GOLDWIN x synflux: algorithms for zero-waste sportswear

GOLDWIN & synflux redefine zero-waste fashion with ‘SYN-GRID’

Japanese sportswear manufacturing company GOLDWIN has partnered with Synflux, a speculative fashion laboratory, to develop an algorithmic system aiming for zero fabric waste. Dubbed ‘SYN-GRID’, the collaboration makes use of Synflux’s proprietary technology, Algorithmic Couture®, that minimizes textile waste being discarded during clothing production by one-third.

‘This software is a mashup of machine learning and 3D technology. It analyzes the 3D data of the clothes that we want to design and suggests the way of manufacturing with the least waste […] while also maintaining the sportswear’s original functionality, comfort, beauty, and so on,’ comments Synflux CEO Kazuya Kawasaki.

A first product line is already underway and will be sold this November at two sportswear stores; NEUTRALWORKS (starting November 8th) and The North Face (beginning November 18th) in Japan.

NEUTRALWORKS Crew jumper (white) | all images via SYN-GRID

how Algorithmic Couture® leads to sustainable production

Specifically, the team at GOLDWIN has introduced Synflux’s Algorithmic Couture® to its paper pattern-cutting technology that converts 3D clothing surfaces into a matrix of triangles and squares. ‘In the case of conventional patterns, there are many unnecessary parts when cutting due to curves that inevitably occur, but ‘SYN-GRID’ imports 3D pattern data and automatically generates low-waste 2D pattern data. By doing so, it is possible to reduce the amount of waste of conventional fabrics,’ writes the company.

The North Face GORE-TEX Jacket

This collaboration ultimately aims to pave the way for a more ethical and sustainable production practice within the fashion industry, which is facing decades of controversy. To do so, the Japanese duo is leveraging the power of computational technologies and new materials to solve complex problems burdening supply chains and, at a larger scale, our planet. ‘I believe that fashion will start to become a much more important genre for the future of humanity and the environment,’ notes Kawasaki.

Through ‘SYN-GRID’, the duo is developing two fleece products for NEUTRALWORKS (Crew and Pants) and a jacket for The North Face made with a new GORE-TEX fabric. The NEUTRALWORKS items will be available starting November 8th both online and at NEUTRALWORKS.EBISU in Tokyo. The jacket, meanwhile, will be sold at The North Face LAB Shibuya Parco and The North Face + in Osaka, from November 18th.

NEUTRALWORKS Crew and Pants (black)