Could Microfactories Be the Solution for On-Demand Fashion Production?
How can we move from a design-make-sell model in fashion, to design-sell-make? Danish supply chain startup Rodinia Generation thinks it has the answer. The company has raised €3 million to fund the creation of a global network of ‘microfactories’ — starting in Europe then expanding to the US — that will provide fast, nearshore, low-impact production, turning fashion’s current bloated production model on its head.
Brands have long employed small nearshore manufacturers to trial new styles and respond quickly to trends. What the latest generation of microfactories — including Rodinia — brings to the table is more sophisticated automation, and technology-driven, low-impact manufacturing methods such as waterless digital printing and 3D weaving. It’s a promising model but limitations remain, finds Sophie Benson.
Then, Laure Guilbault sits down with Matteo De Rosa, CEO of LVMH Métiers d’Art, the holding company for the group’s key suppliers, to find out how he goes about securing materials like leather, exotic skins and metals for both the group and the wider luxury sector.
