Swimwear brand Arena selects Lectra PLM solution

Lectra, the world leader in integrated technological solutions dedicated to the soft goods industries, announces that Arena has chosen its PLM solution.

Lectra Fashion PLM will allow Arena to capitalize on its know-how and to optimize the product development process, as well as to improve the communication flow with its suppliers of finished products.

One of the leading swimwear brands, Arena is the reference for athletes and water-sports lovers all over the world.

Founded back in 1973, Arena combines an acute sense of design, product innovation and use of advanced technology to meet the needs of its customers, as well as of many of the greatest swimmers in the world, such as Laure Manaudou, Filippo Magnini, Massimiliano Rosolino, Roland Schoemann, Ryk Neethling, Lazlo Cseh and Otylia Jedrzejczak.

“We chose Lectra and its Lectra Fashion PLM solution because we were looking for a partner who was familiar with our industry and understood our challenges. We are sure to gain from Lectra’s experience and the quality of its support,” stated Cristiano Portas, CEO of the Arena Group.

Innovating and capitalizing on company know-how
New cuts, new materials, and new components: Arena is constantly looking for new sources of inspiration, while also relying on its past experience and know-how to nourish innovation. All these assets are available in real time using Lectra Fashion PLM to rapidly define new specifications and shorten time-to-market.

Shortening design and development time
Arena’s Design and Development department can be considered as the real “heart” of the company. Work done by the Design office has repercussions at all company levels, meaning that an efficient information and process flow is a must. A single work environment used by the Waterwear and Activewear product managers and designers, as well as by the sourcing and cost control department, will ensure consistency throughout the collection lines covering several product categories. It will also limit errors by allowing the whole team to work with a single, common and shared set of data.

As a result, Lectra Fashion PLM will enable the synchronization of products and collection development, via simultaneous, real-time monitoring of the key development stages. Arena will fully benefit from the complementary nature of Lectra's business and organizational applications, in particular for design and pattern-making.

With production mainly performed in the Far East, Arena needs to monitor its sourcing activities as closely as possible, as well as to control its purchase costs. Lectra Fashion PLM will enable effective management of iterative sourcing and prototype development processes by facilitating data access and information sharing between Arena and its suppliers. Lectra Fashion PLM will also provide accurate monitoring of fabric consumption and costs.

Also quality of products will improve, thanks to theimplementation of a quality assurance process throughout the whole manufacturing cycle.

The Arena group, one of the world’s leading companies in the “Waterwear” category, recorded revenues of €105 million in 2006. Based in Tolentino, Italy, the Group is structured with four main business units (Italy, France/Belgium, Germany/Austria/Netherland/Switzerland and International Business) and four Global Strategic Functions (Marketing, Design & Development, Sourcing and F&A/IT).

Heatherette Walks on the Wild Side: LA Fashion Week Spring 2008

Jenny Peters Tue Oct 16, 4:58 PM ET

Culver City, CA - Halloween came early at the Mercedes-Benz LA Fashion Week Heatherette Spring 2008 show at Smashbox Studios on Monday night.

Going with the theme of "Route 66: California or Bust" and setting the scene with a tire-strewn runway, the line's design team of Richie Rich and Traver Rains sent both male and female models down the catwalk looking like they had actually been run over by a car on that famous highway, right down to black tire tracks smeared across their faces and bodies.

In the case of the men, that was often all they were wearing, except for tiny "swimsuits," tiny Speedo-style trunks mostly made of velvet and covered in glitter. One guy sported a superhero cape with gladiator suspenders over his tiny trunks; another just got blue suspenders to go along with his patchwork short shorts. Other men's looks included a pair of wildly painted and embellished overalls (worn shirtless, naturally) done in the show's theme colors of red, white, and blue; the added bonus to those was the cut-out back pocket, revealing the model's well toned butt cheek.

And the men were not the only ones that looked completely whacked out and dressed for Halloween on the runway; Heatherette's female models had their share, too. The nuttiest look was a strapless mini dress festooned with giant beach balls covered with white mesh and worn with black oversize fishnet stockings; there's no way one could sit down while wearing that ensemble.

There were multi-tiered, hugely ruffled minis; floral patchwork high-waisted, wide-belled pants paired with a red-and-white striped jacket, and a blue-and-white plaid bustier; and, on adult-film star Jenna Jameson, a positively demure tankini bathing suit (well, except for the plunging neckline).

Other familiar faces at the show (but not on the runway) were Kim Kardashian, Brittny and Lisa Gastineau, Davis Factor, and Sandra Bullock's hubby Jesse James, of "Monster Garage" fame.