California Apparel News

Alvanon Inc. has launched a new range of technical fit mannequins based on a “realistic human body shape” generated from 3-D body scans of U.S. consumers.

The new AlvaForm Studio mannequin features a realistic shape, posture and balance, informed by Alvanon’s database of 300,000 body scans. The forms were created to represent the dominant American body shape across the full range of sizes and are anatomically correct to ensure they work well for pattern-making, draping and fitting.

The new forms were created to complement the company’s premium mannequin range, AlvaForm, and have many of the same features, such as balanced, half-form metal stands and measurement lines for the chest, under-bust, high hip and low hip to help identify critical points of measurement.

The mannequin is an “entry-level technical fit tool” designed for small designers, students and fashion enthusiasts. It comes in two styles, a dress form and a torso form, both of which are made with soft memory foam and wrapped in a stretch cotton weave.

The dress form sells for $1,000, the torso form sells for $1,200, and both can be ordered online at www.alvaformstudio.com. The mannequins are currently available in North America and Canada with plans to launch a European version later this year.

3-D shape survey launches with Target Australia

The company recently joined forces with Target Australia for a 3-D body-shape survey of up to 20,000 men and women.
Using the company’s 3-D AlvaScan body scanners, the survey will gather data on the body shapes and sizes of Australian consumers.
The information will help Target design “better-fitting fashion with consistent sizing” for its customers, according to a release by Alvanon.

“We know that Australian customers are confused and frustrated by inconsistent size labels on clothing items,” said Dene Rogers, managing director of Target Australia. “We are delighted to have joined forces with the world’s leading fashion fit expert, Alvanon, in a bid to standardize our sizing strategy and make clothes that fit more of our Target customers better.”

AlvaScan booths were set up at Target Australia’s stores in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. The scanners use radio-wave technology to scan consumers who stand fully dressed in the booth for a scan that lasts less than a minute. The scan collects 200,000 data points on the body, which are used to generate a three-dimensional shape from which 55 technical measurements are gathered for garment design and production.

“Our revolutionary Alvanon scanners do not recognize clothes, but they do recognize the water content of human skin, so shoppers can stay fully dressed. Each scan is incredibly detailed and accurate to about 1 centimeter, although we do not scan faces for reasons of anonymity and privacy,” said Janice Wang, chief executive officer of the Alvanon Group. “Once we have taken the 20,000 body scans, we will analyze them and produce the most dominant shapes and corresponding size charts for Target’s consumer population. Target’s fashion-development teams will then use this data to optimize the fit of clothes for its shoppers.”

Founded in 2001, the Alvanon Group offers full-service, integrated fit solutions for the apparel industry, including strategic fit consulting and customized fit mannequins and tools. Headquartered in New York, Alvanon has an operations center in Hong Kong and operating offices in the United Kingdom and Germany.

For more information, visit www.alvanon.com.—Deidre Crawford and Alison A. Nieder