NewArc.ai, is it really any good? Let's take a deep dive and see.
Image: The Fashion Guild® [NewArc, Midjourney, Adobe Photoshop, Freepik]
The Reality of Fashion Tech August 2024
One of our pet peeves is when tech providers push out new platforms, making grandiose claims about their revolutionary potential, only for us to discover that marketing promises overshadow real-world functionality. However, every so often, a platform genuinely aimed at breaking into the fashion design market appears.
Enter NewArc.ai.
Image: The Fashion Guild® [NewArc, Adobe Photoshop]
Is NewArc perfect? Not entirely. Is it better than everything else out there? For sure! As we promised some weeks ago, we will be following NewArc.ai's growth and development closely, rigorously testing its capabilities over the coming months.
Today, let’s delve into how fashion designers, including us, conceptualise their ideas and where NewArc.ai fits into this creative process.
Image: The Fashion Guild® [NewArc, Adobe Photoshop]
Designer Ideation: Collage and Overlay Sketching
Believe it or not, some of the world's top fashion designers use collage and overlaid sketching to brainstorm their initial ideas. This unorthodox approach has ruffled feathers in large global brands, where traditional line art sketches are the norm. Designing three collections simultaneously, four times a year, leaves little time for meticulous line art. Besides, beautifully sketched designs often get lost in translation among business teams, buyers, developers, and factories.
From our founder's experience, countless tears and tantrums stem from these misunderstandings. When; as Design Director, he hired two freelance designers (naming no names) using collage methods at NIKE, he was astounded. Their cavalier stand against conformity proved him and the management teams to be wrong. What looked rough and ready (and a bit like cheating) was actually more effective at yielding positive outcomes from teams and buyers alike, than traditional sketching methods.
"It's essential that teams get an accurate read of your design from the get-go. Everyone in the chain needs to understand what it is you are trying to make. It really doesn't matter how you achieve this... As long as the Buyer and Factory see the same thing, you are on a winning ticket!" Co-Founder | Peter Gallagher-Witham RCA
A Practical Example
Imagine we buy vintage samples to reimagine in terms of silhouette, fabric, trim, colour, and styling. We take a flat photo of the sample, then use Illustrator and Photoshop to 'Frankenstein' our ideas together. This detailed montage becomes a powerful tool for gaining 'buy-in' from teams and buyers, making the entire process smoother and more enjoyable.
Image: The Fashion Guild® | The Frankenstein Method [various Pinterest images cobbled together + NewArc and Adobe Illustrator]
How NewArc.ai Fits In
Similarly, NewArc provides tools to enhance communication among fashion designers. It’s an excellent platform for refining initial concepts until we land on 'The One'. To be transparent, the images we created with NewArc were further refined using Adobe Photoshop and Freepik image upscaler. However, this should not detract from NewArc’s utility in the design process.
With NewArc, we quickly created an idea that, if pitched verbally, would likely have been met with the stereotypical blank stare of an unimpressed merchandiser or design manager.
We think NewArc.ai is a game-changer! Try it out for yourself and see the difference it can make in your creative workflow.
Image: The Fashion Guild® [NewArc]
If you try it out, let us know your results, thoughts and feedback. Post in the Forum, or join the debate on our social media channels (links at bottom of page).
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