Japan’s apparel industry is turning to state-of-the-art technology in a bold bid to cut labour costs and secure its future, from ready-to-wear knits manufactured instantly to customized dresses produced on inkjet printers. At Shima Seiki’s factory in Western Japan, garments materialise in minutes, thanks to digitally-programmed automated machines that can turn out a sample seam-free pullover in half an hour with a push of a button.

Patented by the Japanese manufacturer, the WholeGarment system and sold to knitwear companies like Italian luxury brand Max Mara includes a digital design system that allows users to choose patterns, colors and cuts. Known for glove-making machinery, Shima Seiki took a technological leap in the 1990s in an effort to revive the flagging fortunes of Japanese apparel manufacturers.

The WholeGarment system allows one worker to operate ten machines - thereby lowering labor costs - and uses limited raw material to create seam-free garments that generate no waste, since they require no cutting. The initiative is part of a push by Japan’s knitwear industry to capitalize on its technical know-how to create garments that cannot be replicated elsewhere at a lower cost.

The focus on technique and technology has already paid off, with Japan’s knitwear sector registering a 40 percent increase in exports over a 10-year period beginning in 2006, a rare bright spot in an otherwise dismal picture for textile and apparel exports from the country.