SPESA Expo 2010: Focus on Technology
Yesterday's writeup focus was equipment; today's is technology. I have one more post planned on suppliers, and that'll cover my SPESA Expo experience.
Technology--holy wow, y'all. I wish i could have taken photos in the technology exhibit, where they had displays of all kinds of crazy things like garments made out of black fabric that doesn't absorb heat from the sun, and an inflatable lifesaving vest that was SO COOL LOOKING that no teenage summer camper would refuse to wear it because it looked dorky.
But mostly what i intend to address in this post is computer software and related products, and there was no lack of that. The "big dogs" were there in force, of course--both Gerber and Lectra had enormous booths on the expo floor. Lectra had a stage in theirs where they were running lectures and introductory classes on the use of their products, demos, and so forth. Both of them had literally dozens of show staff on hand to answer questions and offer advice and demonstrate the products. I've posted before about Gerber and Lectra software and how it is WAY outside the price range of any theatre company or university costume production shop. By the time you get to the end of this post though, you might have come across software options that sound like exactly what you need for whatever application you envision, at a more affordable price point... I'll go through them company by company, the ones whose literature i picked up and whose booths i checked out.
Browzwear
Browzwear is a software company based in Israel who specialize in virtual garment design and 3D-visualization fit modeling software intended to facilitate worldwide collaboration in the development of "fast fashion" lines for international corporations. Their three main products are cMe (a communication and presentation tool), vStyler (perhaps described as "21st Century Tomy Fashion Plates(TM)), and vStitcher (a virtual samplemaking tool). A quick perusal of their overview video will give you a good idea of what their software does. Their products look amazing for the production of ready-to-wear garments designed for a modern consumer, and frankly, a lot of fun. I don't believe they are likely to be useful in the theatrical costuming industry, even for most designers, since we work largely on a bespoke, one-of-a-kind or limited-number production level, often in period silhouettes and utilizing a high level of ornamentation. Cool stuff! Just not for me, professionally speaking.
Audaces
Audaces is a Brazilian company that caters to a variety of industries, not only fashion but also furniture and upholstery, and metal/glass construction. They sell innovative plotters (including the world's first vertically oriented plotter) and software suites. Their Audaces Apparel is a suite similar to the Gerber products, focusing on patterning, grading, and marker making. Audaces Idea is a suite of design software, similar to the products Browzwear offers--conceptualization and communication tools.
The coolest thing that Audaces makes is Digiflash, software that allows you to take a photograph of paper patterns using a normal digital camera, and it will digitize them instantly into vector-based CAD files so they can be manipulated and graded by computer. So, let's say that someone wanted to try setting up a CAD-based production facility for long-running Broadway shows, and wanted to digitize drapers' patterns for future CAD-graded and drafted rebuilds and new cast members. All you have to do to digitize, say, the gown for "Emerald City chorus person #5 in Wicked," is pin it up on a special board and take a picture. Mind you, that level of production is the only time in which it probably makes financial sense to utilize this kind of technology, where you know it is likely a show will run for years with many cast changes, run concurrently in London and Tokyo, and go on international tours, so a single costume design is likely to be executed dozens of times for dozens of cast members.
OptiTex
OptiTex apparently does it all, and in a Windows platform. They have 2D and 3D visualization and "virtual runway" design software, communication facilitation, pattern making, grading, marker making, and cater to the commercial apparel, furniture, and transportation markets, as well as having an educational division. Their stuff is used by Parsons School of Design, but also by the Seattle Community College, so it's possible it's quite affordable or that costs are scaled in some way. Given the diversity of markets outside of apparel, i imagine that it's a case where several departments within an institution are served--not just fashion design but also interior design and automotive design perhaps.
