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Gap acquires 3D fitting room startup Drapr

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Re: Gap acquires 3D fitting room startup Drapr

#31
post #19

Personally I don't think the issue is "3D fitting" - the issue is that the sizing and fit of clothes hasn't both been: standardized and quantified. Do both and a 3D fitting room wouldn't be necessary to begin with.

One problem with that is that not all the articles are the same size. You can order 1000 t-shirts in the same size from a manufacturer and not all of them will be the same size (especially if you order the cheapest you can find). This is mainly due to cheap fabrics stretching unevenly (roll to roll difference and beginning of the roll can stretch differently from the end) and if you cut them by pressing through a thi…

As someone totally ignorant of this industry... how can those problems be fixed? Is it an issue of using higher quality materials, or some factory process change?

Re: Gap acquires 3D fitting room startup Drapr

#32

This seems to be an acquihire? IF you wanted to get a high valuation you would have stuck it out by yourself longer I would think?

I worked at a big retail company a few years that was desperate to make investments in tech. Probably didn't help that HQ was in Silicon Valley. They ended acquiring a 3D company for a similar purpose to Gap only the company was actually a total mismatch for what they intended. They produced 3D models, but not actual usable software. The tech leadership internally advised against the acquisition but the CEO did it anyway. Then we had to pivot them to basically build what we wanted from scratch with no clear market need. AFAIK, it's been languishing for a few years.

Re: Gap acquires 3D fitting room startup Drapr

#33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Body types vary widely though. If you’re athletic you may have a strong shoulder to hip drop, getting shirts that are blousy in the midsection. Conversely, if you’re heavy set or short you may get garments that are overly long. Some companies do try to address this to a degree with slim or athletic cuts, and yes a tailor could take you the rest of the way ‘mostly’ there, but the future of clothing is 3D scanning and…

A 3D fitting room isn’t going to solve the issues you mention tho. I also think what you’re describing could be easily solved with more measurements of clothing you’re considering.

3D fitting is first step for custom fitted to order clothes, like Amazons "Made for You" t-shirts https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-custom-fit-t-shirts-u...

Re: Gap acquires 3D fitting room startup Drapr

#34
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Body types vary widely though. If you’re athletic you may have a strong shoulder to hip drop, getting shirts that are blousy in the midsection. Conversely, if you’re heavy set or short you may get garments that are overly long. Some companies do try to address this to a degree with slim or athletic cuts, and yes a tailor could take you the rest of the way ‘mostly’ there, but the future of clothing is 3D scanning and…

As exemplified by the old threadbase post: https://web.archive.org/web/20160318074519/threadbase.com/un... The sizes vary within brands themselves. Traditionally the solution was to get a tailor take your measurements and make a pattern for you and cut from cloth to make you a garment. Obviously, in today's day and age, that gets a bit expensive for most people.

I'm waiting the day when I go into a store and the fitting room scans my body (naked or just underwear) and then it creates an outfit just for my body. We could probably pull it off already, but it can't compete with third world produced on price, and those are good enough.

Re: Gap acquires 3D fitting room startup Drapr

#35
post #34
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As exemplified by the old threadbase post: https://web.archive.org/web/20160318074519/threadbase.com/un... The sizes vary within brands themselves. Traditionally the solution was to get a tailor take your measurements and make a pattern for you and cut from cloth to make you a garment. Obviously, in today's day and age, that gets a bit expensive for most people.

I'm waiting the day when I go into a store and the fitting room scans my body (naked or just underwear) and then it creates an outfit just for my body. We could probably pull it off already, but it can't compete with third world produced on price, and those are good enough.

I think there have been failed attempts at this over the past 20 years or so. If you're willing to wait, they could do this somewhat affordably --just won't be off the rack fast (week or two?)

That said, a tailor will make you pose properly and not slouch or droop your shoulder, so they would take better measurements. Presumably, SW could correct for bad posture as well.

Re: Gap acquires 3D fitting room startup Drapr

#36
post #19

Personally I don't think the issue is "3D fitting" - the issue is that the sizing and fit of clothes hasn't both been: standardized and quantified. Do both and a 3D fitting room wouldn't be necessary to begin with.

One problem with that is that not all the articles are the same size. You can order 1000 t-shirts in the same size from a manufacturer and not all of them will be the same size (especially if you order the cheapest you can find). This is mainly due to cheap fabrics stretching unevenly (roll to roll difference and beginning of the roll can stretch differently from the end) and if you cut them by pressing through a thi…

What if we ended up with a system where I know I'm a B29.

Then after every shirt made, it's tested against the B26 - B34 (since it's probably somewhere in there) and then labelled as a fit for B29.

Then I just go shopping for B29s.

Re: Gap acquires 3D fitting room startup Drapr

#37
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Body types vary widely though. If you’re athletic you may have a strong shoulder to hip drop, getting shirts that are blousy in the midsection. Conversely, if you’re heavy set or short you may get garments that are overly long. Some companies do try to address this to a degree with slim or athletic cuts, and yes a tailor could take you the rest of the way ‘mostly’ there, but the future of clothing is 3D scanning and…

As exemplified by the old threadbase post: https://web.archive.org/web/20160318074519/threadbase.com/un... The sizes vary within brands themselves. Traditionally the solution was to get a tailor take your measurements and make a pattern for you and cut from cloth to make you a garment. Obviously, in today's day and age, that gets a bit expensive for most people.

There are companies working on scaling this kind of thing, though:

https://www.indochino.com/suits/fit

That one is a "measure at home" affair, but I've also heard tell of ones where there's a pop up at a co-working space or whatever, and you go get measured, pick your fabrics, and get the shirts in the mail a few weeks later.

Cost-wise, it's definitely more than getting them at a department store, but it's not ridiculously more. Think like 2-3x rather than 10x.

Re: Gap acquires 3D fitting room startup Drapr

#39

Personally I don't think the issue is "3D fitting" - the issue is that the sizing and fit of clothes hasn't both been: standardized and quantified. Do both and a 3D fitting room wouldn't be necessary to begin with.

Actually one of the issues is also standardization.

Finding someone that is average on just four or five dimensions is extremely rare. Bucketing people into a handful of clusters and taking those averages is only a marginal improvement. Brands standardizing to those same clusters make it impossible for many people to find fitting clothes.

It’s just like shoes. For a given length, at most about 30-40% of the foot widths can be accommodated without offering multiple widths. And most shoes only come in one width.

Re: Gap acquires 3D fitting room startup Drapr

#40

What problem/s does 3D fitting room solve? What problem/s does 3D fitting room introduce?

The problem I’ve seen with all the online fit systems is they tell you the closest size even if it’s a horrible fit, they never tell you the brand’s sizes aren’t good for you.
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