Avatars promise makeover of apparel designs

 

Posted on  The Jewish Voice & Herald on 6/26/09
By Nancy Kirsch

Israeli firm’s software may transform fashion industry

Meet Adam and, no, not Eve, but Eva; they are avatars created by OptiTex, an Israeli company, to maximize efficiency and cut trial-and-error samplings for apparel manufacturers around the world. Avatars are computer-generated images of an alter ego that can, as is the case with Adam and Eva, appear as a three-dimensional model.

Based in Petach Tivka, this privately-held company develops innovative software that allows companies to observe, using Adam and Eva (or a human body scan), how a finished garment “will behave,” explained the soft-spoken, yet enthusiastic president of OptiTex, USA Yoram Burg.

The price of fabric is responsible for up to 40 percent of the cost to make apparel samples, so cutting the number of samples and slashing the extensive time involved before making the final approved product is only good news for apparel companies, if not for the world’s sample sale shoppers.

There are so many variables: the logo placement, the type of fabric, how tight or loose a shirt collar and cuffs should be, the fit across the torso and back of a shirt, for example.

Does Adam represent a stocky football player or a short and thin young man? ‘Presto, change-o,’ the software user can change Adam’s image and the apparel he wears with just a few strokes of the keyboard.

Using technology Burg called “3D flattening,” this software also allows users to create patterns from nothing on a bare body. Companies such as Patagonia, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss and Target, for example, have purchased Optitex’ computer-aided design (CAD) software. The applications go beyond the apparel industry: BMW has purchased the software to use in manufacturing car seats, boat companies for biminis (boat covers) and more.

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