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3 D knitting for your shape and size

Mass customization is here.This is an era where clothes are made for an individual’s preferences or sizes. It’s a departure from the model of selling standardized, mass-produced goods that has dominated retailing for more than a century.

Knitting machines weigh as much as a car, are outfitted with 4,000 needles and can manufacture a customized blazer in about 90 minutes.

The process requires little in the way of human labor. After a customer selects the colors, cuffs and buttons of the garment, an employee programs the device to produce a jacket to those specifications.

If even a small portion of a retailer’s goods are made on-demand, it could slash some of their costs, since there would be no risk of getting stuck with inventory that customers didn’t like. It could also allow brands to react on the fly to trends, an increasingly powerful weapon at a time when social media is acting as rocket fuel for fashion fads. And it could help retailers meet the expectations of a customer who is increasingly seeking out one-of-a-kind, boutique-like goods.

The machine is developed by Shima Seiki, knits yarn directly into the shape of a complete garment. In other words, there is no cutting and sewing and, therefore, no seams. The machine, known as the Wholegarment Mach2XS, Shima Seiki covered the cost of the machine for this experiment; Ministry of Supply of Boston footed the bill for its installation and handles maintenance.

Adidas is soon to open a facility that eventually aims to manufacture sneakers that are customized to the exact shape and size of shoppers’ feet.

 
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