Garment Industry Concept: Future Clothing Stores & Print On Demand Clothing

Hello All,

A few months ago I made a blog entry regarding the future vision I saw of an automated fast food restaurant with McDonald's as an example. Now I would like to present a probable future of a clothing store, lets say it's the "Gap" retail chain.

Picture customer body image scanners that are situated inside a clothing store. Looking something like a next generation body weight scale. But with laser scanners tracing an outline of your personal body proportions.

In this next generation clothing store there is very little if any generic clothing on the racks. All clothing of the future is fine tailored by these body scanners for your measurements. Due to the fact of "Print on Demand" clothing weavers that take your scanned body measurements and within a few minutes before your eyes makes your garment for you.

This "Print on Demand" clothing weaver isn't a typical present day horizontal machine. But one that is a vertical weaver and stitching of clothing swatches preloaded into the printer. Before it produces any clothing a instantly foam molded mannequin is created on the printer that represents your body shape. Be it a torso, legs, or a full body mannequin that can be later shredded by the machine to be recycled and used again on another future mannequin.

Once the clothing weaver has its model mannequin with your body shape and contours ready. It begins its precision guided rotations on the mannequin with robotic arms. That weave new garment pieces, if its a one piece garment. Or stitch's preloaded swatches of clothing together before your very eyes. In a circular clear shattered proof glass exterior within this vertical clothing weaver. The robotic arms can also do customer embroidery and also custom air jet dye painting of a piece of garment.

So a customer of the future in such a clothing store can be scanned by the body image scanners. Then before their very eyes witness a mannequin be created from recycled foam as their proxy. With the clothing weaved and created behind the circular glass enclosure as a sideline entertainment for a fascinated customer.

The customer before being scanned for their measurements chooses which apparel they want via a touch screen kiosk. Where they can browse the entire catalog of garments available. Or mix and match to create custom clothing on the spot with a marketing campaign of: "Be Your Own Fashion Designer".

This is what the future of apparel retailers can offer us all with immense selection coupled by cutting edge technology.