A 2018 Forbes article reported that the fashion industry generates 92 million tons or 4% of the world’s waste each year, a lot of which comes from offcuts from the production process. It also highlighted that retail downsizing will continue to accelerate as e-commerce gains market share. Here’s how one Singapore fashion company aims to mitigate these impacts.
“As a brand, we observed two key issues in the industry, overproduction and a change in consumer behaviour and expectations of retail spaces.” Said Mr Tamir Niv, Co-Founder of GINLEE Studio.
While participating in TaFF’s The Bridge Fashion Incubator, the company developed a new retail concept which could potentially allow them to address the two key challenges of over-manufacturing and the evolution of consumer preferences against traditional brick and mortar stores.
This gave birth to the proposal for “Made In Shop”, a new on-demand and on-the-spot manufacturing solution that is both sustainable and engaging for consumers. This involved the redesign of its pleat manufacturing process. (Early prototypes of the pleating process for “Made in Shop” pictured above)
Project Plan
The process of clothes pleating is age-old. Traditionally done by skilled hands in workshops, it involves gentleness and great accuracy. With the support of DesignSingapore Council (Dsg)’s Good Design Research initiative, GINLEE Studio will be modernising the craft and it aims to produce its signature pleated pieces in shop and on demand.
This enables the brand to better align its production supply to consumer demand, therefore minimising wastage after a fashion “season”. The production method will also enable the creation of multiple styles and sizes from a single cloth base.
This enables the brand to better align its production supply to consumer demand, therefore minimising wastage after a fashion “season”. The production method will also enable the creation of multiple styles and sizes from a single cloth base. By making the beautiful process of pleating visible to its consumers, GINLEE hopes to retain the attraction of brick and mortar stores by building upon experiential design.
At the end of the project, the general public can look forward to a showcase, where GINLEE will be sharing more about the knowledge and products that they have developed as part of this project. With such innovative ideas, they hope that brick and mortar stores in the fashion industry will continue to evolve and stay relevant.
Find out more about the Good Design Research initiative here.
Gin Lee and Tamir Niv
Co-Founders • GINLEE Studio
GINLEE Studio is a design-led multidisciplinary fashion company that focuses on the explorations of textile, form, fit and function of the clothing which it designs. Its vision is to make clothes that have the same level of design recognition as other form of design, such as product and architecture.
