8 - Importance of sizing and fit using 3D technology

Abstract

Clothing fit, comfort, and performance are highly influenced by the size accuracy of the garment on the human body. To achieve optimum accuracy, anthropometry is used to determine the human’s physical characteristics through various measuring methods. Traditional methods are known by using one-dimensional (1D) anthropometric measurements where the body is measured on specific points of the body using conventional tools given this is time-consuming and impractical. On the other hand, 3D scan technology has made its way into the arena of body measurement for clothing purposes as a nonconventional anthropometric tool by providing more practical, reliable, and accurate data of the body. As the apparel industry is moving towards sustainability, minimizing measurement error as well as getting the right fit and sizing has become more important than ever. Leveraging modern technology, the NX16 3D body scanner had been used by this project to extract body measurements where the data are collected from 300 Malaysian women, aged 18–54 years old, as respondents. Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman plot methods are used to determine the reliability and the accuracy of the results. Based on the repeated measurements of waist circumference (WC) and hip circumference (HC), all ICC values were >0.97 which indicates strong reliability which suggests that the NX16 3D body scanner is a reliable tool for assessing human body dimensions. Percentages of coefficient of variation (CV) for automated measurement of WC and HC are 0.12% and 0.09%, respectively, as compared to manual measurements of WC and HC at 0.18% and 0.12% which indicate that higher accuracy of measurements can be obtained using 3D body scanner. Based on the result, a standard sizing for Malaysian women using 3D scan technology can be formulated for better fit and sizing while also encouraging a sustainability process for garment making.