Case Study: Perry Ellis International.
Accelerate Time to Market by 95% with Modular Library.
Six Atomic collaborated with Perry Ellis International (PEI) to significantly reduce the time to launch new SKUs to market. We developed a custom modular design library with AI pattern drafting for polo shirts, enabling PEI’s in-house team to design, generate patterns and 3D visualisation without relying on oversea vendors.
Key Impact.
Accelerate Time To Market by 95%.
Design new SKUs in minutes with modular libraries. Launch new SKUs in 2-3 days instead of 6-8 weeks.
Brand Retains IP Ownership In-House.
Create patterns & 3D simulation assets in-house with AI, eliminating weeks-long waits for external vendors.
Bypass Pattern Expertise Bottlenecks.
Easily design, 3D visualise and approve patterns for production without pattern-making or 3D simulation expertise.
Project Overview.
Client.
Perry Ellis International (PEI) is a Global Fashion House of lifestyle and licensed brands including Perry Ellis and Original Penguin. We worked with PEI's 3D Technical Designer Team to find a more efficient way to develop and approve new SKUs for production, which cuts down time to market significantly.
Challenges.
The 3D Technical Designer Team currently does not have in-house pattern makers. When creating new designs, the team must rely on overseas vendors to draft patterns. Then, they'd use these patterns to develop 3D samples for approval. Waiting weeks for vendors is a bottleneck that delays product launch.
Outcome.
Six Atomic developed custom modular design libraries with automated pattern drafting. This allows the PEI in-house team to design and create new patterns automatically in a few seconds, bypassing the need for a large team of pattern makers and 3D artists. Patterns can be visualised in 3D software like Vstitcher much faster than the previous workflow.
Key Technology Provided.
Custom modular design library (polos).
AI pattern drafting (polos).
Integrations with Browzwear SmartDesign for 3D simulation.
Solution Details.
Design New SKUs in a Few Clicks.
Problem.
In a typical product development process, the PEI team would manually create new design requirements each time. There is no centralised repository to help designers create new design variants quickly.
Solution.
Six Atomic built a highly customisable modular design library for PEI polo shirts. Designers can select a new design combination in a few clicks through a web interface. They can also use a sliding scale interface to make fine-tune adjustments for details like collar point length, neck ease, and sleeve cuff width.
Impact.
Product development is faster and more efficient than the traditional method.
AI Pattern Making.
Problem.
Without in-house pattern makers, the PEI team typically relies on vendors to draft a pattern with CAD software for each new design. This iterative process could take weeks before getting approved for production.
Solution.
After designing via the modular design library, Six Atomic's algorithm can generate patterns of the selected design combination in seconds. No technical pattern-making knowledge required. Designers can export patterns in their preferred file configurations for 3D visualisation or production.
Impact.
The PEI team can draft new patterns in seconds. They no longer need to rely on external vendors.
3D Modular Visualisation.
Problem.
PEI typically uses standard 3D modelling software to visualise new patterns. However, this software doesn't allow designers to visualise new combinations of design options easily. Manual adjustment is needed, which can be time-consuming.
Solution.
Six Atomic assisted PEI team in migrating to Browzwear SmartDesign, software that easily visualises modular options in 3D. We provided support by creating 3D visualisation and illustration assets that designers can readily upload to the SmartDesign system.
Impact.
Designers can visualise 3D samples swiftly and speed up the approval process for new patterns.
