FORTUNE FAVOURS THE BOLD!

The digital age has arrived. Every industry is going through a digital transformation, and the time has come for the apparel industry to follow the suit. Fashion has become a winners-take-all business, where size or heritage matters little when compared to technology. Over the past decade, the vast majority of fashion companies have battled to barely break even, while only the top 20%, who were the bold early adopters, delivered all of the industry’s economic profit.

Top performers make speed to market a priority and have adopted a more sophisticated model based on understanding what the consumer wants. This model allows them to incorporate what has been selling and respond quickly to what is generating early sales.

So what really makes a winner? Here’s what we think can do the trick. Better collaboration leads to faster decisions, and ultimately better products, so collaborate closely with your customers at the very beginning. Create and present hundreds of digital samples within a few weeks; winners have significantly reduced time to market by showcasing digital samples at sales meetings or even just internally to make faster decisions. Digitization of concept, design, and sampling can cut many weeks from the typical process, which is often slowed by multiple handoffs. 

Want to hop on the winners’ bandwagon? Here’s how we can help! At vPersonalize, we envision a day when supply chains work without any friction. Products get manufactured exactly as designed in a single iteration. Everything from design to production works predictably and repeatedly, every single time. We help the apparel industry move faster, so you can spend more time doing what creates value and less time fixing problems. What this means is that you can create more products in less time, save big on costs and eliminate errors. It also means, you can now just make what sells, when it sells instead of carrying a large inventory.

Catapult your business to the next level at www.vpersonalize.com

Out with the old, in with the new!

Social and economic changes have transformed the way fashion is designed, developed, produced and consumed. To keep up with ever-changing challenges, expanding markets and to build a better product, companies are finding it difficult to adapt.

The good old paper and pencil method certainly is great, however drafting patterns on your own can also seem to be very intimidating, so what do we do to face this challenge and get to a completely new level of possibilities? With the introduction of various 2D CAD designing software makes it much more efficient. This technique not only saves hours of your time but also creates zero-waste designs. Using CAD technology enhances communication between the teams by improving the efficiency and also controlling the costs.

Sounds amazing right? Well, be prepared to fork out thousands of dollars for most of these pattern making software. For the majority of pattern makers this is not the option, so what is out there for those who cannot spend so much yet have all the benefits that the other expensive software provide? We have the answer to that – vPersonalize’s Online Pattern Maker! Yes, you can discover new design paradigms using this simple, yet powerful user interface that takes minutes to master and it’s very affordably priced.

Unlike most CAD tools that lock you into proprietary data formats, vPersonalize’s patterns CAD  is 100% cloud-based and supports standard formats like DXF, AI and SVG for both import and export and is available as part of the standard package without any additional cost.

Explore the plethora of pre-made patterns library and quickly make modifications in less than five minutes. These are just some of the features of the software.

If this sounds interesting, don’t wait to sign up! Explore more at www.onlinepatternmaker.com

Here, Now and Future!

“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.” – Coco Chanel, Designer

The game of fashion is changing and the buzz is all about digital revolution. Winners are the ones who are ready to take a hard look at their current process and make efforts to move from “we have always been doing it this way” and adopt the technology that makes them more creative, more responsive and in turn more profitable.

You cannot make a car sample every time you want to see a new concept, colour or style. The same holds true for building projects. Adopting 3D in these industries has allowed them to develop quickly and make several iterations to a design in hours before committing to production. For the apparel industry, the question is not about if to adopt 3D, but when to adopt it. The advantages are clear for moving to 3D. You can make better products, faster decisions, and save costs.

3D prototyping has made waves among the fashion community.Most of the designers have now started to slowly incorporate 3D technology and avatars to make quick design decisions on how a garment looks in different colours, sizes and fabrics to make sure they stay alive in the fashion world. There are increasing signs that the industry is warming up to the idea of new game-changing new technology.

What if we told you, we can not only help with the 3D visualization and design but can generate production-ready patterns of what was designed so you can move from purchase to production line in hours? Your designers and customers can design on our suite of software and your manufacturing operations downloads production ready patterns!

At vPersonalize, we help the apparel industry move faster by using a combination of technology, automation, AI and CAD. vPersonalize provides an automation platform that helps apparel makers and brands take designs from purchase to production line in a matter of hours! Using our suite of tools, your customers can design in real 3D, while you can automate pattern generation, get size graded, production-ready patterns with fabric sizing and design pre-processing. This means you can now create more products in less time, save big on costs and eliminate errors. You can also make on-demand what sells when it sells instead of carrying inventory

Welcome to the future of mass personalization and customization! The future is here, now! www.vpersonalize.com

How to keep your images and text perfectly centered while designing

It’s time to move up the food chain!

