
Epson and Fashion Designer Yuima Nakazato Conclude Partnership Agreement
07 November 2022: Seiko Epson Corporation and fashion designer Yuima Nakazato have concluded a partnership agreement under which they will seek to transform the fashion industry through workflow innovation and technical research that will reduce the industry’s environmental impact while enabling the creation of high-quality custom clothing.
Epson’s digital textile printing technology can reproduce fine gradations and subtle tones. It is ideal for short-run production with quick turnarounds because it does not require printing plates. It also uses far less water, ink, and chemicals than conventional analog printing and thus has a smaller environmental footprint.
The purpose of the partnership is to reduce the environmental impact of clothing production in the fashion industry, implement an optimum mode of production that can provide more personalized designs than the conventional method of mass-producing the same designs, and jointly research and develop future technology for realizing this.
Epson has supported Yuima Nakazato in creating collections for Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week since 2021. Specifically, Epson’s Fujimi Solution Center was employed to print ultra-thin materials such as silk organdy, thus expanding the palette of materials that can be used. In addition, the quality of the garments in the collection was maximized by eliminating design size constraints while reproducing prints that reflect the delicate touch and shades in the original drawings by designer Yuima Nakazato.
Digital textile printing was used in the production of Yuima Nakazato’s collection. This digital technology has many advantages over traditional textile printing. It uses less water, creates less waste because textiles can be produced in only the volume needed, and is cleaner. Moreover, the pigment inks used do not require steaming or washing treatments after printing.
Digital textile printing enables fast turnaround times, eliminates inventory, and can accommodate local production runs in amounts as short as a single garment. By using this digital process to meticulously produce exquisite garments at the right time and in the required quantity, we will conduct a proof-of-concept for a waste-free value chain as envisioned by Yuima Nakazato.
Epson will provide comprehensive technical support for everything from the production of garments to the production of staging to physically embody the concepts of Yuima Nakazato, which is further broadening its range of expression.
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