Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

How Virtual Sampling Went Mainstream

There’s been an uptick in brands from footwear to luxury adopting the technology as they look to speed up their processes, cut costs and burnish their sustainability credentials.

Three realistic 3D images of Timberland boots are lined up against a beige background. — Timberland boots, in 3D. (Timberland)

Marc Bain

21 November 2022

BoF PROFESSIONAL

In 2019, Timberland’s design team got a last-minute brief for a new footwear style to be developed as quickly as possible. Normally, however, creating a new product is slow: it can take months to make and revise physical samples, each of which must be shipped back and forth between factories in Asia and the company’s US offices.

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About the author

Marc Bain

Marc Bain is Technology Correspondent at The Business of Fashion. He is based in New York and drives BoF’s coverage of technology and innovation, from start-ups to Big Tech.

In This Article

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Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

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