Recent trends in the fashion market (including an impressive increase in the number of new collections, product assortments and variants, and the emerging mass-customization model) dictate the need for a new approach. "Transforming Clothing Production into a Demand-Driven, Knowledge-Based, High-Tech Industry" discusses the ramifications of such an approach, which must lead to a drastic shortening of the whole cycle from conception to production and retail, as well as a shift from a labor-intensive to a technology- and knowledge-intensive clothing manufacturing industry. "Transforming Clothing Production into a Demand-Driven, Knowledge-Based, High-Tech Industry" is a collection of short papers from prominent researchers involved with the LEAPFROG (Leadership for European Apparel Production From Research along Original Guidelines) initiative. LEAPFROG proposes a revolutionary industrial paradigm based on research results in scientific-technological fields.

Covering key topics in the field such as technological innovation, human-centered sustainable engineering and manufacturing, and manufacture at a global scale in a virtual world, this book addresses both advanced techniques and industrial applications of key research in interactive design and manufacturing. Featuring the full papers presented at the 2014 Joint Conference on Mechanical Design Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing, which took place in June 2014 in Toulouse, France, it presents recent research and industrial success stories related to implementing interactive design and manufacturing solutions.

Given its importance for consumer satisfaction and thus brand success, apparel fit is a major challenge for retailers and brands across the industry. Consequently there have been major developments in sizing research and how it can be used in apparel design. This book reviews how these developments are affecting clothing design for different groups of consumers.Part one identifies various aspects of body shape, size, volume and the psychological aspects of designing apparel. This section covers topics such as body shape and its influence on apparel size and consumer choices, sizing systems, body shape and weight distribution (with a discussion of the Body Volume Index (BVI) versus the Body Mass Index (BMI)), and the psychological and sociological factors influencing consumers' choice of apparel. Part two outlines the challenges in understanding the sizing and shape requirements and choices of particular customer groups. This section discusses apparel designed for infants and children, older consumers, overweight and obese consumers, plus size Black and Latino women, apparel design for Asian and Caucasian ethnic groups, sizing requirements for male apparel, maternity apparel, intimate apparel for varying body shapes, and the challenges of designing headwear to fit the size and shape of Western and Asian populations.Designing apparel for consumers provides an invaluable reference for apparel designers, manufacturers, and R&D managers in the textile industry, as well as postgraduate students and academic researchers in textiles. - Reviews developments affecting clothing design for different groups of consumers - Identifies various aspects of body shape, size, volume and the psychological aspects of designing apparel - Outlines the challenges in understanding sizing and shape requirements and choices of particular customer groups

This major textbook is designed for students studying textiles and fashion at higher and undergraduate level, as well as those needing a comprehensive and authoritative overview of textile materials and processes. The first part of the book reviews the main types of natural and synthetic fibres and their properties. Part two provides a systematic review of the key processes involved first in converting fibres into yarns and then transforming yarns into fabrics. Part three discusses the range of range of finishing techniques for fabrics. The final part of the book looks specifically at the transformation of fabric into apparel, from design and manufacture to marketing. With contributions from leading experts in their fields, this major book provides the definitive one-volume guide to textile manufacture. - Provides comprehensive coverage of the types and properties of textile fibres to yarn and fabric manufacture, fabric finishing, apparel production and fashion - Focused on the needs of college and undergraduate students studying textiles or fashion courses - Each chapter ends with a summary to emphasise key points, a comprehensive self-review section, and project ideas are also provided

The current growth path in sub-Saharan Africa is not following the Lewis model where labour moves from low-productivity agriculture to higher productivity manufacturing. Instead, it is moving directly to inappropriate (import and labour-saving) methods. This book seeks to show how this distorted growth process leaves out the major resource of these countries – labour – and ends up creating unstable employment and underemployment, leading to inequality and poverty. In this way it demonstrates how the entire growth process may be rendered unstable and unsustainable. Sustainable Growth in the African Economy considers whether the relatively rapid growth of recent years can be maintained or improved upon, with a focus on the process of industrialisation. Basing itself on a well-known dual-economy model, the proposed book focuses on several major problems of industrialisation, which has long been seen as the means of structural change in an economy which begins from a low income level. The book considers how the future trajectory of sub-Saharan Africa compares to recent success stories on other continents, and explains how factors such as rapid population growth and capital and import-intensive technology in manufacturing could foreshadow future social and political problems. This book will be essential reading to students and policymakers who are concerned with the existing pattern of African growth.

This book examines knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship (KIE) with a focus on the European textile and apparel industries. The primary purpose is to review the extant academic literature related to the European textile and apparel industries and reflect on that review empirically using a new and robust database on KIE to discover patterns between human capital and strategic entrepreneurial and innovative behavior. According to the Advancing Knowledge-Intensive Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Economic Growth and Social Well-being in Europe (AEGIS) project, KIE is defined as an interface between knowledge generation and diffusion and the productive system. Knowledge-intensive entrepreneurs are thus involved in mechanisms that translate knowledge into innovation, which in turn leads to economic development and growth within an industry and/or region. To date, KIE is often associated with high-tech industries such as aerospace, computer engineering, automotive or telecommunications. For this reason, few studies have been conducted that specifically examine KIE as an avenue for firm or sector growth in the textile and apparel industries. However, new studies have positioned these industries as ones in which KIE can foster growth through innovation, and where products and processes are often evaluated within a knowledge-based framework. Building on this growing literature base, this volume explores potential policies and strategies for driving innovation and growth at the firm and industry levels in Europe and other regions, including the United States.