Index [TC]² Pattern Development 3 Day Seminar Fit for a Jean [TC]² Activity Member Profile - TUKATECH, Inc. Important Dates A Look Ahead

[TC]² Pattern Development 3 Day Seminar
October 18-20, 2006
Still Accepting Registrations

Pattern Development is a comprehensive course guiding each participant through the basics of developing patterns and applying grade rules.

Learn introductory principles of fit, pattern development, and marker making. Hands-on activities include flat pattern manipulations, fabric critique, and garment investigation.

To register for this course or other [TC]² offerings, please contact Elizabeth Salisbury, Program Coordinator at (919) 653-3507 or use our contact form.

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Fit for a Jean
By Kim Anderson, Ph.D., writer/reporter for [TC]²

Over one hundred and fifty years and counting, the much loved jean still reigns. Today, women have literally hundreds of different brands to choose from, each with its own unique style and fit. Unfortunately, shuffling through the mountain of selections to find the perfect jean can be a daunting task. Rob Holloway and his team at Archetype Solutions Inc. might have just the answer—zafu.com.

It is well known that women’s bottom half is loaded with variability, making fit a formidable endeavor. On zafu.com, the visitor answers thirteen questions about her preferred style and fit. From the response, specific styles and brands of jeans are recommended—magical…hardly. zafu has used hard data to crack this conundrum.

The team that developed zafu.com tapped into the data collected in the SizeUSA survey to help identify body types and understand fit. [TC]² conducted the survey in 2003. Two hundred measurements of over 10,000 people in 13 cities across the U.S. were collected using [TC]²’s 3D body scanning technology. Holloway explains that before the SizeUSA survey the apparel industry didn’t have very good data available to solve age old problems.

The team also photographed, measured and assessed thousands of women wearing jeans and have found that different brands, not surprisingly, fit differently. When helping women find a good fit, they’ve discovered that asking a woman about body issues elicits more information than measuring them.

An estimated 450 million pairs of jeans are sold every year, but unfortunately, when women buy from a catalog or online without trying on the jeans there is a 20-50% return rate. Hopefully zafu.com will change this statistic. With a rapidly expanding library that already contains 200 jeans from 70 different brands, zafu analyzes the woman’s body profile and makes recommendations based on their answers. So far 94% of women are happy with the jeans recommended by the site.

The website, called zafu.com, is named for the round cushion used to sit on while serenely meditating. Holloway and his team chose the name with the hope of bringing a little piece of serenity back to women on the hunt for the perfect jeans.

For more details, visit www.zafu.com.

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[TC]² Activity
[TC]² Attends the Executive-in-Residence Program at NCSU College of Textiles

Representatives of [TC]² were in attendance for the first 2006 Executive-in-Residence session hosted by NCSU College of Textiles.  Marshal Cohen, Chief Industry Analyst for the NPD Group, Inc., opened the program with a presentation entitled Understanding the Consumer. Analyzing the responses to thousands of questionnaires and personal interviews has armed Cohen with intriguing insight—how to catch the attention of today’s elusive consumer.

Cohen opened by challenging the audience with a question—what do retailers believe is the number one consumer story? After several failed guesses, Cohen divulged the answer—gas prices. Regardless of what the retailers are saying, Cohen believes gas prices are not what ails slow retail sales.

Cohen’s theory is that “house value confidence” bears a much greater burden on influencing customer behavior than the price of gas. 76% of consumers hope to use the value of their home for retirement or to pay for a large looming expense. Given this, it’s not surprising that 81% of consumers say they will make spending adjustments due to home devaluation. Only 24% will adjust their spending because of gas prices.

Cohen implored the audience to broaden their scope. The fashion industry is not only competing with itself, but also with all other industries catering to consumers. Cohen looked at the 2005 sales growth of large appliances, cell phones, video games, footwear, apparel and toys. At this point Cohen revealed an interesting fact—out of these products large appliances had the largest sales growth in 2005.

Again Cohen challenged the audience…why large appliances? Answers were tossed about…Katrina, energy efficiency, and then the truth—color…color? The appliance industry has out-fashioned the fashion industry by exciting consumers with color. Now consumers can choose from a host of unorthodox colors including apricot orange, cobalt blue and cherry red. The message was clear: we must think of new ways to look at things in our industry.

Cohen then revealed what he believes to be the most important emerging trends.

• Women are taking on shopping habits that are more typically seen in men. Women are not purchasing all new apparel but adding to their existing wardrobes.

• Consumers today want their clothes to multi-task and new finishing treatments and high tech yarns are a great way to lure the demanding consumer. Wrinkle and stain resistant finishes and yarns with inherent moisture management properties are just some of the hot trends.

• The mega-trend of well-being has seeped into the apparel industry. Apparel, worn close to the skin, is ideal for the delivery of well-being benefits.

• The forgotten baby boomers are a huge untapped market. Cohen warns not to market apparel that is too “young,” but at the same time—don’t make them feel old.

• Whether the brand takes the One World, Image, Lifestyle or Relevant approach—if marketed effectively power branding is a sure way to get and keep a consumer.

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Member Profile - TUKATECH, Inc.

TUKATECH was formed in 1997 by Ram Sareen, a veteran in the Apparel Industry. Using his own capital, he launched a business to do what other CAD CAM companies did not offer: digital patternmaking with guaranteed results. His team was built around actual hands-on experience rather than sales skills. Even today, when over 80% of the world's apparel manufacturers have no CAD systems, there is still great potential for companies that are willing to leap ahead of the industry curve and start thinking digitally.

New technologies including 3D simulation and body scanning are being adopted globally, but there is still an underlying problem; the patterns must be made on computer. This is necessary to obtain the benefits of better, faster and cheaper production; however, the majority of new CAD users make patterns by hand. TUKATECH’s objective is to see that every user of its CAD system makes patterns on the system.

In 2001, TUKAweb was created to provide production and development services to apparel businesses of all sizes. Through TUKAweb, companies are able to deliver top-quality patterns to clients, receive cost-efficient markers for manufacturing, and can rely on TUKATECH’s hundreds of skilled employees to deliver on-time. Through TUKAweb, companies are able to reap the benefits of CAD patternmaking and computerized markers without making any capital investment.

Currently, over 6,500 CAD systems have been installed and the company continues to seek better solutions for its clients. Built-in Video training in local languages, FedEx – TUKAWEB alliance, Kinkos for plotting, TUKAcenters for providing services, and the first Internet solution through www.tukaweb.com are some of the services that have been launched.

TUKATECH has proven its commitment to the apparel industry by creating and providing solutions for businesses of all sizes and in all stages of the development process.

Today, a decade after its inception, TUKATECH is a pioneer in providing affordable solutions for the global supply chain with only one mission, “Perfect fit, the FIRST time.” New products such as TUKAforms and the e-fit Simulator have revolutionized companies from the manufacturing level up.

For more information on the company’s products and services, visit www.tukatech.com.

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Important Dates

September

October

November

For detailed information about industry events, visit www.techexchange.com

Thanks to the techexchange site sponsors
Apparel Magazine, Gerber Technology, Intentia, Lectra, Methods Workshop and Reach Technologies.

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A Look Ahead in the Newsletter


Material World
SEAMS Fall Meeting
Apparel Tech Conference

View previous editions of this newsletter

[TC]²
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