Craftmanship and Digitalization in the Italian Knitwear Industry. A Paradigm Shift for the Narrative of Made in Italy

Knitwear is a consolidated industry in Italy and, at the same time, a typical expression of the Made in Italy paradigm linked to the ideas of craftsmanship. While, on the one hand, knitwear is associated with the idea of craft and manufacturing traditions, on the other hand, it is nowadays produced by numerical control machines (CNC) where the technological contribution and the level of automation are very relevant. The convergence of physical and digital environments, at the heart of the Fashion Industry 4.0 debate, is an established feature of knitwear design practice. In the contemporary industrial scenario, knitted items are produced on digitally programmed machines through sophisticated software, and the manual contribution of the individual operator during the knitting phase is reduced to a minimum. In the light of these premises, this contribution questions the opportunity and value of the integration of digital technologies in the storytelling of traditional manufacturing without losing the power to evoke Made in Italy’s values such as quality, aesthetic refinement, and exclusivity. To analyze these issues, the authors report the case study of SMT – Società Manifattura Tessile, a leading knitting company where the technological presence equals that of traditional manufacturing craftmanship, keeping both elements at balance. The case study suggests the importance of the contemporary knitting craftsman to increasingly develop communication skills to make the relationship between technology andmanufacturing explicit and possibly smoothly blend it with the Made in Italy archetypes

Technology Epiphany and Knitwear Design. Critical perspectives and possible applications

This paper aims to frame the concept of Technology Epiphany (Verganti, 2011) by relating it to the connections found in the recent literature concerning the field of Knitwear Design (Affinito, Conti, & Motta, 2017). Furthermore, starting from an interpretative vision of Peirce's semiotic triangle, as applied to the contemporary design context (Zingale, 2020), this article aims to propose a critical analysis of some aspects of the concept of Technology Epiphany, envisaging a practical application in the field of knitwear design

Innovation from within: il progetto GET – Gruppi di Educazione terapeutica della ASL di Reggio Emilia. Il punto di vista delle famiglie.

Il Progetto GET (Gruppi di Educazione Terapeutica per il Trattamento dell’Obesità Infantile), nasce, in forma embrionale, nel 2014 presso il reparto di Pediatria dell’Ospedale Santa Maria Nuova di Reggio Emilia. La dietista e la psicologa coinvolte nel trattamento di questa patologia cronica, scoprono di trovarsi in una “impasse” clinica: i pazienti considerati obesi secondo le valutazioni effettuate dai pediatri in base alle curve di crescita (Cacciari et al. 2006; Cole et al. 2012) e quindi ad elevato rischio di complicanze, se non già portatori di alcune complicanze mediche più o meno gravi (iper-insulinemia, steatosi epatica ecc.), oppongono una “resistenza passiva” a qualsiasi proposta di lavoro sul loro peso. Questo dato è complicato dal fatto che, nella maggioranza dei casi, i pazienti e le loro famiglie, chiedono esplicitamente di essere presi in carico e di poter essere dotati di una “dieta scritta”, che, nella migliore delle ipotesi non viene seguita, e nella peggiore porta ad un incremento ulteriore del peso in rapporto all’altezza. L’obesità infantile rimane uno tra i temi di salute più allarmanti e studiati, ma che lascia aperte ancora molte questioni, legate soprattutto alla tenuta dei cambiamenti ottenuti e dunque alla comprensione dei meccanismi sottostanti tale fatica. Il Progetto di Ricerca GET, partito dal “basso” per rispondere ad esigenze cliniche di strutturazione di un percorso che potesse essere efficace e percorribile per le famiglie afferenti al Servizio, ha forse generato più domande che risposte. L’auspicio è che proprio le domande sorte dalla riflessione su ciò che ha funzionato e (soprattutto) ciò che non ha funzionato, possano contribuire ad aprire ulteriori scenari di pensiero attorno a questo tema e domande che permettano ad altri ricercatori, anche di formazione non strettamente “sanitaria”, di gettare luce sulla questione da angolature diverse e, forse, portatrici di nuove intuizioni

The Digitalization of Knitwear: Towards a redefinition of the conventional design boundaries

In the contemporary context, the knitting industry is dealing with a scarcity of 3d simulation tools, resulting, to date, in a sampling-based method where refinements to a specific design are often abandoned or compromised. While, in other design fields, virtual 3d modeling profitably interacts with hardware technology (e.g., 3d printers) (Verbruggen, 2014), such tools do not easily connect to the conventional textile technology of industrial knitting machines (Underwood, 2018). This paper explores the state of the art of knitted textiles digitalization, aiming to outline practical support to knitwear design practice with a specific focus on possible digital tools to integrate design and fabrication prerogatives

The Digitalization of Knitwear: towards a redefinition of the conventional design boundaries

In the contemporary context, the knitting industry is dealing with a scarcity of 3d simulation tools, resulting, to date, in a sampling-based method where refinements to a specific design are often abandoned or compromised. While, in other design fields, virtual 3d modeling profitably interacts with hardware technology (e.g., 3d printers) (Verbruggen, 2014), such tools do not easily connect to the conventional textile technology of industrial knitting machines (Underwood, 2018). This paper explores the state of the art of knitted textiles digitalization, aiming to outline practical support to knitwear design practice with a specific focus on possible digital tools to integrate design and fabrication prerogatives