The IT catwalk on fashion's ramp

Today designs strut across the globe in the blink of an eye. Today time-to-market is the ultimate thread of success. Today apparel designers need to seal the right handshakes with PLM and operations. Fashion industry looks like in the right spot for a real tech makeover. How and why and more in this chat-walk with Atul Dhakappa, Business Head - Growth Accounts at Geometric Limited .

Where exactly does technology or IT stitch with the fashion industry?

There are lots of elements in this industry. For instance, items have to be in the right flavour at the right time on the shelves. Today there are at least 12 to 14 seasons so a brand has got a good number of collections accordingly.

From conception, design, development to final destination, technology can make a lot of difference. More so in current global times, where ‘design anywhere’ and ‘manufacture anywhere’ are new imperatives for any brand. It is critical then that the definition of a product is completely non-ambiguous to the finest level of detail, be it colours, accessories, buttons, logo, measurements etc. The ‘anywhere’ paradigm demands that every piece should still be exactly same, and that’s again where software can help.

And PLM has unique applications here?

When we talk about fashion industry, the vibrant hues, fast paced moves and the feel of soft fiber crosses our mind. Not many people realize that behind the swiftly evolving glamour world, lies momentous synchronization by the not-so-glamorous techies.

From the conceptualization of the design in one corner of the world, to its manufacturing in second, and its sale in the third; everything is managed inch-by-inch through the effective use of IT, and PLM. Thus, the invisible tech-effort makes the life of designers, manufactures, retailers and finally the customers visibly simpler.

What is different as PLM moves forward in the fashion industry?

Interestingly, there are two big bubbles that are around. And there is a need of handshake between innovation and operations as well as between PLM and ERP. We have structured CAD, PLM etc in view of collaboration, decision-making, large scale manufacturing needs, organization of product information to levels like raw-material or costing, as well as various operational aspects, so that speed and time-to-market is really addressed successfully.

So how unique is fashion industry in terms of the creativity chalk to other design-oriented industries?

Creativity in this line is definitely very higher than what you would notice in a car industry. There is multitude of variables, different sizes, shapes, colours, necklines, collars etc in a single product. Then you can extend creativity to predictable creativity as many styles or seasons of past keep playing back. That calls for a lot of intelligence in PLM.

What role do tools play in this segment?

Tools play their roles in areas like real-time rendering, 3D visualization, prototype creation, demo prep for clients etc. Then there are special tools created for specific customers. These are reporting tools, product catalogue related functions, integration packages for extracting PLM information and make it email-friendly, or plugging design functions in PDF files etc.

Do PLM and associated tools apply to Pret line of designers also?

Well, their collections are mostly in the exclusive label. For them CAD will make very good sense but since there is not much standardization, not much application yet. Due to lack of repetitive features, PLM would not hold much use here in comparison to medium sized or large-scale operations with multiple designs or apparel points and manufacturing points.

Are Indian enterprises in this industry grooming themselves well with IT?

So far not much high adoption has happened except for eight to ten vendors that have adopted PLM in some form. But understanding of PLM is widespread though the investments have not been that significant so far.

Your company has been there in the PLM universe for long. How’s the orbit of fashion industry taking off?

Geometric is a specialist in the PLM domain, with over two decades of experience working with companies across verticals. With significant experience in defining, developing, and implementing PLM solutions for fashion houses, the company is uniquely positioned to help fashion brands, retailers, and manufacturers achieve their product realization objectives.

We offer a variety of services across different lifecycle stages, helping accelerate product definition and release across the extended enterprise. Geometric has developed a unique methodology D.R.A.P.E.D. for the apparel & fashion industry, which helps in accelerating PLM adoption across an enterprise by 20-25 per cent.