Getting the correct match in garments has generally been an problem for most Indians. Either you take a look at an superb tailor to get that ideal-fitting pair or compromise on a UK-12 or US-14 size. All these years, alteration in garments has been a popular phenomenon, but have we ever realised the have to have for a size that fits the Indian body form?
The India size survey, titled INDIAsize, has a remedy. It proposes a standardised size chart in prepared-to-put on clothes in which 60-70% of the population will come across the correct match, up from the existing 30-40%. This is a joint initiative of the ministry of textiles and the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT). The enormous national sizing survey will generate an anthropometric database of measurements for Indians, which will additional assistance increase the retail garment sector. The project, earlier announced in February 2019, got delayed due to the pandemic.
Nevertheless, the survey will outcome in the creation of a size identification quantity for a client by means of mapping, categorisation and defining the body size and form. It captures more than one hundred anthropometric information points and components, which includes height, weight, waist size, hip size, bust size, wrist measurement, and so on. “This survey will help manufacturers produce goods suited for the body size of the target consumer and help consumers identify sizes best suited for them. The findings will also have applications across various other industries where the insights from this data can produce ergonomically-designed products well-suited for the Indian population,” says Upendra Prasad Singh (IAS), secretary, textiles.
In India, most homegrown brands adopt US/UK size charts, although international brands sell their international sizes. Until now, India was utilizing international sizes, but they do not match absolutely everyone properly. “If you ask somebody their size, they will give different sizes for different brands, so what we are looking at is to have a numeric value, which I can pick up from anywhere in the world,” says Noopur Anand, professor and principal investigator of the project.
“This project will not only create an internationally-recognised standardised apparel size for the Indian consumer and global fashion industry, but will also improve the fit of garments for enhanced comfort and aesthetics among Indian buyers, as well as benefit other related Indian industries to develop better-designed products for consumers. Now, the focus will be on the right-fit clothes,” says Anand.
The project, authorized by the Government of India and supported by sector consortium Clothing Manufacturers Association Of India (CMAI)—the pioneer and most representative association of the Indian apparel industry—entails measuring more than 25,000 people today in the age group of 15-65 years in six cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Shillong) situated in six regions of India, utilizing non-get in touch with human-secure 3D body scanning technologies.
While all security protocols in the course of the pandemic have been kept in thoughts, the scanned suit is distinctive to each and every particular person scanned at the machine. “This is a scientific exercise where anthropometric data is collected from a sample population, using human-safe 3D whole-body scanner technology to create a standardised size chart. This will follow all international protocols of national sizing survey and will be a true representative of the Indian population, which can then be adopted by the apparel industry,” says Shantmanu, director basic, NIFT. Since July 2021, NIFT Delhi has collected information of more than 5,000 samples as element of the very first leg of the information collection. The ongoing study incorporates representation from many age groups, revenue index, and origin to collate a normal size chart.
The survey is getting carried out with the help of Design Smith and the venue for scanning is Select Citywalk in New Delhi, exactly where a kiosk has been set up for people today to experiment with a 3D body scanner. “The initiative will provide better fits and understanding of Indian dressing sizes against global standards like US and UK sizing,” says Yogeshwar Sharma, executive director and CEO, Select Infrastructure, which has Select Citywalk as the group’s flagship project.