The Lycra Company, a developer of innovative fiber and technology solutions for the apparel and personal care industries, announced a partnership Tuesday with Browzwear that will provide designers using VStitcher and Lotta, its platforms for 3D fashion design, to quickly and easily develop products incorporating fabrics containing Lycra, Lycra T400 and Coolmax fibers.
The partnership with Browzwear is the latest element of a multifaceted digital transformation that the Lycra Company began last year with the launch of the Lycra One customer portal, an online marketplace connecting brands, retailers and garment makers to a global network of partner mills in a virtual capacity. The company said the expansion of its digital infrastructure is enabling new forms of engagement with its global customer base, and online platforms like Browzwear demonstrate the differentiation and sources of innovation that the Lycra Company is helping bring to its customers across the apparel value chain.
With the true-to-life visualizations made possible with Browzwear’s innovative software, designers can digitally create activewear, denim, swimwear, ready-to-wear and intimate apparel fashions using fabrics showcased in the Lycra Brand Materials Library. The Browzwear platform enables designers to visualize how garments made with Lycra fiber offer a comfortable, lasting fit that will move with the wearer.
All the materials with digital versions in the Lycra Brand Materials Library can be sourced directly from one of 15 global mills initially featured on Browzwear. These materials have been tested and certified by Lycra Co., ensuring they contain the company’s authentic fibers that are designed to meet consumer needs for comfort, fit and ease of movement.
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In addition, Lycra Company will continue to work with Browzwear to add new resources to the materials library as they become available. The partnership also advances Lycra Company’s sustainability commitment to offering a variety of fiber and fabric solutions that reduce or divert waste and keep materials in use longer. Creating digital garments via Browzwear streamlines the production process and reduces the need to manufacture samples, saving time and reducing waste for more efficient and sustainable operations.
“At the Lycra Company, innovation is in our DNA, and we constantly look at new ways to create value for our mill customers, brands and retail partners,” said Julien Born, CEO of the Lycra Company. “Digital transformation and sustainability offer opportunities, but also stretch our approach to innovation as fast and meaningful advances in those areas cannot be achieved alone. By teaming up with Browzwear, we are taking an important step in that direction, with the goal of ultimately changing the way the apparel industry will engage and interact digitally to optimize the sourcing of high-quality fabrics that extend garment wear life and reduce the need for samples.”
Avihay Feld, Browzwear co-founder and CEO, said the collaboration with the Lycra Company enables its users to leverage its performance fibers to better incorporate them into designs faster, easier and more sustainably.
“Our Fabric Analyzer ensures the 3D versions of fabrics made with fibers from the Lycra Brand Materials Library result in true-to-life simulations of the garments, with physics and movement that reflect the durability and unique functionality of these fibers,” Feld said. “We believe this partnership will drive positive impact throughout the industry by helping brands and retailers to operate a more sustainable, efficient development process.”
Headquartered in Wilmington, Del., the Lycra Company owns the consumer and trade brands Lycra, Lycra HyFit, Lycra T400, Coolmax, Thermolite, Elaspan, Supplex and Tactel.
Worldwide, more than 650 organizations such as Columbia Sportswear, PVH and VF Corp. leverage Browzwear’s open platform to streamline processes, collaborate and pursue data-driven production strategies so they can sell more while manufacturing less, which increases both ecologic and economic sustainability.