Shima Seiki Europe’s Apex Design Competition for final year students based at UK Universities, has awarded two students the opportunity to gain industry standard training on the latest Shima Seiki technology at the company’s headquarters in Castle Donington, Leicestershire. The winners will focus on virtual knitwear sampling using the latest Apex Design Software in the first week, and programming and knitting on the latest Shima Seiki knitting machines in the second week.
Despite the COVID 19 pandemic, students from five different universities entered the competition with a range of concept and design development boards relating to their degree projects. These boards were created using the Shima Seiki Apex Design System and demonstrated how students are using the Apex system to develop their design ideas using a combination of 2D and 3D simulations, mapped and rendered product imagery, colourway development and digital experiments using a range of virtual yarns including elastics and monofilaments.
From the students that entered, the organisers made a shortlist and guest judge, Aimee Wilson, Head Designer at Boardmans, chose the two winners – Sne Tak from the Royal College of Art and Bryony Chambers-Smith from Derby University. In addition, Rowan Calvert, and Jessica Braithwaite, both from Nottingham Trent University, were commended for their work and named as runners up.
Aimee commented: “It was an honour to be asked to guest judge the Shima student competition for the second year running. As with the previous year, the standard of student work was incredibly high, and selecting only two winners was very much a difficult decision. The concepts students worked into this year were all focused around current topics in fashion and retail sustainability, inclusivity, and technology. It was so interesting to see how they had taken these hugely relevant themes and worked with the Shima Seiki software to further develop from conceptual mood boards, through to finished products.”
Sne Tak
Sne used the Apex design system to design fabrics to be used for conceptual footwear uppers with air pollution detection and filter usage indication, playing with soft and hard texture hybrids. “We were impressed with her application of knitwear onto an original product and her use of both the Apex’s Design and 2.5D systems to convey her ideas from development to final product,” said Graham Davies, Sales Manager, Shima Seiki Europe.
Bryony Chambers-Smith
Bryony used the Apex design system to create a collection inspired by the colours and visual elements of Stanley Kubrick’s adaption of Stephen King’s novel, ‘The Shining’. “We liked Bryony’s unusual inspiration point and her application of jacquard design, as well as her unique interpretations on licensed imagery,” Graham Davies commented.
SDS-ONE Apex design system
The Shima Seiki Apex Design System has become an important tool used by many designers, manufacturers, sourcing offices and retailers all over the world for the virtual design and development of textiles across knit, weave, print and embroidery.
“The design system is being used to improve and reduce front end design and development costs through heightened presentation quality and reduced issues before, during, and after the sampling process by using integrated applications for the development of yarns, colourways, textile structures and body templates to create images though 2.5D mapping and 3D fitting simulation,” Graham Davies explained.
“Data can be saved in a range of file formats so it can be shared and discussed, or used as part of a Specification/ Technical Pack enabling details to be easily interpreted by the end user, so reducing the chance of costly mistakes both at the initial sampling stage or at bulk manufacture.”
“Many Universities now provide time within their syllabuses for students to learn how to use the Shima Seiki Apex Design System and we hope that our competition encourages them further to experiment with the system and explore ways of developing their design ideas,” Mr Davies concluded.
“The recent launch of Apex Fiz now provides customers with even more flexibility as the Shima Seiki Design software can be installed and used on customers Laptops or PC’s.”
Further reading
Shima Seiki launches new design software and web services
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