Tiny Fitting Rooms Belong To The Past
Made-To-Measure Suit By The Virtual Tailor's Dummy
Eindhovens Dagblad/De Limburger
28 June 2000
By: Bernadette Dijk
The tiny fitting room is passe. It is no longer necessary to try on clothes in incommodious fitting rooms. Virtually trying on a new suit on the Internet, as being a digital tailor's dummy is from now on within the bounds of possibilities. Bas Possen, who is of Dutch origin (Limburg, region in the south of The Netherlands), has recently started a business for made-to-measure suits, which are measured to the digital body. The futuristic "beam me up" feeling becomes reality: an infrared camera takes the client's measurements and the new outfit is ready within' four weeks. Bas Possen was driving his car when he suddenly came up with an idea. Someone had told him that a German engineering bureau was able to make three-dimensional 'body scans'. That was in February of last year. "I had a plan within ten seconds", he tells. The idea: a made-to-fit suit, without having to try the suit on several times since the body has already been scanned into the computer. The 29 years old register account quit his well-paid job at the accountant agency Price Waterhouse Coopers. "I went from a hundred and fifty thousand salary to less than nothing: a huge loan to make my dream come true. I simply didn't want to be an advisor for the rest of my life."
Father
During the last ten months Possen has been working on his business plan with a web designer, five computer programmers and an expert on e-commerce. Possen's father plays a big role; he keeps an eye on the details of every single costume. In the meantime the first 150 body scans have been made. Possen's old home in Nuth now serves as the head quarter. The store, where the client is able to scan his body, is located in Amsterdam. The camera takes the measurements of the body in a futuristic fitting room. For the time being only two-dimensional scans will be made. As from August the machine that makes three-dimensional scans will be located for the first time in the Netherlands. The idea remains the same: the measurements of the body are converted to a measurement table in the computer and are sent directly to a sewing workshop in Germany. That's where they make a concrete product: a computer steered machine cuts the material. Tailors put the suit together by hand and press them. At www.possen.com, as the company name and costume brand go, the first 120 orders have been processed since the official opening this month. |
 Returning
Scanning the body is a once-in-a-life-time procedure. The computer builds a puppet, which is the client's digital twin that serves as a tailor's dummy. You become your very own virtual shop-window dummy. Only those who gain or loose three kilos need to come back. As from the end of September the client will be able to collect his DigiTwin on the Internet. With a single click he can try on new colors, trousers and jackets. Possen: "It is funny to see yourself try on clothes on the Internet". The client no longer needs to spend hours of shopping and is freed of all trouble in the fitting room. For those who want to feel the material before making a final decision, a sample can be sent to them with just one click on the mouse. A client can order a suit without any trouble. The suit will be ready within' four weeks, Possen guarantees. There will be a fast service in the nearby future, the suit will then be ready within' five or ten working days. Possen has three main motives: he believes in the new economy and high-tech. Possen's parents were owners of an exclusive men and women fashion store, where made-to-measure clothing could also be found. He therefor is quite familiar with made-to-measure clothes. He feels annoyed knowing that the margins within the clothing branch are extremely high.
"In China they make Boss suits for less than a hundred guilders. They are subsequently sold for twelve hundred guilders. The client doesn't have much of a choice. I do not want to sell my client a dark blue suit, just because that is all I can offer him at that particular moment. What's most important is that he must be able to make his own choice. That can be done through the Internet and the new economy". Thanks to the new technology Possen can offer an "old fashioned quality" made-to-fit suit against half of the price. "We save time and money, the process of measuring the body and trying on the suit time after time is computerized. A made-to-measure suit of high quality would normally cost 1600 to 5000 guilders. We offer them at 800 to 2500 guilders". Possen uses the same material and patterns as the famous fashion designers Hugo Boss and Giorgio Armani. For the time being the clientele exists of typical "suit users" such as attorneys, notaries and accountants from Amsterdam, where Possen lived for six years. "The elder customers are very enthusiastic. They are measured for a suit four times in a lifetime and are used to indicate their wishes. The younger clients are very enthusiastic about the high technology aspect". In the store hangs a rack with trial suits to verify the computer results. Women who wish to be measured for a woman's suit cannot be attended to at Possen. "Women are more three-dimensional than men, because of the breast". They will have to be patient, it requires additional experience with the 3-D equipment. As from October we will try our very best to assist them". He reflects: "This seems tricky. If I were to measure them a made-measure-suit it will not be a problem. They no longer will have to search for the perfect fitting women's suit. Yet if I were to offer them a summer dress, I would deprive them the pleasure they experience in shopping."
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