From the Sector

Die Saison Herbst/Winter 18/19 ist gekennzeichnet von einer allgemeinen Casualisierung der Männermode. Die Grenzen zwischen formeller und freizeitlicher Kleidung werden fließend. Gleichzeitig zeigt sich eine Liebe zu starken Dessins und expressiven Farben als Kontrast zu edler Klassik. Die Knöpfe und Zutaten aus der Kollektion von Union Knopf Menswear bieten Halt und Akzentuierung, unterstreichen den noblen Charakter der Outfits und schärfen die Trendaussage.

Anzug:
Formal: Zur eher klassischen Mode gehören klassische Farben und Formen. Bei PSW®-Horn Knöpfen sind neue Größen und Proportionen wichtig. Leben in die meist monochrome Welt bringen dezente Metalleffekte in Vintage Silber und edlem Kupfer auf Durohorn® Classic-Brasil, personalisierbare Aufnäher oder andere Zierteile aus Metall.
Young: Der progressive Anzug zeigt ironisierende Elemente und bevorzugt Knöpfe und Zutaten im Kontrast ob in PSW®-Horn oder Steinnuss. Farbe bringen kleine Gummilabel als Aufnäher oder poppig bedruckte Knöpfe im kontrastfarbig ausgestatteten Innenleben. Klassische Grundformen gewinnen subtile Spannung durch farbiges Stitching oder expressivere Flammung des Materials.

Sakko:
Clean: Cleane Darks bilden die Hauptgruppe bei den Sakkostoffen für die City. Dezente Metalleffekte auf Durohorn® Classic-Brasil unterstreichen die Wertigkeit und betonen das edle Gesamtbild des Looks. Erhabene Schriften im Mittelteil beleben die Optik. Zurückhaltung bei Formen und Farbigkeit und tonige Abstimmung ist Trumpf bei diesem Trend. Matter Glanz dominiert.
Casual: Im Casual-Segment ist mehr aber eher sanfte Farbe in einer mittleren Farbhöhe gefragt. Die Formen sind voluminöser, aber nicht allzu auffällig. Die edlen, haarigen Stoffe erfordern anpassungsfähige Partner bei den Knöpfen und Zutaten. Besondere, aufwändige Finishes betonen die Dreidimensionalität z. B. in Steinnuss, blank und matt.

Hose:
Classic: Hosenanhänger bleiben in z. B. als beschrifteter Steinnussring. Die Stoffe erlaubten auch bei klassischen Hosen ein Spiel mit den Materialien bei den Knöpfen. Military hat einen starken Einfluss mit der Trendfarbe Oliv. Neben Steinnuss in Doppelpolitur mit velours matter Mitte und glänzendem Rand, finden sich Durohorn® Ziegenhorn oder gummilackierte Metallknöpfe sowie randlose Steinnussknöpfe ganz in velours matt. Neu ist eine Doppelniete in unterschiedlicher Galvanik.
Denim: Im Bereich Jeans und Denim liegt der Fokus auf Patentknöpfen und Nieten. Ein wichtiges Gestaltungselement sind Ziernieten, die besonders durch ihre untypische Formensprache oder durch spezielle Oberflächenbehandlung ins Auge fallen. Neu ist auch die Platzierung der Zierniete. Eine wichtige Akzentfarbe für dieses Segment ist Kupfer, das sowohl in roher Ausführung als auch finished verwendet wird. Spannung in den Look bringt in dieser Saison das Spiel mit unterschiedlichen Proportionen und Formen.

Lectra has leveraged more than 10 years of experience in connected manufacturing to offer Versalis®, an innovative digital solution designed to cut leather without compromise on quality. Featuring a powerful automatic nesting system for overall improvements in efficiency, the fully automated solution enables automotive leather suppliers to cut costs, improve productivity and minimize waste while also establishing a pathway to value-added Industry 4.0 processes.

Currently, almost 90% of leather used for automotive applications is cut using manual die presses, which require designers to build a physical prototype and finalize the design through trial and error. Lectra offers a fully digitalized leather solution from prototyping to cut parts—when used in combination with Lectra’s 3D prototyping and pattern-making software, Versalis digital leather cutting solution enables a 12-16 week reduction in development and launch cycles for vehicle seating models.
During the leather-cutting phase, the latest release of Versalis LeatherSuite allows automotive leather suppliers to achieve up to 15% greater productivity. Lectra’s end-to-end automotive leather offering furthermore guarantees optimal uptime through an extensive worldwide support network of field engineers and technical experts.
"Lectra focuses on a consultative approach that allows it to fully understand the customer’s needs before building a solution comprising software, hardware, consulting, training, and after-sales support,” said Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Kamalesh Mohanarangam. "Lectra’s equipment is fitted with more than 200 sensors that predict failure and immediately report issues to its call centres. This product feature and service has resulted in 98% uptime and very fast mean time to repair."

