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New Mannequin Technology Finds Perfect Fit for Today's Woman

How many times have you tried on a pair of gorgeous jeans only to discover that they hug your body in all of the wrong places? AlvaProducts, a leading fit model manufacturer, is helping to resolve some of the dressing room drama by offering the fashion industry a line of customized "true body shape" forms.

"We are a global fit and size expert," explained Janice Wang, CEO of AlvaProducts, to Fashion Wire Daily. "We partnered with North Carolina State University to help major retailers and apparel manufacturers create a model of their ideal customer by using 3D body scanners."

To translate, the process begins by scanning a (live) fit model to obtain a 3D digital form. AlvaProducts specialists than tweak this raw data to perfect body altitude, posture and symmetry. Once the digital form gets approved by a brand or company, it is materialized into a full size polyfoam form using a CNC Rapid Prototyping Milling machine. Last minute adjustments are made to the polyfoam version before the form goes through its final transformation using fiberglass. The finished form is then shipped to China where it is covered with top quality cotton and linen and undergoes mass production.

The thought of putting so much work, time and money into making a fit model may seem ridiculous, but the advantages of having a standardized - and realistic - size is priceless for any fashion company that can afford AlvaProducts' services.

"We discovered that 95% of our clients were producing clothes based on an hourglass shape that account for less than 8% of the consumer population - most of whom are a size 8 or less," said Wang. "This misconception of the human body not only yields a higher product return rate due to customer dissatisfaction, but also creates countless problems in the garment manufacturing process. This was a major reason for which we decided to reinvent the industry standard by using real bodies instead of idealized proportions."

For smaller retailers that can't afford an "haute couture" fit model, AlvaProducts also offers a standard line of four body forms that were developed by reducing various body types into basic shapes. For example, did you ever consider Gwen Stefani's body as a rectangle? Other shapes include a spoon (bottom heavy) or an inverted triangle (top heavy).

The difficult and inevitable question that remains with such products geared towards "real" people is what happens to those individuals who continue to be marginalized and feel abnormal because their body types fall outside of these "real" standards?

"It's impossible for any retailer or designer to satisfy the entire population," said Wang. "But we want our products to help each client better understand their customer and develop a form that can account for 80% of their target audience."

At the very least, fuller-bodied forms may finally bring the consumer one step closer towards finding a pair of jeans that looks almost as good on their bodies as it does on a mannequin.