Special Edition for Screen Printers

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” — Charles Darwin

Doing the same thing that has worked previously is no guarantee of success in today’s highly competitive world of manufacturing. Staying ahead of the competition is the way to stay alive. The best way to do this is to add newer products, increase your margins and move up the value chain. It’s good to be well-rounded, but focusing heavily on one speciality will diminish value! If you want to attract more business, it’s a good idea to keep your finger on the pulse of your customers.

Businesses are under constant pressure with tighter margins, increased competition and retaining customer loyalty. Given this situation, what sets you apart from other screen printers? Do you specialize in styles that your customers can’t get enough of? Are you adding new products regularly? Have you thought of what other print technologies can be used to make products ranging from skateboards and cycling jerseys to banner flags and cell phone covers? Can you move up the value chain by offering personalization?

More importantly, have you thought of upgrading to dye sublimation? From signage to building materials, sublimation is all over the place. It is growing in many different parts of the printing industry and in many different directions. It is propelled by an endless flow of new products and continuous improvements in production systems, leading to faster output at lower costs. For people focused on the athletic side of the apparel market, cut-and-sew sublimation has become a regular part of their workflow.

Most of the traditional screen printers are interested in all-over sublimation prints, but are not sure how to move ahead. If you are willing to build solutions for cut-and-sew sublimation, it can change the nature of your business and definitely separate you from your competitors ensuring higher margin products, more customer loyalty and lesser returns (industry data indicates that personalization leads to higher price points and much lower return rates)

So, what do you need to get started? A sublimation printer & heat press. What about software, process, products, cut-sew patterns and the know how? That’s where we can help. vPersonalize’s software lets you or your customers design and automatically create production-ready patterns with the design, graded to size, adjusted for fabric shrink and print ready to suit your roll width. Your product is on the production line in 4-6 hours. Just print, cut & sew!

Want to find out how? Learn more at http://www.vpersonalize.com or email us at hello@vpersonalize.com

Take the next big step today. There are just two species in the food chain. The prey and the predator!

Technology for tomorrow’s designers!

 The constant changes in the apparel industry are definitely keeping the fashion geeks on their nerves. The idea or the design that one would think is not going to work, might be tomorrow’s most sought after. Aspiring young designers are making their way in such an environment and trying to keep ahead of the technology in order to carve a niche for themselves. The academic institutions around the world are incorporating latest technology tools into their curriculums to provide their students with a space for creativity, industry skills and real-world experience.

By using technology such as 3D simulation or pattern making software, students have the freedom to experiment in the early stages and develop new ideas. They can take advantage of the virtual world to conceptualize, design and build better products with a better fit.

However, as technology continues to improve and change the way brands develop, produce and market fashion, students will need the technical skills that parallel those used in the apparel industry. If graduate students already have the knowledge of the technology software there will be less need to train in-house, and students can join design teams directly and already start working with 3D.

Bridging the gap between industry and academy is vital to ensure students are getting the right tools to succeed. vPersonalize’s powerful yet intuitive pattern CAD is the right tool for all the young designers and the student community. It is user-friendly and is designed to complement the way one works. A completely new design paradigm allows even those without prior experience to quickly and easily create professional CAD patterns and tech-packs. Access to all the traditional tools means professional pattern makers feel right at home!

Cloud-based online Pattern Maker software lets the students discover new design paradigms with a simple, yet powerful interface that takes minutes to master with the ability to easily send or receive pattern files without losing anything in translation.

Our goal is to provide affordable Patterns CAD to designers everywhere. vPersonalize’s pattern maker fits the bill perfectly when compared to other pattern making software which costs thousands of dollars!vPersonalize’s patterns CAD supports standard formats like DXF and SVG for both import and export and is available as part of the standard package without any additional cost.

To learn more and sign up, please visit:

http://www.vpersonalize.com/online-pattern-maker

The one thing every designer needs !

Online Pattern Maker

If you aren’t moving forward in the fashion industry, chances are that you are falling behind! The world of fashion is changing faster than ever in the digital era, and the ones with an eye on what’s happening right now and what might come next are in a powerful position to gain competitive advantage.

For a fashion designer, it boils down to the tools they need to get their customers the things they want quickly. In an industry bogged by complex systems that don’t interact with each other and long learning curves, we are pleased to announce a powerful, yet intuitive, fully cloud based online pattern maker!

