Editorial

Citation

Stylios, G.K. (2010), "Editorial", International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, Vol. 22 No. 2/3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijcst.2010.05822baa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, Volume 22, Issue 2/3

From unit cell geometry, through to 3D modelling, to fabric characterisation, tactile perception and then to product innovation.

This is issue two and three of IJCSTs Volume 22 and looking at its content one can see that it could, without a lot of effort, make a book on its own right. The 11 papers contained in these issues are of the highest technical content, yet spanning from unit cell geometry through to modelling, into aesthetics and finally to an innovative application of all this for the design and engineering of bras. Typically, the barriers of discipline are broken because in these papers you will find theory and application of textile design, technology, mathematics, engineering and logistics. And looking into the future, without working cross disciplines progress would have been more difficult if not impossible. So, we ought to encourage and greet those individuals and research teams that are pursuing research in these areas. The international contribution in this content is particularly worth highlighting. In 11 papers all linking with one another we have contributions from eight countries which is remarkable; Thailand, Republic of Korea, Taiwan, South Korea, China, Japan, the USA and the UK.

Work starts with modelling of fabric structure and Pranut Potiyaraj, Chutipak Subhakalin, Benchaphon Sawangharsub and Werasak Udomkichdecha deal with how weave pattern data are used to construct warp and weft yarn paths based on Peirce’s geometrical model. By combining relevant weave parameters, including yarn sizes, warp and weft densities, yarn colours as well as cross-sectional shapes, a 3D image of yarns assembled together as a woven fabric structure was produced and shown on a screen through the virtual reality modelling language browser. From woven geometry and structure, we turn our attention in how we can scan and analyse human shapes and this is what the team from the University of Minnesota are reporting by Elizabeth Bye and Ellen McKinney. Choong Hyo Kim, In Hwan Sul, Chang Kyu Park and Sungmin Kim from Konkuk University in Seoul on an automatic garment pattern generation system. From patterns we then go to the reconstruction of individualised dress forms by Xinrong Hu and Bugao Xu. This paper reaffirms that individual body shape can be adequately described by a number of critical cross-section silhouettes, and a personalized dress form can be constructed based on key dressing parameters and templates. One highly original paper is the next one by In Hwan Sul of the i Fashion Technology Centre of Konkuk University, which deals with styles and details of garments and how they can be previewed in 3D by mixing patterns of different garment sets like in 2D technical flat sketching. Even patterns with different edge lengths can be combined by controlling the pattern meshes using B-Spline. Naturally, the following on paper deals with the important solution of collision. Complex 3D collision detection problems was solved by simple matrix operations. Voxel based space-partitioning method and k-DOP based hierarchical method was successfully applied to garment simulation. Yuchai Sun, Xiaogang Chen, Zhonghao Cheng and Xunwei Feng of Manchester University in the UK continues with modelling but they focus on a study of heat transfer through layers of textiles using finite elements. Significant findings through this study include the change in heat flux against time and the transit temperature distribution at the cross section of the fabric assembly. The size of the air gaps has a significant influence on the heat transfer. The balance heat flux drops by 40 per cent when the air gap increases from 2 to 10 mm. The influence of the air gap tends to become smaller as the air gap is further increased. The number of fabric layers in the textile assembly has a noted influence, more so when the ambient temperature is lower. Comparisons between the theoretical and tested results showed a good agreement. This study has established a new method for clothing comfort study by making use of a general purpose FEM software package.

The next paper is by Takako Inoue, Kengo Ishihara, Kyoden Yasumoto and Masako Niwa (my teacher) from Sugiyama Jogakuen University of Nagoya in Japan. Well this editorial would not have enough space if I were to talk about this work which is continuing the work of the late Professor S. Kawabata, my teacher, mentor, collaborator and friend. Characterisation of fabric is of utmost importance, and here we deal with measurement and instrumentation that enable us to precisely determine hand and silhouette evaluation, thermal conductivity, air permeability and chemical traces of linen fabrics from around the world. The theoretical work reported in the previous papers is underpinned with data generated by the techniques described here, and the same underpinning is also given to the tactile perception reported next.

The next two papers, by B. Karthikeyan and Les M. Sztandera, are dealing with tactile perception using artificial intelligence. I particularly like this paper because in the early 1990s when this kind of research was supported in the UK, I also researched drape and handle using the same thinking. This two-part series discusses the design and development of an artificial intelligence-based hybrid model to understand human perception of the tactile properties of textile materials and create an objective system to express those tactile perceptions in terms of measurable mechanical properties. The last paper by Chi-Shun Liao and Cheng-Wen Lee is from Taiwan and, in my own mind, it can be seen as how by putting all the previous reported work together to develop a new innovative bra, which has been and still is a product of particular design, aesthetic and engineering difficulty. New product design that relies on conjoint analysis algorithms can depict multidimensional attribute profiles, such that consumers’ choice behaviour reflects their preferences and overall judgment of the profiles. This statistical technique provides a means to codesign and customize bra products and thereby enhance the overall bra design process.

I thank these authors for all their hard work and wish our readers enjoyable studying of these two issues.

G.K. StyliosEditor-in-Chief