Lectra cements its position as a fashion industry opinion maker by leading a much-awaited discussion. © Lectra

Lectra explored new consumer behaviour at its latest fashion event, Winning Over the New Fashion Consumer in Bordeaux-Cestas, France. More than 75 industry insiders and market experts from 14 countries convened at Lectra’s International Advanced Technology and Conference Center (IATC) for two days. Today’s digitally attuned consumers have become co-creators in the production process, changing the fashion landscape entirely.

The keynotes, live demonstrations, and customer testimonials highlighted the importance of process digitisation and data analysis for meeting new consumer needs. The event kicked off with two keynote speakers. Peter Jeavons, Managing Director of First Insight Europe, stressed the importance of using data to understand the hyperconnected fashion consumer. Craig Crawford, Strategist and Founder of CrawfordIT, outlined the arising challenges and opportunities from these changes, and urged fashion companies to embrace digital transformation internally by cultivating a conducive environment for it.

Leveraging data

Beyond just understanding the new fashion consumer, the event stressed on the importance of leveraging data to deliver customer-centric services and products. Lectra presented its responses to this challenge in the form of two new major solutions, Kubix Link and Fashion on Demand by Lectra.

Kubix Link, a cloud-based platform that has the combined capabilities of PLM, PIM and DAM, which enables companies to deliver the ultimate product experience through unparalleled collaboration powered by data. Big-name company representatives from jewellery brand, Pomellato, and outdoor performance footwear manufacturer, Tecnica Group, were there to share their experience.

“Kubix Link was exactly what our company needed – a platform to gather, process and share consistent product information across our entire fashion eco-system and all marketplaces. And Kubix Link provides just that, with so much ease,” said Cristiano Simonetto, the IT director of Tecnica Group.

Live demo

Attendees were treated to a live demo of Fashion on Demand by Lectra, the industry’s first end-to-end personalisation solution. There, they saw how a data-driven, automated on-demand production process from order reception to final cutting stages could deliver garments customised according to consumers’ specific demands. Charline Fasquel, Production Manager and Stéphane Quinou, Industrial Director of Balsan and Groupe Marck respectively, provided testimonials on the effectiveness of Fashion on Demand by Lectra.

“We were producing hundreds of uniforms every day and reaching our maximum capacity. We had two options – either to hire more manpower or modernise our tools. And so we did (the latter),” said Charline Fasquel. “Fashion on Demand by Lectra is a dream come true for us. Thanks to this solution, we managed to increase production output, achieve the perfect fit, reduce cost of consumables, save time on preparing orders and minimise human errors.”

Product development

On the product development side, Mariam Bennissi, Head Patternmaker of luxury brand Balenciaga, shared on Quick Estimate, Lectra’s latest application that allows users to make fabric consumption estimates via the cloud.

“It takes us just one minute to estimate our fabric consumption during our collection planning stages with this application,” she attested. She described the technology as efficient and intuitive, saying: “Thanks to Quick Estimate, we managed to pre-order our materials for this season and were already fully prepared four days before our fashion show.”

Understanding data

“Today’s fashion world is not just about gathering big data; it is about cultivating a big understanding of it. Fashion companies will unearth big business opportunities if they manage to unlock the power of their data,” commented Celine Choussy, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Lectra.

“Our newest generation of Industry 4.0-compliant solutions, Kubix Link and Fashion on Demand, both powered by the cloud, enables them to do just that, whether it’s for managing information and content or delivering customised products. Our technology helps them understand their consumers, produce the right product and deliver it to them at the right time. And that’s how you win them over.”

www.lectra.com