Lectra announces the opening of its Innovation Lab, created by Philippe Ribera, Vice President Innovation, Lectra. The Innovation Lab is located in the heart of the company’s technological campus in Bordeaux-Cestas. The mission of Lectra’s Innovation Lab is to capture emerging trends, anticipate evolutions and enhance its future technological solutions. The breakthrough innovations resulting from this work are aimed at the fashion, automotive and furniture markets. For Lectra, disruptive innovation cannot be conceived in isolation. The teams in the Innovation Lab work in collaboration with the organizations in their ecosystem: start-ups, research centers, customers and Lectra employees. Everyone can be invited to create a visual model during a design sprint or participate in an idea generation workshop.

The first innovations resulting from these collaborations will serve the fashion industry. A strong principle guides the work of the teams: to rethink the entire value chain of this industry – brands, manufacturers, distributors – as it relates at each stage to the final consumer. This is reflected in various proof of concept (POC) demonstrations developed within the Innovation Lab. Thus, for brands, key aspects of creation or product development are reinvented through solutions based on innovative technologies. And for manufacturers, an augmented reality tool has been developed to support cutter maintenance.

Measurement becomes digital

The Innovation Lab’s work on types of fabric and body measurements has also accelerated the Digtex project. This project, which focuses on the digitalization of textile development, was launched by Lectra and the Centre Européen des Textiles Innovants (CETI), as well as the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Industries Textiles (ENSAIT). It is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. This research, inspired by the issues faced by Lectra’s customers, aims to provide them with practical and innovative solutions, enabling them, for example, to involve the end consumer in the creation of customized clothing or to strengthen the traceability of clothing.

“Innovation, particularly disruptive innovation, implies a real cultural transformation within the company. One cannot simply will it into existence. The Innovation Lab teams have understood this well: they are making tangible advances in strengthening Lectra’s and our employees’ commitment to follow this path and lead our customers toward success,” says Véronique Zoccoletto, Chief Transformation Officer, Lectra.