Released in The Interline’s DPC Report 2023, this executive interview is one of a sixteen-part series that sees The Interline quiz executives from major DPC companies on the evolution of 3D and digital product creation tools and workflows, and ask their opinions on what the future holds for the the extended possibilities of digital assets.
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A key part of integrating 3D and digital product creation into real workflows – complete lifecycles that need to bring together not just designers and developers, but merchandisers, sourcing teams, sales and marketing and more – is creating a place for those 3D assets to live, to be found, and to be shared and developed by cross-functional brand teams. Tell us how you’re approaching that with CLO-SET, and why it differs from the integrated 3D / PLM approach a lot of brands are taking to this problem today.
We developed CLO-SET with our clients’ practical workflows in mind. For many years, we had heard from them the need for a better and easier way for people in the product creation pipeline to collaborate with one another. 3D files act like a common language, in a way. Once a file is created and uploaded, CLO-SET can automatically analyze the data, and provides practitioners a set of documents and tools to easily communicate and share feedback. Work created by designers and developers are reviewed using the “3D Viewer,” while merchandisers, sales, and sourcing teams utilize tools like “LineSheet”, “TechPack” and “BOM” as part of their workflows. Marketing teams have the ability to work with features like “Showroom” and “Virtual Fitting” for their responsibilities. The centralization of data also means that changes are automatically reflected across all documents and tools. As such, people don’t need to manage and update documents repetitively – a huge time saver for many. What we’ve observed is that processes which used to take several days to complete, can be significantly shortened, with the adoption of CLO-SET. And real-time communication becomes possible among team members.
That centralisation is also likely to be a big factor in unlocking the ability for 3D / DPC to bring brands and their supply chain partners closer together. How do you think about CLO-SET, and 3D in general, as the future engine for that kind of value chain collaboration?
It’s something that excites us a lot. If implemented well, it has the potential to create a lot of efficiencies and increase velocity. Product development cycles are no longer held up by FedEx package delivery disruptions, or people waiting for emails with large attachments and screenshots to arrive. By leveraging baked-in features such as “3D Viewer,” “Annotation,” “Comment,” “Configurator,” “TechPack,” and “Linesheet,” teams and designs can move seamlessly forward without interruptions. Another advantage lies in the data that is created and accumulated; when fabrics and trims are uploaded to CLO-SET and used to create garments, every raw material is automatically linked and stored within the 3D garment file. Brands can immediately track which vendor or supplier provided the raw materials, making BOM management and sourcing more convenient. Conversely, suppliers can easily market their materials and offer them to brands. As the data layer gets denser, more applications are possible for everyone involved in the product development environment.
Earlier in this report, we wrote about the “end state” for digital product creation being the ability for anyone to trust a 3D asset enough to make a creative, commercial, or buying decision based on it. How close to do you believe we are to that point? And what’s your perspective on using 3D renders to showcase products to consumer and wholesale buyers – and even to test those markets with digital assets as part of the product development cycle?
In recent years, we’ve seen 3D technology surpassing the level of merely replacing actual product photos for decision-making purposes. Thanks to advanced simulation and rendering techniques, captivating product images can be generated at a much lower cost and larger volumes. Virtual try-on technology is also getting better & becoming more commonplace, which is helping with confidence levels among users and customers. I think it’s already enabling brands and producers to become more efficient with volume predictions.
What do you believe is next for the 3D design community? The latest release of CLO has an emphasis on helping to support their creativity through new capabilities like AI texture generation and fabric creation. What do you think it means to create software that empowers designers in 2023/24?
Our goal has always been to develop features to help our users in their practical workflow. So even before things like AI texture generation and fabric creation, we created automation functions like auto grading, auto sewing, auto arrangement, styleline design tools to simplify and help designers work faster and more efficiently. My opinion is that recent advancements in AI technology has resulted in a lot of 2D-based images and video innovations. We aim to take the lead in practical improvements in 3D garment and trim generation.
How would you describe the ideal 3D / DPC pipeline – category-specific or generalised – and what barriers are currently preventing it from being built and widely adopted? What pieces still need to be put in place for fashion to stand the best chance of achieving what you define as the full-scale vision for DPC?
As mentioned earlier, data centralization can enable significant value creation. The key to successful implementation, I believe, is how efficiently it connects 3D contents with a server. We’ve witnessed the automotive, architectural, and industrial design segments achieving a high degree of innovation through 3D SW-based PLM. The challenge for the fashion industry is that we’re faced with developing a much larger volume of content in shorter time frames. On top of that, connections between DPC software and PLM are often not as efficient as they could be. I think it comes down to how well we can develop a user experience that seamlessly connects SW and contents with the server, enabling natural data centralization during the design and development process. CLO will embrace that challenge.
