H&M has partnered a startup Unspun on a project that recreates a 3D body scan into a pattern that can be used to customize jeans. H&M will begin implementing the project in its stores next year. Since last September, H&M’s innovation hub, The Laboratory, has been making the first software tests with one hundred clients of the Weekday chain. Customers are given the opportunity to customize Weekday jeans styles changing its trim, stitching and pockets and then using their body scan to fit the jeans. For its production H&M uses its own suppliers, with a lead time of ten days.

The next challenge for H&M will be to scale it up. The group feels this has the potential to be very disruptive and redefine the entire system. 3D body scanners are 3D scanning systems designed to capture in three dimensions the full body of a person. The result obtained is an accurate 3D model (also called 3D avatar), allowing to visualize the exact body shape and get accurate data such as body measurements, posture analysis etc. Originally developed for the fashion industry as a fast and accurate 3D measurement solution, 3D body scanners are now used in various fields such as healthcare, 3D figurines and 3D photo, fitness or entertainment.