DESIGNERS IN THE DIGITAL DOMAIN
The textile and clothing market is just the latest sector to receive a technology update
The world is going digital. Digital camera, digital art, digital television — we’ve seen it all. Now the design of textiles and garments is stepping into the digital domain too. Prior to the availability of digital textile printers, fashion designers and those who dealt with silk screen printing would face considerable difficulty trying to find the right ink that matched the fabric. Digital technology has changed all that and has now enabled them to handle textile printing in a more convenient and economical approach.
At Chanapatana International Design Institute (CIDI), a non-profit organisation founded in 2000 with an objective to equip Thai designers with the skills to develop their works to compete at an international level, independent fashion designers, design students, and anyone interested in fashion design are able to learn and experience the digital textile printing system.
The garment printer with matching original ink, Espon SureColor SC-F2000, allows entrepreneurs to create high quality, personal products, with fewer design limitations. It also makes it difficult for other designers to steal their creations and make copycat pieces.
Today’s world of design has changed dramatically, so the designers and students of CIDI have also had to learn the latest technology in order to adapt. As the digital market has still to go mainstream, consumers still need to be educated, said Sittiphat Thanasarasin, chairman of Operations Committee, CIDI.
“Designers in the past were not interested in technology. Now they have become more knowledgeable as the world of technology and design has merged,” he said, adding that digital printing has been available for a couple years in fashion design, and CIDI students have been learning and experimenting with it for a while.
“Our foreign design instructors were also surprised when they saw digital printing here. It’s like the early stage of digital camera use when people questioned its quality and compared it to existing analogue cameras at that time, but it will take time to improve,” he said.
Paphonponpat Manuspondisorn, independent designer and design instructor at CIDI and Rapee Dressmaking Institute and the owner of RP Heritage brand, has already applied the digital printing system to his collection.
The latest collection from RP Heritage, which specialises in beachwear, has been designed using natural taupe colouring, which expresses the hot-topic concept of saving the environment through the use of linen and hemp.
“The subjects of global warming and saving the environment will be the fashion trend of next year, so you will see our T-shirts coming in very earthy tones with no stitching, which is the signature of RP Heritage.”
Inspired by Persian carpet patterns, fabric design by Paphonponpat has the mood and tone of a natural, nomadic summer. For the process of design and production, he has taken photos of a Persian carpet pattern, and hand-drawn it on paper, before colouring and arranging the composition and finding the right materials to match the pattern. The pattern is then processed into the digital printing machine.
This Persian carpet pattern was also used on yoga mat bags, hats, skirts, belts and accessories.
West Tailor, whose customers are supercar drivers and big bike riders, is another designer who has applied digital printing on his textiles. Nithit Dechkrong, manager and designer of West Tailor, pointed out that this use of garment printing is very convenient as it enables him to design his collections within a tight deadline.
To drive textile and garment printing towards the digital age, Espon Thailand in collaboration with CIDI Chanapatana and Nexttech Screen Supply (NTS) has established F Academy, an integrated learning centre that helps designers and textile entrepreneurs to keep pace with changing technologies and use digital systems to enhance their competitiveness in garment printing.
According to Yunyong Muneemongkoltorn, Epson Thailand’s general manager, Epson first tapped into the digital textile-printing a couple of years ago and created plenty of opportunities.
Digital printing means an easier manufacturing process, lower costs and less reliance on labour. Digital technology has proven increasingly popular among individuals and newly established SMEs that seek to accommodate on-demand orders.
In the first phase, it will target entrepreneurs who still use silk screen printing and hire suppliers for printing jobs, aspiring entrepreneurs, fashion-brand owners, fashion designers and event organisers. These target groups will be taught how to use the digital printing system and apply it to their businesses.
It’s like the early stage of digital camera use when people questioned its quality
In the meantime, various “Thai Fashion Dream Chasers” activities will be organised to promote the programme by showcasing the businesses of certain entrepreneurs.
There will also be a workshop where attendees will learn about textile texture, design concept and techniques, online marketing, related instructions and the Epson SureColor SC-F2000 printer. At the end of the event, they will have a chance to turn their designs into real products that will then be put on trial-sale at the Platinum Fashion Mall and Bobae Shopping Centre in March.
The programme will later be opened for the general public, as well as universities and government agencies along with people in the garment and textile sectors.