California Apparel News

The Academy of Couture Art is a Los Angeles–based fashion college that prides itself on the ages-old haute couture methods of garment construction taught in Europe. Yet, the school’s founders know that with today’s fast-paced fashion, a little technology can go a long way toward helping students get to the next level.

So beginning with the next quarter, the school will launch its first CAD courses using the PAD system. Kristine Gloviak, vice president of PAD’s North American distributorship, will lead off instructing the quarterly courses. It will be a different environment for Gloviak.

The academy is a specialized school where no more than 10 students sit in a classroom. The instructors come mostly from France and have worked in the top fashion and trend houses, including Promostyl.

“We start from scratch. We can teach you to make the perfect skirt—like Gucci,” said Chief Operating Officer Thierry Eacute;teacute;, who runs the school with his wife, fashion design instructor and school President Sonia Eacute;teacute;.

While the school is rooted in haute couture methods, “today’s designers realize that they are probably going to have to work with Asia some time,” Thierry Eacute;teacute; said.

With that in mind, the Eacute;teacute;s decided to combine Old World methods with the new and combine American business methods with French garment making. “You really need both today,” Thierry Eacute;teacute; said, adding that the unique curriculum has put the college among the top five fashion colleges in the world in one Internet survey.

Fashion design and pattern-making are taught separately at the school, which is based in the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. Calif. The idea is that a patternmaker is going to be a patternmaker and a designer is going to design. Four-year students must take a total of six trend classes, and new students are required to learn to visualize using bold, deep colors. The curriculum is loosely based on the one found at the prestigious EsMod school in Paris. In fact, the school was supposed to become the first U.S. annex of EsMod until a new owner came in and changed the minds of the Eacute;teacute;s.

Combining technology with haute couture is becoming more of the mode these days. Many of the fashion houses in Europe still resist technology to some degree but are warming up to the benefits, which are speed and efficiency.

PAD’s system is intuitive, Gloviak said. Many students can learn it without reading any text, as it’s mostly icon-based.

The school teaches manual pattern-making first.

“The students learn the highest methods. If you do that, it can trickle down to where you can do anything smoothly,” Sonia Eacute;teacute; said.

That paves the way for graduates to do their own collections or work for a company.

PAD recently held a reception at the college to mark the introduction of PAD into the academy’s curriculum. On hand were representatives from Bebe, Rock & Republic, Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, Stina Productions, Disney and others.

“It’s really an honor to be chosen from among the other big companies,” Gloviak said.

The school offers two-year associate and associate of fine arts degrees as well as a four-year bachelor’s degree in fine arts. For more information, visit www.academyofcoutureart.com.EShakti Improves Production With OptiTex

Indian apparel producer eShakti, which sells custom women’s apparel over the Internet at www.eshakti.com, has partnered with CAD developer OptiTex to help streamline eShakti’s pattern-making and design operations.

The company produces women’s apparel featuring Indian cuts and prints via its Web site. Customers can customize garments by selecting various sleeve styles, dress lengths and neck styles, among other features. The company sells only to the American market, though its Zapell division is based in Chennai, India, and sells within the Indian marketplace.

“By integrating OptiTex 2-D and 3-D design software, we have significantly reduced our pattern-making and sampling time,” said B G Krishnan, chief executive officer of eShakti. “This change has doubled eShakti’s productivity.”

Other OptiTex customers include Hugo Boss, Zorana Kozomara, Orient Clothing and Orient Craft. Hosiery Company GMI Gets Help From Simparel

Gold Medal International installed a new ERP business-management software system provided by New York–based Simparel Inc. GMI distributes socks, sheer goods and accessories to major retail department stores, big-box retailers and discount stores across North America.

It will use the Simparel system to help it manage its nontraditional model of selling the same products simultaneously in multiple configurations, in multiple units of measure and at multiple price points.

GMI President Paul Rotseting said the company has seen improvement in sales-order management, inventory management and order fulfillment since installing the system.

“All of this leads to improved sales performance, increased customer satisfaction and better margin results,” he said.Lawson Gets High Rankings in PLM Survey

St. Paul, Minn.–based Lawson Software received high marks for its PLM (product lifecycle management) software from independent software-ratings agency Which PLM (www.whichplm.com).

Lawson’s Fashion PLM was ranked No. 1 in functionality and for commitment to PLM, which is measured by how much money the provider invests into research and development as well as for support of fashion-industry functionality.

The functionality aspect was based on product storyboard development, line optimization, sourcing, product management, fabric and trim, workflow, and reports. Lawson Fashion PLM was designed for retailers and manufacturers of apparel, footwear, home textiles and accessories. Its aim is to reduce the time-to-market for new products, improve quality, and reduce costs for manufacturers, brand owners and private brand retailers.

For more information, visit www.lawsonsoftware.com.