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LET's DRAW – LET'S LIVE

Customers attach increasing importance to individualization, which for retail business means customization of both service and product. Considering that the fashion industry started with individual orders in the atelier, all customization projects for the segment are "well-forgotten new", FCG notes.

Modern buyers can design their own Nike sneakers, Brooks Brothers suits, Longchamp bags. As part of festivals and markets, Levi's designers decorate denim items with embroidery for free or skillfully age them. On the website of the Louis Vuitton brand, you can add your own initials to bags or suitcases, and the British brand Burberry embroider the initials of customers on scarves.

The revolutionary Futurecraft 4D shoes  with a sole created «from air and light » using Digital Light Synthesis technology from the Carbon company, – a big step for Adidas in the direction of producing shoes with a customized fit and design. Digital Light Synthesis involves the use of digital light projection, breathable optics and liquid resins, which allows you to create a high-quality and wear-resistant polymer product. Unlike traditional technologies, Digital Light Synthesis allows you to take into account the needs of each athlete, providing a high level of comfort, cushioning and support. The Carbon programmable platform guarantees high quality of the final product, taking into account the physical properties of the material.

The first Russian sporting goods stores began offering an online customization service: for example, using a special program on the store's website, you can create a new pair of sneakers. For such a designer, some brands offer a choice of only color combinations, for example, laces, soles and bases; others expand the choice and allow you to combine details from suede, leather and textiles to your taste, choose the style of side edging. For example, Afour Footwear, a brand of mainly sports shoes from St. Petersburg, has an online sneaker designer.

A jeans customization service has appeared in the Central Department Store, and Diesel has a popular flash campaign for the customization of Denim Master Studio. The mobile workshop is located in different cities of the world and offers Diesel customers to apply rivets and stripes on jeans or a leather jacket.

An increasingly significant place in the market is occupied by virtual reality technologies - a complex of technical means that immerse you in a virtual 3D scene, a model of which is created using a computer. Buyers can view products in 3D format, immediately "try them on" and order them directly at home; on-demand purchases will be made using smart labels or QR codes. For example, with the help of virtual reality glasses, visitors to the TopShop fashion boutique are transferred to the first row of a spectacular fashion show presented in the boutique.

Modern RFID identification technology - a method of automatic identification of objects, in which data stored in so-called transponders are read or written using radio signals, provides significantly more opportunities compared to traditional marking systems. So, starting from the new season, the Finn Flare brand plans to label its products with RFID tags. The company believes that thanks to the new technology, it will soon be possible to introduce virtual fitting rooms in stores.

However, despite the fact that a target audience has been formed in Russian large cities for a long time, ready to pay extra for customization, the main part of Russian business has yet to mature to such projects, since any personalization increases transaction costs. In addition, the national purchasing trend after the 2014 crisis forces buyers to save on what is not necessary; take into account the limitations on the possibilities of return, and the customized product is not returned, FCG reports.

To be continued.

Text: Evgeny Arsenin

Photo: shutterstock.com