Tommy Hilfiger has announced that 3D design technology is being incorporated into all apparel design teams at its headquarters in Amsterdam. Its spring 2022 apparel collections will be the first to be fully designed using the company’s innovative 3D design platform. This commitment builds upon the company’s target to digitise its end-to-end value chain.
In order to realise their 3D design goal, Tommy has founded a tech incubator called STITCH, dedicated to digitising the company’s design practices. Since Tommy’s 3D design journey began in 2017, teams of software engineers, 3D design experts, and transformation specialists have developed an ecosystem of proprietary tools that enable a fully digital design workflow. This includes a digital fabric, pattern, and colour asset library; digital 3D presentation tools and rendering technology, the company said in a press release.
Transforming traditional design and sample production steps into virtual processes allows for faster timelines and seamless integration into Digital Showrooms. Scaling 3D design technology across Tommy apparel collections follows two years of targeted pilots that have successfully connected the 3D design platform to Tommy’s state-of-the-art Digital Showroom. While the Digital Showroom technology revolutionised the company’s sell-in methods, the bottom-up approach of its ongoing 3D design transformation will further expand the digitalisation of Tommy’s end-to-end value chain.
In Fall 2020, Tommy will launch a capsule collection designed, developed and sold digitally, including products modelled on virtual avatars. The initiative is the next step in uncovering the full potential of sample reduction, time savings, cost savings, and sustainability by leveraging 3D design.
Associates in more than 50 per cent of the apparel divisions located at Tommy’s global headquarters have been trained and educated in 3D design through the STITCH Academy, with the technology active in 20 product groups and counting. Moving forward, all Tommy product teams will receive 3D design training and upskilling as standard, including designers, patternmakers, fit technicians, product developers, and merchandisers.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (GK)
