Transforming Embroidery
By now we know that technological innovations are the future of the fashion world. In London, there is a woman who is transforming the classic art of embroidery for modern women's wear with a digital embroidery machine. Alice Archer has an impressive background in studies of the fine arts and experience in the business of fashion. Archer’s designs are luxurious and feminine, but she tempers the ladylike quality by including casual, everyday silhouettes, inspired by the likes of Keira Knightley, Lily James and Daisy Ridley — “the English rose with a twist.” she maps out each individual stitch with a computer program. She then feeds that design into a digital embroidery machine, which sews the image onto fabric, whirring away with up to 12 threads while she observes with a watchful eye. Each design can take a week of painstaking programming, and yet old-fashioned methods would be even slower; without this software, she says, one person could not deliver a heavily embroidered, 20-piece fashion collection each season.
I personally couldn't be more excited! When I shop, I am all about the details. I love the craftsmanship of garments and little details that make them unique. As a perfectionist myself, I appreciate time, effort, and dedication, so when I see clothing that has that extra little something, I take a keen interest. I also have a passion for historic clothing and costumes, in which both can be intricate and embellished, so embroidery is something I admire a lot. I have seen (and had the opportunity to play with) a similar embroidery machine where I could choose a design, program the machine, and the machine would make the embroidery design on fabric. All I had to do was walk away or watch, my choice. It was the coolest thing! As for the fashion industry, this innovation could mean that a timeless and time-consuming skill could be done faster and efficiently. This innovation can open doors for the "detail" side of the industry. However, there are many people who love hand-crafted work. Will everything be done be machine, or will people choose the hand-crafted work?
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/16/t-magazine/london-fashion-designer-embroidery-technology-alice-archer.html?_r=2