Priscila Lena Farias / Anna Calvera Marcos da Costa ... - Blucher

Digital clothing manufacture: digital innovation and co-Design changing the clothing industry
involved in the creation of garments and accessories, broadening
the definition to encompasses the consumer perception of being
involved in the design process.
Co-design can be approached as a direct interaction between designers
and user. Von Hippel (2005) suggested that organisations
worked together to co-design innovations with lead users through
the adoption of open innovation approaches. However, co-design
doesn’t have always to involve designers and user working together
collocated and at the same time. Sometimes this collaboration
can be mediated by a product, service or system. Toolkits, for
example, could be a way in aiding the user in the design activity
(Thomke & von Hippel, 2002; Carolan & Cruickshank, 2010).
Another approach to co-design can occur through mass customisation.
The term ‘mass customisation’ refers to the activity that delivers
products that meet individual consumers demands but still produced
with mass production efficiency. According to Piller (2008),
a greater interest in mass customisation was brought by the web
2.0 and social networking tools used in commerce. Piller (2004)
identified two factors in adopting mass customization strategies.
First, a flexible production process that can cope with modular or
platform based production of goods to ensure efficiency. Also, an
interaction tool or interface that enables the user to co-design with
the organisation. Through mass customization, consumers may
have the perception of being involved in the creating of the garment,
which adds value to that product. According to Sanders and
Simons (2009) value can be monetary, user experience or societal,
depending on how early users are involved in the design process.
2. Methodology
As mentioned above, the research involves a mix of case studies
and interventions. Case studies have been used to ascertain how
businesses in the clothing industry are making use of digital innovations
and how consumers are being involved in designing
their own products. A methodology based on case studies was
considered ideal for providing exemplars of a situation, capturing
detailed information (Thomas, 2011) and will help describe what
is going on in the intersection of clothing industry, co-design and
digital innovations. Case studies are also useful comparing organisations
in their “real life context” (Dul & Hak, 2007), using
qualitative methods for collecting and analyzing the data to elicit
possible solutions for the future. The methodology was divided
in three stages, as shown in the graphic below (fig. 1):
Figure 1. Three stage methodology.
The initial stage consisted in identifying and collating 20 short
descriptive case studies that will be discussed in the next section.
In the second stage, four cases will be selected for in-depth
interviews and observations to capture the breadth of the use of
digital innovations and also importantly the role of consumer cocreation
in those organisations. The last stage is then the development
of an intervention to try out how digital technology and
co-creation could be further utilised in clothing manufacture.
3. Stage One: Mini Cases Studies
The first stage of the methodology consisted 20 mini case studies.
These cases were drawn from literature and internet searches.
To be selected a case must feature one of the following criteria:
be a digital innovation, use a co-design approach or make
use of digital tools in the design or production of the products/
services supplied.
Applying the initial criteria, over 40 possible cases were identified.
As the objective of this stage was to produce examples of
organisations in the context of the research, case studies were
selected for being representative of a type of product or service.
Other case studies were selected if they provided any novel characteristics,
for example if they provided a combination of digital
innovation and co-creation approaches. In addition, factors such
as the amount of information and documentation available and
the location of the organisations, were taken into consideration
when deciding which cases would be included.
The table below lists the current selection:
Design Frontiers: Territiories, Concepts, Technologies 437
1
Customised footwear made
with digitally printed textile
11
Made-to-measure outdoor garments,
patterns and materials
for home sewing
2 Laser cut t-shirts for women 12 Customized trainers
3
Toolkits with patterns and
materials to make garments for
women and children
4 Customised of girl’s garments 14
13 Customized jeans
Amateur artwork and peercurate
t-shirts
5 Customised men’s shirts 15 Customized teddy bears
6 Software that generate patterns
for home sewing
7
3D printed jewellery, accessories
and bags
8 Customized t-shirts 18
9 Customized modular dresses 19
10
Customized women’s garments
with digitally printed textiles
16 Customized sportswear
17 Customized modular shoes
20
Women’s garments and workshops
in dress making
Haute couture 3D printed
garments
Digital printed textiles for home
sewing
Analysis
The information was compiled into a table and then individual
cards were created for each case. Information concerning the
products and services offered was collected including, type of
product, if it was a standard size or made to measure, if it was
customised and the stage in which the product was sold, for ex-