The Use of 3D Anthropometric Data for Morphotype Analysis to Improve Fit and Grading Techniques - The Results

Apparel Companies can offer well-fitting clothing to only 30 to 40% of their target. When addressing new target groups this is often reduced to merely 10%. As a result they miss an enormous potential and there are many obsolete stocks. The cause is due to the following aspects: • The construction of the basic pattern and the grading to other sizes is based solely on 1D body dimensions. The grading is proportional or rational, but never allometric (taking into account the body proportions). Because the actual morphology of the target is not taken into account the result is a poor fit. Often companies do not dispose of recent data from their target population. • There are very little 3D sizes available. Several European countries have recently executed a 3D scanning campaign to depict their population, but these data are often not accessible to the garment manufacturers. • The industry does not have the necessary knowledge and skills to work with 3D measurements. Therefore opportunities that CAD software offer to optimize the fit of garments to their target audience are not being fully exploited. • Companies do not have the knowledge to grade allometric. Product development (developing the prototype) is currently very expensive and time consuming. This is due to the lack of 3D data of the target groups and the inefficient use of the possibilities of CAD software packages.