Tailor Made London

-Rant Alert-
On Monday we had a talk from someone from Tailor Made London to help us with ideas about technology and tailoring coming together. I have been very sceptical about this company since I initially researched them for this term's work. They claim to be able to make bespoke suits for a fraction of the cost of Savile Row tailors, still keeping all the components of a fully bespoke suit. I find this very hard to believe as I know how much time and money goes into making a bespoke suit, I don't see how they can create something that costs £3000 on Savile Row and sell it for £660?
The first thing I noticed about the guy who came in to speak to us was that his suit didn't fit him that well, which was very surprising as he's the owner of a suit making company that is supposedly revolutionising the way we make suits. I also noticed the cuffs of his suit looked a bit strange, as if they didn't button up properly. Anyway he made a fairly good speech about their company and what they do using tech. Basically, they use a body scanner to measure the client, then there is a software that creates the pattern for the bespoke suit, then the fabric is laser cut to the pattern shapes. This then goes round their factory being put together and there is a fob on each garment which is scanned at each point so they can track each suit, which is clever. He also told us that they make their suits in Italy which was annoying because as a British company they are shipping their trade elsewhere to get it cheaper, when there are students like myself wanting jobs in that exact trade. When there was a chance for questions I asked (sounding a little angrier than I'd have liked to sound) about why the company was replacing the skills I am learning with machinery. He responded by saying that by using machinery rather than humans to measure, draft the patterns and cut out the fabric reduced the amount of human error and therefore each garment would be perfect. He said there would always be jobs putting the pieces together and hand stitching all the finishing touches for humans and that we would always need humans to run the machines. I didn't get a chance to respond as someone else asked a question, but this left me more annoyed, because there's also human error in sewing the pieces together and hand stitching! I'm sure it wouldn't be so difficult to invent robots or machines to do these jobs too in the near future, which would be cutting out the need for real people in these jobs at all! Besides, there can be human error in anything, for example a doctor diagnosing patients, are you going to replace them with a machine so they don't make any errors?
It worries me because what happens when these machines eventually break down and there isn't anyone left with the skills that the machines took over?
From a business point of view I can totally understand that it is a lot more cost effective to use machines rather than people but when you're passionate about something, you want the skill to live on and not die out.
Tailoring has been around for hundreds of years and processes haven't changed much because they haven't needed to. There isn't anything wrong with the way tailors work, and on a personal level I really enjoy pattern drafting, I don't want to be told I can't do it because it's much quicker and cheaper for a machine to do it for me. Unfortunately some people in my class don't enjoy that part of tailoring and would be very happy to let a machine do it for them.
I talked to one of our technicians after who completely agreed with me and didn't like that tech is taking over, which is totally different from the reactions I got from my other tutors who were all for the advancements in tech.
Having spoken to a few other students I found that some others felt like me too. I am concerned that I'm paying £9,000 a year for 3 years to be taught skills that are being replaced with tech literally as I'm learning them!
I'm all for using technology to assist design or manufacture, but when it removes skill and human ability then it's not an aid, it's a replacement which means we're slowly becoming less skilled. God forbid but we might actually end up like the film Wall-E predicted :(

That's enough of a rant, it would be interesting to see what others think, so if you've taken the time to read this then please drop me a comment saying whether you agree or disagree, and why. Do you study or work somewhere where tech is taking away your skills too? Let me know!
I'll leave this post with one saying:
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Research; Body Scanning

Body Scanning

Body scanning is a new technology that is starting to be used by tailors to take measurements. The traditional way, still used in Savile Row tailors, is to take the client into a curtained area and measure them over their clothes. The tailor takes an average of 25 measures which are written down and passed to the pattern cutter who draws the pattern based on the measurements. With the 3D body scanner, the client enters a fitting room equipped with 14 infared sensors. They should be wearing well fitting underwear so that the measurements can be taken accurately. In under 10 seconds, the sensors gather data from over 120 measurement points and measurements are accuarate to within 1/10 of a mm.

Pros:

- Quicker and more accurate than traditional measuring

- Pattern cutters can have a visual representation of the customer’s body and posture, rather than just the measurements and any notes taken by the measurer

- A client could potentially order a suit online taking measures with body scanner, never have to attend a fitting

- More private / less intrusive for customer as they aren’t being measured by a person

Cons:

- Removes the job of measuring and loses the skill

- Less of a personal experience for the client

Tailor Made London are the first and only English men's tailors to use a 3D body scanner to take measurements of their clients. The customer only needs to attend a single consultation where the measurements are taken and design elements and cloth are chosen. The suit is then made and the customer returns to collect the suit. If any alterations are needed they will be completed within an additional few days, but most men walk out with their suits straight away. The small number of visits the customer needs to part-take in reduces the time taken making the suit. Tailor Made London can make a suit within 4 to 6 weeks of the first consultation, as opposed to traditional Savile Row suits taking up to 6 months, with multiple fittings required. The cut down on time also considerably reduces cost, with a Tailor Made London suit starting at £660 and averaging around £895, compared to Savile Row prices starting around £3,000 and averaging about £5,000.

Tailor Made London have access to the same fabrics as Savile Row tailors and claim their suits are made to the same standard, however I'm sceptical because I cannot see how the price can possibly be reduced by that much. I feel that there must be some reduction of hand sewing, either that or the labour is shipped elsewhere for lower costs. They're visiting us on Monday at uni so they may convince me otherwise then.

Second year; First term; Technology in Tailoring

First term of second year starts on Monday, our project is Technology in Tailoring, and I've been given some things to research in order to choose which way I want to take my work. At first I was really negative about this project, I won't lie, because all I had in my head was tacky lights on a suit, like something Will.I.Am would wear...

This isn't really something I wanted to make, and I hadn't thought about any other kind of technology that I could use. But I've done my research and now I'm actually kinda excited! There's lots of tech I could use if I wanted, and most of it we have access to at uni.

I don't have an actual brief yet but I will upload it when I get one.

I'm breaking my research down into a few posts because there's a lot of it!

Bespoke Tailoring...what's that?

"What do you study at uni?"

"Bespoke Tailoring"

"...oh so you do, like, textiles?"

This is such a pet hate right now. So many people don't know what bespoke tailoring is, which is fine, I love that my subject isn't very well known, but it certainly isn't textiles! Textiles was a secondary school subject that most kids were almost forced into as part of their curriculum, where you'd maybe make a draw string bag or a cushion cover. On my course I'm learning to draft bespoke trouser and jacket patterns to client measurements, how to measure a client, how to judge if they have a drop shoulder or a hunched back and how to accommodate for that in the pattern. I can make a full suit after just one year studying and I've learned so many hand stitches I can barely remember all of them! As part of my course I also undertake a design project each term where I create a collection of suits as if I were collaborating with a famous Savile Row tailor or designer, along with lectures about cultural and historical aspects of fashion which require an essay each term too (yawn). So no, I don't think it's right to compare Bespoke Tailoring to Textiles, I feel like it's severely downplaying my skills and my career choice. Of course, most people don't mean any harm by it but I've met a few that do. On the complete opposite side there are a good few people who know exactly what Bespoke Tailoring is and congratulate me for learning the trade and carrying on the age old traditions of Savile Row tailors. It's strange how I've only really experienced two different reactions to my subject choice.

Started this blog with a rant which isn't the best start but ah well! This was my blog from college http://moofookimbob.blogspot.co.uk/ and I haven't updated it since I finished college over a year ago, so I'm starting a new one here so I can complete all my uni research the way I enjoy.

So to anyone reading, if you're still interested then watch this space, and to anyone who's already decided that they don't care, just click on that little 'x' at the top of your browser and have a great life!