Alvanon Launches Global Academic Program to Put Professional-Grade Apparel Design Tools in the Hands of Students
The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and the Fashion Institute of Technology Are Among The First US Schools to Take Advantage of Alvanon's Program
NEW YORK, March 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Alvanon, Inc., the world's leading apparel fit expert, today announced it has launched a global academic program to help apparel design students establish a comprehensive knowledge and appreciation of customized fit processes, strategies and standards, enabling them to design better fitting clothes. The Alvanon Academic Program 2011 will give students direct access to the apparel industry's most advanced sizing, fit and communications tools – at significantly discounted rates. The program will include master classes in consumer sizing research and analysis by renowned apparel fit experts, and the use of customized design fit forms for pattern making, draping and fitting classes.
The launch follows a series of successful pilot partnerships with leading design colleges around the world, including the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Other colleges participating in the pilot program include University College Falmouth, Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, London College of Fashion, De Montfort University and Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK; and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Clothing Industry Training Authority in Hong Kong.
Janice Wang, chief executive officer, Alvanon Group explained: "Our successful partnerships with some of the world's foremost fashion colleges has persuaded us to formalize the program and open it up to all interested academic parties." She added: "The program is a way for us to give something tangible back to our industry. By providing insight and tools that are actively being used by the wider industry, we are giving the next generation of apparel designers real-world experience and helping prepare them for a bright and successful career."
Through seminars or visits to Alvanon's regional offices in London, Germany, New York and Hong Kong, students will learn how customized fit strategies, fit forms and pattern blocks – executed consistently and continuously throughout the global garment development process – can deliver greater customer satisfaction, brand loyalty and a competitive advantage. Students will also learn how 3D body-scanning data can provide consistent and successful regional and brand fit strategies. Then using Alvanon's advanced industry standard mannequins, AlvaForms, students will learn how to design and fit clothes for a target consumer shape. The program will also include several custom-made AlvaBlock pattern generation tools for the selected AlvaForm shape.
Barbara Bundy, vice president of education at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, said: "Alvanon has quietly changed the way we teach about apparel design at FIDM. The faculty and students love AlvaForms because they enable us to achieve a consistent fit in our pattern labs." She continues: "At FIDM, we believe in giving students a realistic and practical education that will further their career in the industry. Alvanon's tools help us achieve that."
Through its three integrated divisions, AlvaInsight, AlvaForm and AlvaBlock, Alvanon offers practical solutions that enable its clients to achieve fit consistently and continuously from design through to consumer. AlvaInsight is its 'front end,' strategic consulting division comprised of fashion and retail industry experts who draw upon apparel business insight, technical design expertise, rigorous statistical analysis and practical experience to help clients define their target markets' specific fit criteria. The AlvaForm division, comprised of 3D artists and anatomical 'life' sculptors, develops and supplies customized mannequins that enable clients to create and maintain their fit standards consistently across the supply chain. The AlvaBlock division develops tailored blocks based on a client's AlvaForm, minimizing pattern-making inconsistencies across a global supply chain.
About Alvanon
The Alvanon Group of companies was founded in Hong Kong by the late Dr. Kenneth Wang in 2001. It is the global leader in providing full-service, integrated fit solutions for the apparel industry. From its head office in New York, operations center in Hong Kong, and operating offices in the UK and Germany, Alvanon provides customized fit strategies and product development tools to the world's leading fashion brands, retailers, lingerie, swimwear, sportswear, mail order and corporate clothing suppliers. Alvanon's fit combines the world's largest database of 300,000 body scans with the unparalleled expertise, products and services provided by a team of over 70 dedicated sizing and body shape professionals.
For media inquiries please contact:
Susana Charm
Alvanon, Inc.
Tel: 212-868-4318 ext.101
Email: [email protected]
Eric Sokolsky
Alvanon PR
Tel: 908-288-7201
Email: [email protected]
SOURCE Alvanon, Inc.
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