Technical fit form manufacturer Alvanon Inc., New York City, has introduced an Intimate/Swim Form that is made using memory foam, making it 15-percent softer than the company's standard soft mannequin and thus enabling more realistic fitting of compression fabrics.
"Previous generations of mannequins were not as soft and did not accommodate the underwire and bust fit very well," said Ed Gribbin, president, Alvanon. "For that reason, designers could not assess fit on a mannequin with a desired degree of accuracy.
Gribbin noted that the new form may be used at every step along the supply chain to ensure exact form fit measurements and lower production costs. Previously, manufacturers have used human models at different points along the supply chain, which has made it difficult for designers to realize a desired fit because of inconsistencies in the models' shapes.
