesses to test different consumer journeys in their store including packaging impact, planograms (a plan for displaying merchandise to maximise sales), point-of-sale materials, and POS displays. Having all this data in one accessible place allows businesses to have better communication and collaboration between teams which in turn facilitates quick and efficient deployment of new concepts, techniques and collections. The benefits include faster setup, cost-effective testing, time saved per appointment, and reduced breakage rate of POS materials. Retail- VR is a great tool that enables businesses to create immersive and interactive virtual experiences, enhance their online and in-store presence, optimise merchandising strategies, and drive sales growth while reducing costs.
The future of fashion has never been more exciting with the imposition of dynamic and life changing technologies as well as a re-shifted focus on the importance of sustainability, which is more important than ever.
Interested in learning more about technology and fashion? Head over to Bodywear Lab to read how tech has impacted the fashion industry even more here!
Do you want to know how you can introduce smart technology into your contour business? Get in touch with one of our industry experts here, who can offer valuable consultancy as well as tips and tricks to ensure your brand is future proof!
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Our family has expanded to include a two new companies. Head to HYSCULPT for all your marketing & PR needs and get to know Bodywear Lab for design and production support!
Our family has expanded to include a two new companies. Head to HYSCULPT for all your marketing needs and get to know Bodywear Lab for design and production support!
