Marta Valero Martínez, Alfredo Ballester Fernández, Beatriz Nácher Fernández, Ana Piérola Orcero, Sandra Alemany Mut, Juan Carlos González García,Sara Gil Mora, Giuseppe Caprara
Instituto de Biomecánica (IBV)
Universitat Politècnica de València
Camino de Vera s/n. Edificio 9C
46022 Valencia, Spain
Instituto de Biomecánica (IBV) has just completed the study on the modern-day measurements of the Spanish male population. These measurements round off the data acquired about the female population and favor the provision of services aimed at improving the sizing of clothes so that they fit the consumers better. This study, financed by the European Commission through the SizingSUDOE project, has been complemented by the publication of two Anthropometric Notebooks on the male and female population that contain the current measurements of the Spanish population, which are intended for the textile, fashion and clothing industry.
INTRODUCTION
The technical clothing and fashion industry focuses on segments of the population that are becoming increasingly more particular, whose demands in terms of adaptation are growing and whose anthropometric characteristics are very different. The shape and the body dimensions can vary a lot according to different parameters such as age, gender or geographic origin.
Determining the dimensions and shape of the human body helps make patterns and the sizes more accurate for clothing and accessories, so that they fit consumers better.
That is why, in the last few years, the IBV has come up with an R & D line in anthropometry and morphometrics to create databases on different populations and develop new products and services.
The SizingSUDOE project has been carried out in the context of this work, and the objective of such is to boost the competitiveness of the textile, fashion and clothing industry by establishing a stable network between technological centers and business associations to promote the transfer of anthropometric information about the population to companies from the industry, so that they can develop new products and services that are suitable for their target market.
RESULTS
The main results obtained from processing the anthropometric data and the work done to pass this on to the companies in the textile, fashion and clothing industry are discussed hereinafter.
Anthropometric study and data analysis for the textile, fashion and clothing industry
The SizingSUDOE project started off with the organization of different discussion sessions with companies to determine the anthropometric data needs of this industry. During these sessions the most important measurements of the body for the textile industry were defined and then included in the Anthropometric Notebooks.
Figure 1. Example of a 3D scan.
Furthermore, the anthropometric study of the Spanish male population was also carried out during the project, in which the body dimensions of 1583 men aged between 12 and 70 from different geographical areas were recorded. The measurements were taken in 2013 and 2014, using laser scanning technology so that the 3D morphological features of the body could be recorded (Figure 1) as a point cloud with an accuracy of 1 mm. The “radiography” of the male population is shown in figure 2.
Moreover, the project also involved carrying out an in-depth analysis of the data obtained from the anthropometric study on the Spanish female population, carried out in 2007, in which the body dimensions of 10,415 women aged between 12 and 70 from different regions in Spain were recorded. The transfer of this data has also been included in the context of the SizingSUDOE project.
Figure 2. The modern-day man in Spain.
The main differences detected between the anthropometric data obtained in Spain, and that obtained from the French and the Portuguese populations were analyzed in the project. One difference observed is that the Spanish population has the highest body mass index, which has certain repercussions on some of the primary dimensions required for pattern making.
After the measurements had been taken a socio-demographic survey was carried out to find out what the male population thinks about the current sizing of clothes. 60% of the men have problems finding their size; this percentage is significantly higher than that of the female population (40%). One of the biggest problems for men when it comes to finding their size is that the proportions are off in the sizing (85% of the cases).
Sharing knowledge with the industry
During the project different workshops were organized together with the associations of FEDECON (Spanish Federation of Clothing Manufacturers) and COINTEGA (Galician Confederation of Textile Industries) to inform the companies about the results obtained. During these sessions theAnthropometric Notebooks that contain the tables of measurements, the sizes of men and women in Spain and the data on the development of innovation and advice services were presented. The results of the socio-demographic survey and the comparison between the Spanish, French and Portuguese populations were also submitted.
Figure 3. Anthropometric notebooks on the male and female population in Spain.
The Anthropometric Notebooks (Figure 3) combine two dimensions (one primary and the other secondary) to define the ranges of the most popular sizes pursuant to the corresponding European standard:
♦ the upper body clothing (chest –primary- and waist –secondary-),
♦ the lower body clothing (waist –primary- and hips –secondary- in men; and hips –primary- and waist –secondary- in women) and
♦ the whole body, only for women (chest –primary- and hips –secondary-).
These measurements can help pattern makers draft patterns that fit the population better. Moreover, thanks to this study a database has been created that shows the percentage of the population that fits in with each size and what the most popular sizes are.
The study is being used to produce 3D avatars or virtual mannequins for digital designing and new physical mannequins are being created using real body measurements. Some of the 3D avatars or virtual mannequins that have been obtained by using the anthropometric data analysis are shown in figure 4.
Figure 4. Figure 4. Mannequins created by modifying the waist and hip measurements.
Instituto de Biomecánica (IBV), as a member of the European Committee for Standardization, has also shared the anthropometric data acquired in Spain with this Committee. In addition to this, the IBV is gathering together information from studies carried out in other countries. This data will enable researchers to compare the measurements taken from the Spanish population with those taken from the rest of the European population and this will help adapt the sizes of the clothing made for the foreign market.
CONCLUSIONS
Incorporating anthropometric information about the population in companies will optimize the development process of new products, stimulate innovation and answer questions such as:
♦ Are the patterns produced by my company suitable for today’s population?Your designs can be optimized by comparing the dimensions of a pattern with the body measurements of the population.
♦ What percentage of the population can wear my sizes?It is possible to determine the percentage of the population that the company can appeal to before launching a collection.
♦ Can I cut down on the number of returns? The more the production adapts to the consumer the more that the return figures for clothing will drop.
♦ Can I improve the forecast and inventory management? If I know what percentage of the population can fit into each one of my sizes, I can adjust the production and minimize stock.
♦ Are my patterns and sizes suitable for the whole population?People have different body proportions, one single design cannot be used for the whole population. The pattern making and the sizes of my company can be analyzed to see how they fit people with different body proportions.
The results of the project and the anthropometric database analysis can be found on the SizingSUDOE project website (http://sizing-sudoe.eu) and on the website of the Anthropometric Research Area, called Área de Conocimiento de Antropometría of the IBV (http://antropometria.ibv.org).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
SizingSUDOE (SOE03/P1/E482) is a project that is part of the Interreg IVB-SUDOE Territorial Cooperation Programme, which is financed by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER).
This project has been coordinated by Instituto de Biomecánica (IBV), and the Spanish Federation of Clothing Manufacturers (FEDECON), the Galician Confederation of Textile Industries (COINTEGA), el Centro Tecnológico Das Industrias Téxtil e Vestuario, Portugal (CITEVE), la Associaçao Téxtil e Vestuário de Portugal (Textile and Clothing Association of Portugal) (ATP), the University of Bordeaux, Institut Français du Textile et de l’Habillement (the French Textile & Apparel Institute) (IFTH) and Instituto Nacional del Consumo (The National Consumer Institute of Spain) (INC) have also taken part in this venture.