In keeping with our pursuit of providing affordable CAD tools to designers everywhere, vPersonalize makes its singular contribution to the apparel industry by introducing its  one of a kind online pattern maker. Access the same technical capabilities as proprietary pattern tools that cost tens of thousands of dollars. Move ahead swiftly with a very intuitive user interface, coupled with powerful collaboration capabilities.

Production Ready Pattern

Create precise CAD patterns and tech-packs quickly. Import & export pattern files using open standards, save, share and access anywhere. Use add-on services like auto-grading, nesting, our comprehensive pattern library or even get your apparel samples made!

Jessica, a fashion and technology consultant and user experience enthusiast quoted,
“The slow process of making changes on the garment, then on the pattern and communicating the changes back and forth to the factories only to find out that they misunderstood the directions for the sample, seemed like the most inefficient process ever. So naturally, when I was offered the chance to test out the pattern making software I leapt to the opportunity”

Gain the visibility and agility needed to respond quickly to new trends and deliver high-quality fashion,  that is consistently profitable. Click here to explore our Online Pattern Maker

vPersonalize Announces the First Integrated 3D Design and Manufacturing Automation Software for One-Off, Small Batch and On-Demand Manufacturing

California based vPersonalize Inc. a pioneer in 3D design and automation software for on-demand manufacturing, today announced the launch of its new, unified design-to-manufacturing software for brands, designers and manufacturers to enhance operational efficiency, optimize product development, and help bring innovative products to market quickly.

 

We see the future as being inventory-light and on-demand, where long design lead times, absence of inventory intelligence, product line limitation and a lack of customization are a thing of the past

Leveraging a portfolio of patented technologies, vPersonalize Inc (www.vpersonalize.com) delivers the only design to manufacturing automation solution that makes small batch and custom manufacturing viable at regular price points. The cloud-based platform provides the ability to quickly choose from a catalog of pre-made products or digitize one’s own custom product and then design, proof or co-create and automatically have them converted into size-graded, production ready patterns, through a linked e-commerce and order management system. Designs can be transferred automatically across entire product lines, generating multiple SKUs across different styles, materials, and sizes.

“We see the future as being inventory-light and on-demand, where long design lead times, absence of inventory intelligence, product line limitation and a lack of customization are a thing of the past,” says Bala Selvarajan, Co-founder and CEO of vPersonalize. “With on-demand manufacturing, brands can now make what sells, when it sells and quickly get it to where it sells,” he adds.

In a short period of time, vPersonalize has signed on a wide range of customers, including two of the top 20 apparel manufacturers in USA, sports apparel brands, full service custom fashion makers and clothing brands in USA, Canada and Australia.

Sean Saberi, CEO of FABFAD, Inc. (www.fabfad.com), a top apparel manufacturer based in Los Angeles that works with several large brands, has partnered with vPersonalize to offer an integrated solution to his clients. “The integrated workflow enables the brands we work with to fully customize their products. Because the 3D apparel designer is connected to the production automation system, our customers can then order through the same cloud-based platform and have the products made on-demand, which has significantly reduced lead times. Clients feel far more in control, as they are able to create and see their designs in real time and then get it manufactured as seen,” says Sean.

“As a brand focused on custom racing apparel, manufacturing one-offs had always been time consuming and expensive. Using vPersonalize’s automated pattern generation and grading, we are now able to manufacture one-off, custom products in a fraction of the time it used to take and at very affordable price points,” says Chuck Carothers, partner at CanvasMX (www.canvasmx.com), one of the earliest adopters of vPersonalize. “Their 3D clothing designer has further helped drive sales and conversions,” adds Chuck.

“Using a combination of technology and automation, we are helping bring manufacturing jobs back to the US,” says Zack Hurley, CEO of Indie Source (www.indiesource.com), a full service apparel manufacturer based in Los Angeles and an early adopter of vPersonalize. “With automation, the balance of power has shifted. For order volumes of 1000 or less, it is now more economical to make in US than abroad, which incur customs and shipping, not to mention long transit times and details lost in translation,” he adds.

Bikinis & atom bombs: Be inspired by everything.

When we think about inspiration, what influences us most are ordinary people who have done extraordinary things. We appreciate when someone has the ability and willingness to be selfless, creative, innovative, or just dares to be different. Being ordinary and creating extra ordinary stuff.