Although digital leather cutting solutions are an investment, leather cutters and Tier-1 suppliers have begun to recognize the value of these products. On average, Lectra’s solutions help customers achieve up to 7% savings on leather compared to manual die-press methods by minimizing human error and variability in the cutting room. A benchmark test of leather trim cutting for door panels demonstrated a 3.5% gain in material made possible by Versalis’ superior nesting capabilities compared to the customer’s yield using manual nesting with die press machines, representing potential savings of €9 million per year.
Versalis is the fruit of significant R&D investment for the company, which has always made re-investment of capital a priority. As part of a transformational plan, Lectra spent more than €50 million in investments between 2011 and 2015. With Lectra’s new strategy focusing on supporting their customers’ transition to Industry 4.0 standards, Lectra will increase the share of revenues dedicated to R&D to 10% for the period from 2017 to 2019, representing a rise of about 50% between 2016 and 2019.

Offering continuous process improvement for automated leather cutting, Versalis LeatherSuite V6 is a step toward an Industry 4.0-ready cutting room for makers of leather vehicle seating and interiors and leather furnishings. The new version of Versalis LeatherSuite enables companies to boost productivity, achieve exceptional cut quality and expand data monitoring capabilities. With Versalis LeatherSuite V6, furniture manufacturers can increase productivity by up to 6%, while automotive suppliers can increase theirs from 8% to 15%.
Versalis LeatherSuite V6 delivers greater precision than ever before for superior leather cutting quality. For that purpose, the new software suite embeds enhanced cutting algorithm addressing latest challenges faced by furniture and automotive customers.
The latest Versalis LeatherSuite’s expanded capabilities also enable manufacturers to manage a wider range of production indicators throughout the cutting process. Developed with the input of Lectra’s automotive and furniture customers, the latest version of the Versalis software suite offers enriched data for process optimization and streamlined execution, enabling manufacturers to reach operational excellence objectives and monitor production. LeatherSuite also empowers manufacturers with decision support, through customizable reports highlighting key performance indicators. Accurate and reliable analyses can be viewed at a glance thanks to the suite’s built-in data modeling.
“With this release, Lectra marks a milestone in terms of customer experience and productivity,” states Céline Choussy Bedouet, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Lectra. “Versalis LeatherSuite V6 is the technology enabler that allows producers of cut leather parts to leverage maximum performance from the Versalis cutting room solution.”

In May 2017, Jochen Adler, Vice-President and Chief Technology Officer at Oerlikon Textile GmbH & Co. KG, presented a Oerlikon Barmag take-up winder as a partial gift to Prof. Dr Thomas Gries, head of the Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) at RWTH Aachen University. The new Type ASW602 winder, which is equipped with modern control software and user interface, replaces the former institute’s Barmag take-up winder.

Due to this modernisation, ITA has access to a latest generation take-up winder which is used for various research projects. The new winder is applied at ITA’s two pilot melt spinning plants and ensures the transfer of new research and development insights into the pilot scale. Furthermore, this winder has two winding positions and operates with winding speeds between 2500 m/min and 5500 m/min. The new winder is suitable for all kinds of polymers, from polypropylene to polyethylene, polyester, polyamide etc. as well as for the production of several types of yarn, such as industrial yarn, pre-oriented yarn and fully-drawn yarn.
“We thank Oerlikon Barmag for the generous partial gifting and the support during the set-up of the new take-up winder”, says Prof. Dr Thomas Gries. “The new equipment will keep the institute’s machine park on a high and powerful level.” The head of ITA’s chemical fibre department Dr Thorsten Anders adds: “This winder is designed for the needs of chemical yarn research. It allows state of the art technology research and development and pilot-scale production. We will use it for the melt spinning plants in the single- and bi-component spinning process. This way, we can access a wide variety of producible yarn types.“

C.L.A.S.S., the leading eco-material hub based in Milan and specialized in the integration of a new generation of smart values within fashion and home décor, presents the new SS 2018 collection through its partners, highlighting the new generation of values as innovation, research, creativity, traceability, transparency and sustainability. A very new business model and a real supporting tool for companies (not only the “fashion” ones) for lower environmental impact productions. A new concept that contributes to improve the quality of life, properly answering to cultural changes and to consumer’s new mind-set that links excellence to smarter products.

So, an evolved collection technologically advanced… available for the interested companies:
• At C.L.A.S.S. Material Hub in Milan Headquarter in Viale Vittorio Veneto, 8 (only by appointment) or
• in occasion of World C.L.A.S.S. tour in several cities around the world: London, New York, Barcelona, Madrid, Copenhagen and Amsterdam! Taking a C.L.A.S.S Private Sourcing Sessions, brands can discover (under request) C.L.A.S.S S/S 2018 collection.