There are also alternative approaches to on-demand manufacturing and one-of-one pieces. Web3 fashion startup Mmerch created one-of-one hoodies with modular pieces, while Ministry of Supply has similarly offered modular clothing and small-batch manufacturing, often called ‘just-in-time’ manufacturing. Wide-knit knitwear is particularly well suited to on-demand manufacturing, as items like sweaters can be 3D-printed on demand with little waste. Custom sizing, which often goes hand in hand with on-demand production, is an added complexity for many experimenting in the space — but it can often go sideways due to discrepancies in measurements and taste on fit. (Remember the dotted Zozosuits in 2018? The bold attempt at custom jeans from Japan’s Zozotown were considered a major failure after many found the resulting jeans to be ridiculously ill-fitting, including this writer. Its CEO later apologised, although the company did gain legions of data on customer body measurements.)
One of Resonance’s big unlocks is digital printing. The fabrics all start out as white, before Resonance’s technology establishes how to lay out each individual piece from the pattern on the fabric in the most efficient way as orders come in — even if that means multiple brands and styles are literally cut from the same cloth. Then, each garment’s colour and pattern is digitally printed onto the fabric, giving it the final colours and designs. Finally, the pieces are sewn together by a team of about 200 at Resonance’s facility in Santiago, Dominican Republic.
The platform can be linked to a designer’s Shopify e-commerce store, and designers can list items for sale via the 3D renders or samples photographed on models. When they make a sale, the item can then be manufactured by and drop-shipped on demand, directly from Resonance. Brands can also manage wholesale and retail orders through One.
This type of speed enables brands to offer products that respond to the speed of culture, says Resonance chairman and co-founder Lawrence Lenihan. In other words, instead of backfilling their Instagram grids and email newsletters with items that might fit into the passing phases of demure dressing, brat summer or tomorrow’s new micro-trend, they can quickly design and offer relevant options — and only produce what sells.
There are still some limitations. For now, the technology is available only with Resonance’s materials library, with complex designs that mix materials or involve intricate tailoring also not available. (Creators can currently mix materials through elements like pocket bags, with more mixing planned.) Currently, it’s not designed to enable consumers shopping a participating deisgner’s Shopify site the option to input individual measurements and purchase a completely customised piece, though the company does plan to begin offering more personalised and customised garments, which would enable custom sizing.
One also demonstrates neatly that, while you can take away the logistical hurdles, you still need creative talent to design effectively. When it’s so fast and easy to create a garment, the hard part becomes dreaming up a ‘perfect’ piece.
I find it very tempting to design something again — if only for the knowledge that I’m the only one in the world with these pieces. But after putting my design work through the paces, I’m happy to leave it to the experts.
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