It’s one of fashion’s great mysteries. Where do designers find their inspiration? The birth of a trend has long been a source of debate. Inspiration can literally come from anywhere, be it family, music, streets, a crack in the sidewalk etc . There are no restraints as to what someone can draw from to turn a mere thought into a reality. In fact, fashion design is all about great inspirations. Today’s designs are everything from elaborate drawings in a sketchbook to creative photo shopping.

Unexpected inspirations:

Miniskirt: Did you know the origin of the miniskirts by Mary Quant’s was actually named after her favourite car – The Mini. According to her, miniskirts meant young, fresh, colourful and fun.

The bikini: Louis Reard named his two-piece swimming costume after the Bikini Atoll, where the US military was testing bombs. He believed his revealing swimwear would create a shock similar to that of the atomic bomb. He sure did!!!!!!

Versace logo: Gianni Versace’s major influence was Greek mythology – the logo for his company is the head of Medusa – thought to symbolize the empowerment of women. Through his clothing, Versace wanted to give women confidence and power, and this was shown through his choice of flamboyant textiles, bold colors and flattering cuts.

Red-soled Louboutins: Christian Louboutin’s red soles were inspired by Andy Warhol and nail varnish. When designing a pair of shoes influenced by Warhol’s Flowers, Louboutin was dissatisfied with the outcome. While looking at the shoes, which had black soles, to try to figure out why they didn’t work, his assistant was painting her nails red. Seeing the polish, Louboutin grabbed the pot and lacquered the shoe’s sole, and an icon was born.

We at MyWear® would like to be the bridge that leads artists to becoming entrepreneurs. We can provide you with all the tools you need to successfully launch your own clothing line. Your own website, Custom sizes, your own choice of fabric, Social media integration, advance designing tools, ecommerce, on demand manufacturing and shipment. You name it we got it.

We have made sure that tools, technology and cost are no longer barriers. Just bring in your creativity, talent, drive and let’s get started.

Show the world what you can do,

Register now: www.launchmywear.com

How to build a successful e-commerce business

Is there a short cut to success? I’d love to give you a new and unique answer which would magically make all your problems disappear. But, unfortunately, there is none. So, I’m just going to go with the old fashioned epithets of ‘hard work ‘, perseverance, talent and a little bit of luck (although the law of attraction states luck itself is directly proportional to how hard you work!).

A lot of budding entrepreneurs think that they can get a website, open a shop and customers will beat a path to their store. The reality is far different. With a billion websites out there, getting discovered, building the trust that gets a sale take a lot of time. Most new e-commerce sites don’t net a single sale for the first 3 months.

You could do a simple google search to find hundreds of articles about hard work. I simply wish to give a more realistic perspective on the subject.

Case study 1:

In 1993, K. Anders Ericsson and colleagues asked musicians to estimate the amount of deliberate practice– full engagement in structured training activities designed to improve a particular aspect of performance– every week for each year of their careers. They found that on average, the most accomplished musicians estimated much higher amounts of deliberate practice than the less accomplished musicians. At age 20, the average estimated hours for the most accomplished violinists was more than 10,000 hours, whereas the average estimated hours for the least accomplished violinists was about 4,600 hours.

Case study 2:

Winston Churchill, one of the 20th century’s greatest orators, practiced his speeches compulsively. Vladimir Horowitz supposedly said, “If I don’t practice for a day, I know it. If I don’t practice for two days, my wife knows it. If I don’t practice for three days, the world knows it.”

 

The field of fashion is no different. Sure, talent is important, but consistency, hard work and dedication to the art are even more important. Opening an online store is easy, anyone can do it. But making it successful requires hardwork, perseverance and motivation. Maintaining its standards consistently with new, catchy designs, customer service, keeping up with trends, research etc are the tough parts. It’s even tougher doing all these knowing that you statistically won’t be getting even a single order for at least 3 months from starting your store. These are the parts which will determine if you will be a success story or a cautionary tale for others.

If you say, “I’ve tried all this, still no success”, here are few more case studies for you, Colonel Sander’s chicken recipe was rejected 1099 times before going mainstream, Henry ford failed in five businesses before starting ford motors, Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper early in his career because “he lacked imagination and creative ideas”.

So what is the secret sauce to building a new digital business?

1. Have something truly unique
2. Share your website with friends and family and ask them to share it with their friends
3. Provide excellent customer support. Give your customers a reason to buy from you
4. Be active on social media like Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and share your work.

In the end it takes talent, nurturing, motivation, persistence and hardwork to build a success story. There are no shortcuts here!