The website and the product literature i got at SPESA are kind of obfuscative about exactly what their educational products are and what services and support they offer--lots of "we're awesome, see who says we're awesome!" but no specs to speak of--and i unfortunately didn't get a chance to speak to any of their reps while i was there. I've requested more specific info though so hopefully i'll have some analysis soon on whether their products are potentially useful and affordable for regional and university theatre facilities. I suspect that we're too small a niche for them, unless we came bundled with some other departments within a university or production house. Perhaps they would be good for schools with cross-departmental software applicability, or production houses that offer costume/prop/set dressing capabilities? I don't yet know enough to gauge.
Alvanon
Wow, this company is super cool! Most of what they do is irrelvant for theatrical costume production, but I have to write them up anyhow. (Besides, one area might be applicable, but i don't want to get ahead of myself.) Much of what they do is consulting and facilitation--aiding fashion industry startups and extant corporations in transitioning to digital technologies and processes. The super-cool part of their business though is AlvaForm, the division that produces specific-purpose dress forms in a range of different size standards, but also which produces custom forms utilizing body scanning technology for your fit model. I've been scanned in a body scanner at the local company that developed them, [TC]2. It takes literally like 1 minute, and the computer generates a 3D map of the surface of your body and takes hundreds of measurements instantly. Alvanon uses that data to create an exact replica of whatever body you scan!
The exciting thing about that in terms of theatrical costume production is how it applies to repertory companies and commercial shops that work for specific clients who have unusual or challenging-to-fit body types. For example, i once worked for a regional theatre with a resident company of actors (still do, as that's what we have at PRC as well, but this was not here), in which one company member was an extremely large, portly man whom i'll call Mr. Jones (obv not his real name). We had a set of padding which zipped onto a dress form in the shop that instantly turned it into "Mr. Jones." Since we had to fit costumes on Mr. Jones several times a season, had it been an option then, we might have invested in an AlvaForm made exactly to Mr. Jones' measurements; body scanning technology hadn't been developed yet, though, and custom traditional forms for larger body types aren't always the right proportion. The zip-on padding was the best we could do.
Certainly i can imagine, say, an opera company purchasing these for their star divas and tenors, or the draper who makes Dolly Parton's stagewear working on an AlvaForm version of Ms. Parton rather than padding out the bust as much as would be required on a standard form.
Their forms are the familiar "hard form" that most costume shops use--the fiberglass interior skinned with knit layers and a linen cover, pinnable, with options like collapsible shoulders and such. Unfortunately, i have no idea what they cost. You bet if i had a really hard-to-fit company member or client though, i'd get a quote.
TukaTech
I have saved what seemed to me to be the best for last: TukaTech.
This company literally serves every market in fashion, technologically speaking. They have 2D and 3D visualization and "virtual runway" design software; pattern making, grading, and marker making software; fabric and print design software; and a web tech division. They offer the custom dress forms from body scanning like AlvaForm does, sell plotters and digitizers, and provide efficiency and fit consultation services. Their forms are pinnable and chalkable, but are made from a squishable self-healing medium with a rigid "skeleton" support inside, so you can actually corset them or fit various brassiere styles or tight jeans on them realistically. (Possibly creepy, really, but also cool.) In light of that, perhaps the TukaForm is a better choice for Dolly Parton, after all. :D
The coolest thing about TukaTech is their educational software division. They really cater to the educational market, by making their products accessible and affordable. Students can rent their CAD software (which is compatible with Gerber and Lectra systems) for $25/month! They offer rent-to-own programs for both students and start-ups or companies and schools wishing to switch over to their system. It seems like they may be the choice to go with for costume production professionals and educators wanting to incorporate CAD effectively and affordably. I've requested more info from them as well, so we'll see if my suspicions are correct!
That's it for my technology report. For another perspective on SPESA, Kathleen Fasanella is retroactively blogging her SPESA experience over on Fashion-Incubator as well. She just posted Part One with more on the way. She'll probably have a lot more info of interest to folks into pattern making and garment construction techniques--for example, that first post mentions an interaction with a demonstrator of a welt pocket machine, and features a link to her photos including a cool 16-needle pintucking machine.
