STRIKKS' project "Personalisation in Knitwear, a contribution to a sustainable wardrobe" aims to merge the ongoing changes in the fashion industry with consumer awareness and the demand for individualisation, using the fascination for knitting and the capabilities of current knitting machines. The developed process allows customers to personalise their clothing by selecting a model, color, and knit fabric through an interactive method that visualises the garment for the customer immediately. The collaboration with TU Delft and the graduate student enhances the project by exploring various clothing visualisation methods, focusing on user experience to encourage the purchase of personalised knitwear. The project's outcomes include a detailed analysis of the current personalisation process, the use of Clo3D software for graphical representation, and the realisation of visualisations and knit garments with test subjects. The findings underscore the value of digital visualisation in personalisation but highlight the need for improvements in avatar personalisation, customer engagement with sizing, and the accuracy of fabric drape representation, suggesting that enhanced software and computing power are necessary.
The current system designed by STRIKKS for personalising knitwear is underdeveloped, with customer choices not being clearly visualised or tailored to individual body measurements. This lack of clarity and customisation hampers the customer's confidence in purchasing garments and does not prevent disappointment, presenting significant obstacles in the adoption of personalised knitwear. The aim is to design a user experience to sell personalised knitwear in-store.
STRIKKS is investigating Personalisation in Knitwear due to changes in the fashion world, the growing consumer awareness, and the demand for individualisation combined with a fascination for knitting and the capabilities of current knitting machines. They have developed a process that allows customers to personalise their clothing by choosing a model, colour, and knitted fabric. This personalisation process occurs through an interactive method, where the composed garment is visualised directly for the customer.
To enhance the customer's shopping experience and encourage the purchase of personalised knitwear, STRIKKS and its collaborators are exploring different methods for visualising clothing and applying them to STRIKKS' knitwear. The aim is to achieve a visualisation that accurately represents how the garment fits on the customer's body. This involves investigating the most suitable method for taking measurements to configure the garment.
The collaboration's added value lies in the knowledge that TU Delft and the graduate have about the technical side of clothing visualisation, 3D body scanning, and user experience. STRIKKS contributes by sharing knowledge from previous test situations, enabling new test situations, and considering the user side of user experience. This collaboration leads to a realistic application of theoretical knowledge.
The graduate conducted an extensive analysis of the current personalisation process, the presentation of the garment, the method of measuring sizes, and the search for the right visualisation method. The graphical representation of the garment was done using existing software, Clo3D. Visualisations and knitted garments were then created and compared with 6 test subjects. The result is a design proposal: an accurate interactive digital representation of the choice process that the customer goes through, giving the customer a clear view of the visual aspect of the garment (fabric, colour, fit).
The research has concluded that graphic/digital visualisation is indeed valuable in the personalisation process. Improvements are needed to make the process even more pleasant for the customer, such as better personalisation of the avatar. Further findings were that the customer may also struggle with a personalisation system because they are asked about sizing issues that they are not normally concerned with or have no knowledge of. Additionally, the representation of the knitted fabrics is not yet accurate enough to correctly display the drape of the fabric. This requires improved software as well as more computing power from the computer.
