Burberry partners with Koffeecup to merge gaming technology and fashion design

Burberry has partnered with digital production agency Koffeecup to develop a new software which is “revolutionising fashion design and engineering” by merging gaming technology and fashion design.

The new application combines gaming technology and fashion design, to streamline the design process as it “significantly” accelerates and simplifies the process of printing onto garments.

The software operates by placing a two-dimensional print onto a 3D product template, enabling immediate results in showcasing how the finished product will look and providing real-time instant feedback.

This 3D technology is now embedded in Burberry’s merchandising model, which the company is using to become more sustainable, creative and efficient. The new process has become a “staple tool” for the luxury brand's print production process.

By using this new software, Burberry said it has reduced paper usage at the design stage by two-thirds and can create precise sample with fewer errors, which results in less factory waste.

Senior vice president of digital commerce at Burberry, Mark Morris said: “This new software is a great example of digital innovation and cross-functional collaboration. Our internal 3D development team, who built the successful games B Bounce and B Surf, saw an opportunity in how their technology could streamline a part of the product design process. Our collaboration with Koffeecup enabled us to bring our idea to implementation and we are thrilled with the result.”

The first products designed using this new technology are presented in Burberry’s pre-fall 2020 collection.

Managing director at Koffeecup, Thomas Michelou added: “It has been a pleasure to work closely with Burberry to deliver this project and see first-hand how the print placement application has improved their creative process. At Koffeecup, we saw this as an opportunity to leverage technology that is usually used in gaming development and apply it to the luxury fashion space."

“This pioneering shift from gaming to design allowed us to move towards generating a real-time visual experience that resonated well with our creative audiences. We are very excited about the software’s potential for development. Looking to the future, we see the possibility to incorporate artificial and virtual reality to extend the software, which is a very interesting prospect.”