Digital Production
Advanced digital production technologies streamline the fashion process and enable innovative and sustainable creation and modification of textiles.
The fashion industry is undergoing a major development and transformation through the integration of Digital Manufacturing and Digital Twinning technologies, driven by the principle of ‘Digital to Physical’ design and production. Digital Production leverages advanced technologies like 3D printing and computer-controlled machines to streamline manufacturing, enhancing efficiency, customization, and sustainability. This approach enables on-demand production, reduces waste, and marks a departure from traditional mass production methods, allowing fashion brands to respond swiftly to market trends while emphasizing personalization and quality.
Complementing this, Digital Twinning involves creating virtual models that replicate and optimize physical products, systems, or processes throughout their lifecycle. Continuously updated with real-time data, Digital Twinning enables the creation of virtual prototypes, reducing the need for physical samples and improving supply chain management through real-time monitoring and simulation. It also enhances customer experiences by offering personalized avatars for better sizing and styling recommendations and by promoting sustainability through material analysis and environmental impact assessments.
Together, Digital manufacturing and Digital Twinning are revolutionizing the fashion industry by driving innovation, sustainability, and operational efficiency. By adopting these technologies, fashion brands can reduce their environmental footprint, better meet consumer demands, and explore new business models that were previously unattainable with traditional methods.”
Case studies
Kornit Digital – On-demand digital textile printing
Kornit Digital develops industrial-scale direct-to-garment and roll-to-roll digital printing systems that enable on-demand production with significantly reduced water, energy, and chemical use. By combining digital print workflows, inline pre- and post-treatment, and integrated software (e.g., KornitX), brands can move from forecast-driven mass production to short-run, localized manufacturing, cutting overproduction and waste.
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Lectra – Fashion On Demand by Lectra
Fashion On Demand by Lectra is a fully integrated, automated cutting room for on-demand and made-to-measure apparel. It connects 3D product development, order management, and automated cutting, allowing brands to produce individualized garments at scale while optimizing fabric utilization and lead times, illustrating how digital production lines reconfigure apparel workflows.
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unspun – 3D-woven custom jeans
unspun uses 3D body scanning and automated 3D weaving/knitting technologies to produce custom-fit jeans on demand. By replacing size-based inventory with data-driven, made-to-order manufacturing in local micro-factories, unspun demonstrates how digital production can reduce inventory, transport, and material waste while supporting new circular business models.
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PlatformE – Digital twins for on-demand fashion production
PlatformE provides an end-to-end digital production infrastructure that connects 3D product creation, virtual assortment building, and order-driven manufacturing with a network of partner factories. By using product and process “digital twins” to trigger cut-make processes only after a sale, PlatformE enables brands to shift from speculative bulk orders toward demand-driven, low-waste production.
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Shima Seiki – WHOLEGARMENT 3D knitting
Shima Seiki’s WHOLEGARMENT technology produces seamless knit garments in one piece directly from digital patterns, removing many cutting and sewing steps. This fully fashioned 3D knitting process reduces material waste, shortens sampling and production lead times, and supports localized, on-demand knitwear manufacturing tightly coupled to digital design tools.
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References
Botín-Sanabria, D. M., Guerrero-Turrubiates, G. Y., Ramírez-Mendoza, R. A., Ramírez-Moreno, M. A., Bustamante-Bello, M. R., Cruz-Pérez, M. Á., & Fors, M. N. (2022). Digital twin technology challenges and applications: A comprehensive review. Remote Sensing, 14(6), 1335. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14061335
Wagner, R., & Kabalska, A. (2022). Sustainable value in the fashion industry: A case study of value construction/destruction using digital twins. Sustainable Development, 30(6), 1531–1549. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2334
Alam, M. D., Kabir, G., & Mirmohammadsadeghi, M. (2023). A digital twin framework development for apparel manufacturing industry. Decision Analytics Journal, 7, 100252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dajour.2022.100252
Chan, H. H. Y., Henninger, C. E., Boardman, R., & Blazquez Cano, M. (2024). The adoption of digital fashion as an end product: A systematic literature review of research foci and future research agenda. Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, 15(1), 155–180. https://doi.org/10.1080/20932685.2023.2251033
Gornostaeva, G. (2023). The development of digital commerce in the fashion industry: The typology of emerging designers in London. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 186, 122122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.122122