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include access to clothes that fit perfectly and are distinctive and differ-
ent from those of others. To satisfy this need would mean that the cloth-
ing provided by brands has to fit each client not only in terms of size, but
also in terms of body shape. That means that each person would need to
be measured before the clothes are made. As you and I know, this is quite
impossible for brands that have hundreds of thousands of clients. The cur-
rent structure of clothing manufacturing means that it is not economically
feasible for a luxury brand to provide made-to-measure clothing or acces-
sories en masse, neither is reverting to the old system of dressmaking
for each client applicable today. However, the advancement of digital tech-
nology has led apparel manufacturers worldwide to experiment with eco-
nomical strategies that individualize clothing for each customer by offering
a variety of design and fit options. This has led to the arrival of the “just
for you” clothing which uses body scanning methods to produce fitted
clothing en masse. One of the pioneers of this evolution is the company
Bodymetrics.
The London-based company first launched its body-scanning con-
cept at London's department store Selfridges and subsequently at Harrods.
The high-tech approach to body measurement and scanning was presented
through an installed pod within the store which people could walk into to
scan whole or parts of their body in a 3-D format. The technology came
about as an off-shoot of research conducted by the University College
London on the “national sizing” of the British population. Today, the tech-
nology aims to enable people to have access to the most body-flattering
clothes for their exact size, shape and style, including dresses, suits, skirts,
blouses and even jeans. The Bodymetrics pod has currently been adopted
by several brands at Harrods including Vivienne Westwood and Nick
Holland.
Although the technology is still in its infancy and requires support from
well-trained technicians and sales representatives, over time it is expected
to become widely adopted as the market gets accustomed to it. At the same
time, there have been some mixed feelings among luxury brands on its
adoption. Some contend that it will finally address the dullness of the uni-
formity brought by ready-to-wear. It is also believed that it will overcome
the lack of accuracy that often occurs from measuring by hand, which may
not allow all of the body's contours to be perfectly taken in. Other parties
believe that introducing technologically supported applications into bespoke
in the form of “speed tailoring” is a contradiction and a discredit to the
authenticity of the hand-made craftsmanship of the original made-to-measure
format.
While this argument is yet to be clarified, another version of custom-made
clothing selection en masse has been introduced to the Internet through a
virtual try-on concept. Although this is more aligned to trying on clothing
virtually rather than creating and making clothing, it follows the same
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