New service would allow consumers to wear their own designs in one hour

Posted on : 2017-08-29 18:24 KST Modified on : 2017-08-29 18:24 KST
“My Fashion Lab” displayed as part of Preview in Seoul textile exhibition
On Aug. 28 at Seoul COEX in Samsung-dong
On Aug. 28 at Seoul COEX in Samsung-dong

A service that allows you to design your own clothing and have it made onsite within an hour has just been unveiled.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is operating the cutting-edge clothing manufacturing service called "My Fashion Lab", from Aug 28. to Aug. 30 at Seoul COEX. A spinoff of the international textile exhibition Preview in Seoul, which kicked off on Aug. 28, My Fashion Lab allows the consumer to participate in the entire manufacturing process – from design to creation – at a single location.

At this workshop, the consumer first uses 3D technology to select a design suited to their tastes. Next, using 3D body scanning technology that takes their measurements and generates a personal avatar, the user can see if their clothing design fits via a 3D virtual fitting function. Once the consumer makes a final design selection, the actual manufacturing begins.

Next comes the digital textile printing (DTP) process, which prints a design in color onto fabric instead of paper, immediately followed by onsite fabric cutting and sewing. All of the steps can be completed within 30 minutes to an hour: measurements (3 -5 minutes), design selection and virtual fitting (5 - 10 minutes), pattern (clothing template) printing (7 - 10 minutes), and fabric cutting and sewing (15 - 25 minutes).

In creating this “garment of their own” the consumer can choose from three sizes, eight types of clothing (jacket, shirts, one-piece dresses etc.) and 30 different patterns. Users also have the option of adjusting sleeve length, color tones or the size of the pattern, and can add text to their design. Breaking from the off-the-rack conventions of the fashion industry, the service combines information and communication technology (ICT), mass customization production systems, and personal customization features to create a vision of future consumer-oriented fashion.

The workshop event was organized by the Korea Outdoor & Sports Industry Association. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said that, “As part of an effort to reduce the burdens of online shopping, which is seeing an increasing number of refunds (40 percent of sales) and issues with stock (30 percent), customized fashion is the latest trend among fashion suppliers...conventional 3D fashion design used to be a solution reserved for specialists and suppliers, but this event allows the consumer to participate in the entire process of ordering and creating a garment without the help of an expert.”

By Cho Kye-wan, staff reporter

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