Volume 10, Issue 3, 2018 Engineered Digital Textile Print Design for Customized Curves Kisalaya Choudhary Professor, Textile Design, National Institute of Fashion Technology, India ABSTRACT There are various instances when women feel the need to wear clothes for a slimmer appearance than their actual body shape. Looks and body appearance provide self-assurance to people, especially to those who are in a business related to physical appearances. Physical fitness and appearance have taken a parallel path in today’s world. Many designers have experimented with garments providing body shape deceiving and illusionistic effect through meticulous use of solid colors, slimming patterns, and illusion print designs. This research paper explores how smart edits in print design provide aesthetics blended with engineered slim looks, enhancing and customizing curves, per consumer preference, to create body size adjustments visually. The creative edits can be efficiently used for creating one piece/single garments customizing the curves and visual body shapes in synchronization with digital print design to enhance the body in a considerate manner. Keywords: Digital print and pattern, slimmer look, printed garments, customized curves Digital engineered printed textiles and customization opportunities Examples from optical slimming design garment (Figure 1 A, 1B and 1C) are used for Digital technology opens up a door of highlighting the body curves and creating a possibilities and opportunities for designers, slimming illusion. These garments are manufacturers, and business owners in created by effective use of dark and light various fields related to printed garments and color placements making the waist area textiles. Breaking the limitations of repeat appearance slimmer. The techniques of and number of colors per design; engineered pattern cutting and placements of colors are design layouts, offer newer possibilities of used in the garments, and positioning colors shorter minimums and quick turnaround time and patterns in a considerate manner creates (Ujjie, 2006). Engineered print design an illusion (Dean, 2012). A similar concept possibilities and quick turnaround times are may be explored in print design using design crucial to the customized products, making variants other than combinations of solid them effective in terms of designing dark and light colors to create slimming opportunities, quick production and product effects in garments. Digital printing delivery. technology offers a customization opportunity and choices for individual Understanding customized curves preferences. Article Designation: Scholarly 1 JTATM Volume 10, Issue 3, 2018 1A 1B 1C Figure 1A, 1B, 1C: Examples of slimming one-piece dress (Style.com, 2012) The types of slimming dresses shown above Research objective (Figure 1A, 1B, 1C) are suitable for a larger bodied woman and provide the flexibility to The objective of this research is to explore look slim without needing to change who variants in digital design and use of digital they are, instead, emphasizing how they tools to offer creative design solutions for dress. Cas Boutique DC is a designer smart editable customization opportunities in boutique, owned by designer Maggie that slimming single piece garments. The target offers custom-made garment design services. audience is women and the designs Designs and garments are created as per the represented in this paper deal with the body shape and consumer requirement to sensitive issue of women's appearance for reflect the perfect look that suits the body and fitted one-piece garments. enhances perceived value (Jordan, 2010). There has been a remarkable change in the Methodology area of custom clothing after the rise of digital technology. Many initiatives have The concepts used for customized curves and been witnessed throughout the fashion and digital printing technology were studied by garment industry in utilizing various aspects exploring the work of well-known designers of digital technology such as 3D scan for catering to the specific need of consumers different body types. The reverse engineering through customized clothing design, technique is used to create 3D models for journals, and books in the area of customized garment fitting. Virtual mannequins are used clothing and digital printing technological for pattern cutting and visual trial in a virtual advances and possibilities. Design setting to modify the designs as per consumer experiments were carried out in digital form need and desires (Pecoco, Galantucci, & for consumer feedback/response. Three Lavecchia, 2011). E-Commerce offers visualizations of standard single piece design various design solutions; ‘CreyateStores’ by concepts were created on digital software Arvind Internet offers customized men’s (Adobe Photoshop 6) using design variants clothing for evolving online consumers such as shadow, color gradation, scale (Mohan, 2014). Customization has been variation, and motif/pattern engineered offered for digitally printed garments by placement. These design concepts were online brands such as spoonflower.com for shown to women for feedback using a semi- fabrics and constrvct.com for garments structured questionnaire research tool. globally. Article Designation: Scholarly 2 JTATM Volume 10, Issue 3, 2018 Understanding curves and scope for waistline. People have different body shapes, customization popularly known as brick, pear, apple, vase, etc. (Squirelly, 2012). According to the Fashion has certainly addressed the need for research conducted in 2010 by researcher slimming body appearance in multiple ways. Andrew Hough; the hourglass shape is the Caryl Franklin discusses the importance of most desired among the different body medium size prints and patterns as the best shapes (Hough, 2010). The hourglass, or choice to look slim. She explains that perfect curvaceous body appearance, diagonal lines as compared to straight lines depends a lot on the way curves get highlight the body to look slimmer (Franklin, highlighted in a dress. 2011). There are ample references available for highlighting various body types through Exploring digital print design on one piece utilizing different garment types, color garment & effectiveness of digital tools choice, and print and pattern design. These resources include designer label, online It was observed through the study of existing brands, and customization services. designs that a few variants contribute However, digitally printed engineered effectively to create a sliming appearance in garments offer diversified elements of a single piece garment. The following four design, colors, and patterns for customizing variants were considered while exploring curves in a garment. Customized curves design concepts for single piece garments. address the needs for shoulders, bust line, and a) Scale variation b) Shadow c) Curvilinear shapes d) Motif/Pattern placement Figure 2: Template for Slimming guidelines The curve zones are indicated in a single piece garment as explained in Figure 2. Design Template highlights concern areas of the body. Design variants such as shadow, scale variation, and pattern placement may be used strategically to create effective results following the indicated areas in dark grey color. Article Designation: Scholarly 3 JTATM Volume 10, Issue 3, 2018 Figure 3: Design segments for highlighting/slimming body parts In Figure 3, basic design element dots were the base fabric was used. In each case, the used in the top layer to create different design segments were created keeping in segments for highlighting/slimming body mind that each segment coordinates with the parts indicated in the template (See 1A to other and compliments the garment as a 1E). In the medium layer three segments whole in different permutations and created using shadow (See 2A to 2C). combinations (as shown in visualization Finally, in the base layer, a medium color of Figure 4: Design Possibilities). Figure 4: Design Possibilities Article Designation: Scholarly 4 JTATM Volume 10, Issue 3, 2018 Figure 4 depicts three garment design (2004). This study shows that the preferences possibilities using permutation and among college and working women combinations of design segments from demonstrate a greater preference for Western Figure 3. The segments when combined as and Indo-western apparel (Cygnus Business permutation and combination; offer multiple Consulting and Research, 2004). The design choices as per consumer preference. respondents were given a small presentation The number of design option possibilities about body type and customization. Further depends on the possible number of design explorations (Figure 3 & 4) were permutation and combination segments and shown for feedback. The feedback was elements created by the designer. collected through an open-ended questionnaire research tool. After obtaining Two-dimensional draping was done on the the feedback from the respondents; the standard pattern of a single piece garment to qualitative data were analyzed based on visualize slimming effect. Further, the Kruger's (1994) qualitative analysis of data. customization process was explored through The analysis was done based on descriptive various online resources to understand and statements and its interpretation. establish the links of producing design options as per consumer requirements. The Profile of Respondents slimming requirements and segmentation design options were discussed through a Total Respondents: 30 (9 Medium, 6 semi-structured questionnaire