September 25, 2024

Could 3D asset creation become more scalable? Could standards and processes become easier to adopt? Questions like these are typically heard from industry professionals implementing Digital Product Creation (DPC), because while DPC technologies are now widespread in the apparel industry, standards and processes across the ecosystem are yet to mesh intuitively.

For fashion brands, transforming their supply chains and adopting 3D technologies can equate to requesting digital materials from fabric suppliers. This imposes expectations on suppliers that they know how to create quality digital twins and evaluate the data, while brands are also pressured to take the time and relay their quality expectations clearly to their vendors.

Due to the lack of quality standards, this point of communication between brands and suppliers can create a relentless loop until expectations from both sides land on the same page.

Herein lies the dilemma. To reap the benefits of DPC- aside from an expansion of skill set and investment of time and resources- trust in the technology and process is required from both parties. And that’s easier said than done.

Another complication to the material digitization process is a general lack of uniformity in the physical measurement and 3D simulation per software.

To develop this workflow, the Vizoo team conducted further research on the needs of all digitization users and the best physical drape reference shape.  Several rounds of testing and workshops with various brands, followed by an in-depth collaboration workshop with technology provider Browzwear, helped to increase accuracy and fine-tune the process. Ultimately, to ensure the important consistency in results across different tools, acceptance testing was done using CLO3D and Optitex.

A major fashion group struggled when reviewing digital fabric submissions from their suppliers due to their previous time- and resource-consuming QA process. This led them to entrust Vizoo with the implementation of the new Drape Validation Workflow among its vendor base. Over the past three months, training sessions amongst five material digitization hubs and 11 fabric mills led to the successful implementation across several regions in APAC and EMEA.

Today, the corporate office brand is efficiently scaling up the vendor’s digital capability and communicating quality expectations – ensuring a uniform and high standard for digital submission and eliminating back-and-forth review processes.

Images: Drape validation at digitization hubs run by Vizoo-certified partners MAS (upper left and right) and The Bridgt Atelier (lower left).

Within six months of its release, the widespread adoption of the Vizoo Drape Validation Workflow underscores its value in enhancing efficiency and standardization in the industry.

Aside from the above-mentioned fashion group, several fashion brands and three more Material Service Hubs adopted the Drape Validation workflow for their individual Digital Transformation needs.

The workflow also helps bonprix (part of the Otto Group) stabilize their internal digitization process, as explained by Lisa Hoppen, Fabric Coordinator, from bonprix:

The workflow has two major objectives. First, establish a meaningful link between the physical and virtual world by using new reference geometries optimized for 3D simulation, and second, absolute usability enabling fast user adoption.

The user is trained to follow well-defined steps when draping the fabric, creating reference photographs to establish a ground truth, and rendering the digital twin under the same conditions. Then, the user documents the result in a quality control template. This allows the supervisor or the brand to judge the sample’s quality accurately at one glance.

Vizoo offers the Drape Validation Workflow as a comprehensive package for easy implementation.

This includes drape reference geometries, 3D reference scene for each 3D CAD application, full workflow documentation and training, as well as a QC template. The workflow is currently tested for Browzwear, CLO3D, and Optitex but can be easily expanded to other 3D platforms.

Across variations in 3D software, the newly introduced workflow helps to achieve accurate, consistent, and true-to-life draping. Now, it’s possible to validate whether the physical measurement process has been carried out correctly by internal teams or external supply chain partners.

As the fashion industry continues to embrace digital innovation, standardized and tool-independent workflows like the Drape Validation Workflow emerge as a vital and foundational tool for ensuring accuracy and reliability in Digital Product Creation and digital transformation. It might just be the last piece in the interoperability puzzle of the fashion industry.