Next up: suppliers! But not today. Have a great weekend!
Technology--holy wow, y'all. I wish i could have taken photos in the technology exhibit, where they had displays of all kinds of crazy things like garments made out of black fabric that doesn't absorb heat from the sun, and an inflatable lifesaving vest that was SO COOL LOOKING that no teenage summer camper would refuse to wear it because it looked dorky.
But mostly what i intend to address in this post is computer software and related products, and there was no lack of that. The "big dogs" were there in force, of course--both Gerber and Lectra had enormous booths on the expo floor. Lectra had a stage in theirs where they were running lectures and introductory classes on the use of their products, demos, and so forth. Both of them had literally dozens of show staff on hand to answer questions and offer advice and demonstrate the products. I've posted before about Gerber and Lectra software and how it is WAY outside the price range of any theatre company or university costume production shop. By the time you get to the end of this post though, you might have come across software options that sound like exactly what you need for whatever application you envision, at a more affordable price point... I'll go through them company by company, the ones whose literature i picked up and whose booths i checked out.
Browzwear
Browzwear is a software company based in Israel who specialize in virtual garment design and 3D-visualization fit modeling software intended to facilitate worldwide collaboration in the development of "fast fashion" lines for international corporations. Their three main products are cMe (a communication and presentation tool), vStyler (perhaps described as "21st Century Tomy Fashion Plates(TM)), and vStitcher (a virtual samplemaking tool). A quick perusal of their overview video will give you a good idea of what their software does. Their products look amazing for the production of ready-to-wear garments designed for a modern consumer, and frankly, a lot of fun. I don't believe they are likely to be useful in the theatrical costuming industry, even for most designers, since we work largely on a bespoke, one-of-a-kind or limited-number production level, often in period silhouettes and utilizing a high level of ornamentation. Cool stuff! Just not for me, professionally speaking.
Audaces
Audaces is a Brazilian company that caters to a variety of industries, not only fashion but also furniture and upholstery, and metal/glass construction. They sell innovative plotters (including the world's first vertically oriented plotter) and software suites. Their Audaces Apparel is a suite similar to the Gerber products, focusing on patterning, grading, and marker making. Audaces Idea is a suite of design software, similar to the products Browzwear offers--conceptualization and communication tools.
The coolest thing that Audaces makes is Digiflash, software that allows you to take a photograph of paper patterns using a normal digital camera, and it will digitize them instantly into vector-based CAD files so they can be manipulated and graded by computer. So, let's say that someone wanted to try setting up a CAD-based production facility for long-running Broadway shows, and wanted to digitize drapers' patterns for future CAD-graded and drafted rebuilds and new cast members. All you have to do to digitize, say, the gown for "Emerald City chorus person #5 in Wicked," is pin it up on a special board and take a picture. Mind you, that level of production is the only time in which it probably makes financial sense to utilize this kind of technology, where you know it is likely a show will run for years with many cast changes, run concurrently in London and Tokyo, and go on international tours, so a single costume design is likely to be executed dozens of times for dozens of cast members.
OptiTex
OptiTex apparently does it all, and in a Windows platform. They have 2D and 3D visualization and "virtual runway" design software, communication facilitation, pattern making, grading, marker making, and cater to the commercial apparel, furniture, and transportation markets, as well as having an educational division. Their stuff is used by Parsons School of Design, but also by the Seattle Community College, so it's possible it's quite affordable or that costs are scaled in some way. Given the diversity of markets outside of apparel, i imagine that it's a case where several departments within an institution are served--not just fashion design but also interior design and automotive design perhaps.
