California Apparel News

The Southern California apparel community got a good look at the latest advancements in software technology during the inaugural Fashion Technology By Design expo on Aug. 1 at the California Mart, and apparently they liked what they saw.

More than 20 tech companies offering everything from CAD/CAM systems to digital fabric printers to body scanners showed their wares to about 300 designers, importers, educators and others. The event, which was sponsored by the California Fashion Association (CFA) and the California Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency through a grant from Long Beach City College, represented the first of several events that are planned as part of a long-range attempt by the CFA to bridge the gap between the apparel industry and technology.

“Based on this [expo’s] success, I think we can get more support and grants for the future,” said Ilse Metchek, executive director of the CFA. “I think this first effort was terrific. There was lots of enthusiasm. In the future, we’d like to expand it to two days and offer a study program with classroom education and, possibly, a day for students.”

Students comprised many of the visitors to the expo, according to Mary Silveira of Los Angeles-based DigiFab Systems, which showed its digital textile and fabric printers. Rupi Arora, an executive with Los Angeles-based CAD/CAM supplier Tukatech Inc., said that he saw industry executives representing Guatemalan and Korean businesses. The global view is making technology more integral to the apparel industry’s survival as a softer economy continues to challenge companies, he said.

“Everybody looks to Southern California for ideas,” said Arora. “But aside from those ideas, we have to produce and turn around faster. In places like Vietnam now, I can wake up and decide to be an apparel manufacturer. How do others safeguard their [businesses]? They turn to technology.”

Tukatech was showing the latest generation of its inkjet plotters and conducted tours of its nearby Tukacenter, which offers low-cost training and rentals of CAD/CAM software and hardware.

Newer resources such as readytoview.com (RTV) were introducing their “live showroom” technology to prospective clients. Los Angeles-based RTV offers retailers viewing of clothing lines from the California Mart via the Internet. Currently, Ella Moss, Maya Studio, Spool, Swann and Leopold are companies that are online with RTV.

“The whole concept is to allow buyers who miss the shows to see the lines. Navigation is very easy since it’s on a Yahoo-like structure,” said RTV principal Raffi Saroyan.

Westlake Village, Calif.-based Paragon Business Systems was pitching the benefits of its latest software technology, which is a module-based system that manages orders, tracks inventories and analyzes costs, among other functions.

“One of our clients managed to grow fourfold with eight fewer people, and some have cut lead time down to 58 days from six months,” noted Peter M. Jennings, Paragon vice president.

The anxiety among software dealers was especially evident since many took hard hits during the recent tech recession.

“A third of our competitors are gone now,” said Jennings.

Gary May of Orange County-based Vantage Point Software said that the key to survival in the apparel industry has been to stay on the cutting edge. “We’ve put a lot of efforts into talking with new people. I see us as a newer company emerging. The older companies are the ones dropping by the wayside.”

Even older established companies such as France-based Lectra and Tolland, Conn.-based Gerber Technology have been hard pressed by tough economic times and have reacted with new products for the industry. Lectra was on hand showing its latest CAD/CAM, virtual reality and Internet technologies, which manage design, manufacturing and sales. PAD System Technologies showed its latest Master Series pattern-making and 3D design software. Other exhibitors included Aims, Cyberdress Forms, Fabriclink, Freudenberg, Garmenttek, Intentia, Justwin, Kopperman, MAG.LA, Methods Workshop, Snap Fashun, Systech and World Apparel.

Many visitors said they would like to see more tech events to follow.

“It’s a real positive vehicle for the industry,” said Mark Lesser, principal of Barbara Lesser. “This was a great starting point.”