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Just want to share a video that tells you everything you need to know about the Open Garments research project, where we are working on.

An improved version of the JewelTweaker application is now available on

http://www.jeweltweaker.com

System requirements are:

• Windows Internet Explorer 8 (other browsers have not been tested but Firefox and Google Chrome look also fine)
• Adobe Flash Player version 10
• Java script enabled
• Webcam for the Augmented Reality Viewer.

Added functionality is:

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The London-based label DIYcouture launched its debut collection DIYC<now/>.

DIYC<now/> is not the average clothing collection. Instead of buying a finished garment, one purchases a book containing a set of instructions to make that particular garment yourself.

Their message:

“Inspired by the thousands of invisible pairs of hands around the globe that make the clothes we buy, DIYcouture hopes to inspire people to turn off their screens and get up to their elbows in the 3-dimensional world of creation. It supports the slow revolution. Helping people to produce garments that are precious, rather than disposable, this is the antithesis of fast-fashion.”

Bemz is a company that specialises in slip cover for a lot of IKEA sofas and chairs. I love them, since they recently added my type of IKEA sofa in their assortment. Just a while ago, I ordered some fabric samples and I must say … it won’t take that long before I place my order.

Next to the fabulous slip covers, they also have a very interesting blog. And it’s thanks to this  that I got to know these two sites that give you the opportunity to design your own rug. So check out Rug Designer or Rug Couture and start creating your own rug!

The version of JewelTweaker as presented on the Frankenberg General Assembly meeting is available for everyone to test. The temporary location on the web is http://jeweltweaker.manufuture.nl

Note that you have to click on the link 'detailed view' in order to open the 2D design manipulation area.

If the application does not run, please try the two suggestions in the help page.

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The Ralph Lauren Rugby brand launched  a “Make Your Own” iPhone application , by which consumers can create their own Rugby shirt directly from their iPhone, which  can now also be done through interactive store windows in select stores..

By using the application and the shop window, customers can customize a Rugby shirt  with patches and lettering,  buy it, email it, post it to Facebook or save it. But if you might wonder how you would look with that particular shirt, you can upload a photo and actually see how it fits you. And by shaking the application, you can change your skin tone ore later your haircut. Afterwards you can share it with others in a public gallery and even rate the creations of others.

On the interactive store windows, all of this can be done by touching the glass with your hand. This means you can customize a shirt at the store anytime day or night, without even going inside.

Source: PSFK, Ralph Lauren Rugby

Alice Rawsthorn of the New York Times recently wrote in interesting piece concerning co-design and customisation:

“We can now “co-design” real objects thanks to digital technology, which enables us to communicate directly with manufacturers to personalize aspects of their products. Fancy customizing the style and fit of Nike trainers? Choosing the colors of Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses? Specifying the interior of a Fiat 500 car? Rapid manufacturing processes, like the one used by Digital Forming, will soon allow anyone to adjust the shape of objects — and not just to indulge stylistic whims but to make, say, a pen, easier to grip by someone with arthritic hands. There could be environmental benefits, too, as bespoke manufacturing erases the need for stock.”

The full article can be found here.

Fernando Brizio - a portugese artist -  created this stunning dress as part of the Turin-based exhibition “flexibility - design in a fast changing society” last year.

The dress has little pockets and by placing coloured felt-tip pens in them, the appearance of it changes over time. Since the coloured ink bleeds into the fabric and creates a one-off design each time. After cleaning it, the owner colour it in a different way for each time they wear it.

Source: Designboom

Yesterday, I showed you the great Colour-In Dress by  Berber Soepboer & Michiel Schuurman. But there’s more: they also came up with the Replacement Dress.

This dress is actually a set of three dresses which can be combined in different ways via a button system to create  a different outfit each time.

Source: Berber Soepboer

In collaboration with graphic designer Michiel Schuurman, fashion designer Berber Soepboer created a beautiful dress which can be personalised by the person who wears it.

This Colour-In Dress has a black and white pattern which can be coloured in following your own taste.

Or as stated by the artist herself: “The concept of the dresses make it possible that the cloth is partly designed by the person who wears it, which hopefully makes them more valuable to the wearer. When clothes are cared for people tend to wear it longer, this makes the dress durable.”

Source: Berber Soepboer

Ikea Germany launched a campaign in 2007 which put personalisation central. In several shopping malls, the cover of the catalogue was rebuilt. Shoppers were invited to take place in the real life cover and their picture was taken. Five days later, one could pick up their personalised custom example at the nearest Ikea store.

In my opinion it’s a nice example of how a company involved with mass production, finds opportunities in this era of mass customization!

We all know the Nike ID configurator which enables you to build your own Nike shoe. And now - after the shoe - the rest follows! In the new BootRoom at London Oxford Street’s NikeTown, you can create your own customised  Nike football kit for the entire team.

Source: rubbishcorp

I absolutely adore cashmere! It’s so soft ! So I was pretty exited when I found out about Trendy Workshop.

Trendy Workshop is a french fashion platform that allows users to design and buy their own clothing, but also share their designs with other users within the Trendy Workshop community.

Right now, it’s all about cashmere. So the clothes one creates are solely made out of cashmere. But according to co-founder, Tristan de Montebello, the offer will be broadened with cotton this spring. Besides the limitation of  the fabric, the clothes one can design are nowadays only restricted to those of the upper body (tops, sweaters, dresses). However it’s a very nice idea, that works around three major goals: create, buy and share! For the moment 100% French, so deliveries only in France.

Below are two videos in which co-founder Tristan de Montebello explains the concept of Trendy Workshop. Although the first one is in French,  you’d better listen carefully as he also gives some nice washing and ironing tips for cashmere clothing.

Source: Trendy Workshop X En Mode Fashion.com from enmodefashion on Vimeo.

In this second video, a nice quote from Tristan de Montebello, which stresses the need for user input and user research: “Listening to the community will get us to be the best!”

Source: Create your own clothes - Tristan de Montebello @ LeWeb from Tiburon Tv on YouTube

Yesterday I was looking more in detail at a mass customization site, more in particular Propercloth. They sell custom shirts for men and what I found really interesting is how people can choose their size.

So after creating your own custom shirt, you’ll need to indicate your size. And sometimes this is a problem! But in this case you have three options for choosing your size.

The first one is just choosing the standard size (small, medium, large, …), the type of fit and two shirt dimensions (collar around and sleeve lenght).

Another possibility is giving in your body measurements and the system will give you the most approriate size.

The last way is choosing the sizing of a particular brand. This is very interesting since people often refer to a brand as their standard or reference. For example a lot of people don’t fit the clothes in the H&M since they known from former experience that a H&M-medium is the right one for them.

According to Sara Clemence, who wrote on the subject for Portfolio.com, mass customisation is our future way of shopping.

“Bespoke products have always been available to anyone willing and able to pay the price, whether for an individually tailored suit or a customized car. In recent years, one of the big shifts in retail has been giving customers the ability to design their own versions of premium products—like wedding rings, pricey handbags, and Nikes—at prices that are comparable to the regular versions.

Now, without most of us realizing it, we’re on the cusp of another big change. Thanks to market demands and developments in technology, we’re going to be living in a user-generated world, where everything we use can (and will) be customizable. It’s already happening, in ways both obvious and not.”