The website and the product literature i got at SPESA are kind of obfuscative about exactly what their educational products are and what services and support they offer--lots of "we're awesome, see who says we're awesome!" but no specs to speak of--and i unfortunately didn't get a chance to speak to any of their reps while i was there. I've requested more specific info though so hopefully i'll have some analysis soon on whether their products are potentially useful and affordable for regional and university theatre facilities. I suspect that we're too small a niche for them, unless we came bundled with some other departments within a university or production house. Perhaps they would be good for schools with cross-departmental software applicability, or production houses that offer costume/prop/set dressing capabilities? I don't yet know enough to gauge.
Alvanon
Wow, this company is super cool! Most of what they do is irrelvant for theatrical costume production, but I have to write them up anyhow. (Besides, one area might be applicable, but i don't want to get ahead of myself.) Much of what they do is consulting and facilitation--aiding fashion industry startups and extant corporations in transitioning to digital technologies and processes. The super-cool part of their business though is AlvaForm, the division that produces specific-purpose dress forms in a range of different size standards, but also which produces custom forms utilizing body scanning technology for your fit model. I've been scanned in a body scanner at the local company that developed them, [TC]2. It takes literally like 1 minute, and the computer generates a 3D map of the surface of your body and takes hundreds of measurements instantly. Alvanon uses that data to create an exact replica of whatever body you scan!
The exciting thing about that in terms of theatrical costume production is how it applies to repertory companies and commercial shops that work for specific clients who have unusual or challenging-to-fit body types. For example, i once worked for a regional theatre with a resident company of actors (still do, as that's what we have at PRC as well, but this was not here), in which one company member was an extremely large, portly man whom i'll call Mr. Jones (obv not his real name). We had a set of padding which zipped onto a dress form in the shop that instantly turned it into "Mr. Jones." Since we had to fit costumes on Mr. Jones several times a season, had it been an option then, we might have invested in an AlvaForm made exactly to Mr. Jones' measurements; body scanning technology hadn't been developed yet, though, and custom traditional forms for larger body types aren't always the right proportion. The zip-on padding was the best we could do.
Certainly i can imagine, say, an opera company purchasing these for their star divas and tenors, or the draper who makes Dolly Parton's stagewear working on an AlvaForm version of Ms. Parton rather than padding out the bust as much as would be required on a standard form.
Their forms are the familiar "hard form" that most costume shops use--the fiberglass interior skinned with knit layers and a linen cover, pinnable, with options like collapsible shoulders and such. Unfortunately, i have no idea what they cost. You bet if i had a really hard-to-fit company member or client though, i'd get a quote.
TukaTech
I have saved what seemed to me to be the best for last: TukaTech.
This company literally serves every market in fashion, technologically speaking. They have 2D and 3D visualization and "virtual runway" design software; pattern making, grading, and marker making software; fabric and print design software; and a web tech division. They offer the custom dress forms from body scanning like AlvaForm does, sell plotters and digitizers, and provide efficiency and fit consultation services. Their forms are pinnable and chalkable, but are made from a squishable self-healing medium with a rigid "skeleton" support inside, so you can actually corset them or fit various brassiere styles or tight jeans on them realistically. (Possibly creepy, really, but also cool.) In light of that, perhaps the TukaForm is a better choice for Dolly Parton, after all. :D
The coolest thing about TukaTech is their educational software division. They really cater to the educational market, by making their products accessible and affordable. Students can rent their CAD software (which is compatible with Gerber and Lectra systems) for $25/month! They offer rent-to-own programs for both students and start-ups or companies and schools wishing to switch over to their system. It seems like they may be the choice to go with for costume production professionals and educators wanting to incorporate CAD effectively and affordably. I've requested more info from them as well, so we'll see if my suspicions are correct!
That's it for my technology report. For another perspective on SPESA, Kathleen Fasanella is retroactively blogging her SPESA experience over on Fashion-Incubator as well. She just posted Part One with more on the way. She'll probably have a lot more info of interest to folks into pattern making and garment construction techniques--for example, that first post mentions an interaction with a demonstrator of a welt pocket machine, and features a link to her photos including a cool 16-needle pintucking machine.
Next up: suppliers! But not today. Have a great weekend!