Custom On-Demand Clothing
Can one do for clothing design and manufacturing what lulu.com has done for publishing?
How does Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) design and manufacture its clothing?
It looks like someone's tried to do this already, but the site doesn't seem fresh. What's the story?
Motivation: I've got a hoodie that is a bit more dressy, and less sporty than others. I have a drafty house and use it in winter. The monk-like cowl is part of the appeal. I'd like something similar that's more like a 3/4 length tunic, with a sash. Maybe a lighter one for indoor wear, and a heavier one for outdoor wear.
If I could design it, where could I manufacture it? How can I give my designer friends the ability to do low-volume production cost-effectively?
I've bought shirts from Threadless, and there are companies that do corporate-logo stuff, but I'm talking about being able to actually submit designs for stuff other than tees and shirts. What software and interchange formats do people use for this?
If this is silly, it would be useful to understand why.
How does Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) design and manufacture its clothing?
It looks like someone's tried to do this already, but the site doesn't seem fresh. What's the story?
Motivation: I've got a hoodie that is a bit more dressy, and less sporty than others. I have a drafty house and use it in winter. The monk-like cowl is part of the appeal. I'd like something similar that's more like a 3/4 length tunic, with a sash. Maybe a lighter one for indoor wear, and a heavier one for outdoor wear.
If I could design it, where could I manufacture it? How can I give my designer friends the ability to do low-volume production cost-effectively?
I've bought shirts from Threadless, and there are companies that do corporate-logo stuff, but I'm talking about being able to actually submit designs for stuff other than tees and shirts. What software and interchange formats do people use for this?
If this is silly, it would be useful to understand why.
Labels: business, clothing, design, idea, manufacturing
posted by Jaba Adams at 4:00 PM
9 Comments:
Bad idea. Instead, think of an idea that requires 10 people to serve the world.
Etsy.com
yup. I was just about to suggest etsy.
i particularly recommend stormcloudbringrainbows. this guy does really cool stuff and will work with on the design if you want.
It's not a crazy idea at all. There are a lot of people working on mass customization. See here:
http://www.mass-customization.de/
There isn't a service that can do what you are asking for, yet. The big difficulties lie in the vast differences in body sizes, measuring systems, and other variables that fashion companies have to deal with that the LuLu's and Zazzle's of the world don't.
Some companies offer customization, but very few to the level you describe. www.Propercloth.com just recently launched and they allow you to have custom shirts made. They even provide a Rosetta stone to compare shirts sizes from various manufacturers, but no one will take specs like the ones you provided and create a garment. at least not in an automated, cost effective way.
If this is an area you are interested in check out my blog (www.replicatorinc.com) it is focused on mass customization and on demand manufacturing. When a company like the one you are interested in launches you'll read about it there.
There are many sites that already do this. Since custom is much more expensive and prices still need to be competitive, most sites don't very well. If you search google for "custom online _item_", you'll have thousands of hits.
Custom shirt maker - http://www.adrienlemaux.com/
Custom dress maker -
http://www.dressbydesign.com//
Cool! Thanks for the suggestions, folks. I'm going to spend some time looking at etsy.
Custom dress shirt maker -
http://www.fitcustomshirts.com
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Custom Made Dress Shirts
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