2/2 - Second and last part of our interview with Julien Fournié, in which the ambassador of Dassault Systèmes’ Fashion Lab shares his vision about the use of technological tools in fashion and in his art, haute couture. 

By Ludmilla Intravaia 

In this article : 

• The 3D design of the accessories from the SS21 collection 

•  The advantages of 3D modeling

•  The Fashion Lab of Dassault Systèmes

• The future of tech in fashion

Le Boudoir Numérique: In the first part of your interview, you talked about how you design the dresses of your collections on Ipad Pro. What about your accessories, available in your new online store, launched last December? How are they designed? 

Julien Fournié, couturier: I design my accessories in 3D with Catia for the shoes and bags, for example and with SolidWorks (two computer-aided design softwares from the French software publisher Dassault Systèmes, AN), for certain small components such as clasps and chains. As soon as you create accessories, made with solid material, 3D modeling works very well. You can go very far in details, textures, colors or deformations, you can turn around the object, look at it from all angles, to test it in real time. 

What are the benefits of using 3D modeling softwares in terms of eco-responsibility? 

The advantage is that you don't have to make a prototype 10 times to get to the final object. You waste less time, less materials, less money. Imagine a bag clasp. Before, I would have drawn it, then I would have sent the drawing to the manufacturer. Would have follow, between us, several back and forth of prototypes, until the piece was deemed satisfactory. So many repeated shipments, responsible for carbon dioxide emissions. Today, working with a software like SolidWorks, I send the digital model to the manufacturer who makes a prototype by 3D printing, for example. He can show it to me through WhatsApp (instant messaging app owned by Facebook, AN), so I can judge if it is what I want. Remains to decide on the finish of the piece and I can start the production right away. Using this kind of software reinvents the entire supply chain.

And in terms of creativity? 

All crazy ideas are possible with these softwares: you can try everything, fail everything, really use the accidents of the creative process. 3D modeling does not replace the know-how of the hand but accompanies it to make it evolve. It gives the chance to the creative to be even more so, because he can allow himself more madness without spending too much money, to then be able to make a real stylistic choice in his creations and to determine what he really wants to produce as a prototype. Before, when we wanted to design a metal button, we would draw it and say to ourselves: this is the right one. Now I can draw lots of them, scrutinize each one with a magnifying glass, in 3D to see which one is going to be the best. And with my tablet, if I had designed a dress in blue and I don't like that color anymore, I can go for pink to see if it works. Before, it would have been necessary to redraw the whole silhouette and repaint it entirely. Today, the change is made with a simple swipe of Apple Pencil (the stylus of the iPad, AN). Apple Pencil is my magic wand. 

Why don't you use 3D modeling for your dresses? 

My dream would be to be able to draw dresses in 3D, but we're not ready yet. For accessories, shoes, bags, belts, in leather for example, jewelry, no problem. But we haven't yet managed to design dresses in 3D, for muslins, jerseys, all the soft materials of dresses, it's too complicated, the algorithms are too heavy. 

However, we are witnessing the emergence of virtual fashion, since the Covid-19 crisis, in particular with avatars who wear digital clothes in the online presentations of brands... 

It's window dressing. These 3D avatars with virtual clothes on are just cartoons, fake 3D avatars. Do not be mistaken, it has nothing to do with the reality of 3D modeling. Dassault Systèmes is in the process of developing powerful algorithms for dresses modeling software. But we don't have them yet, we are in the process of making them. Dassault Systèmes is a pioneer in this research. 

Since 2014, you have been the partner of the Fashion Lab of Dassault Systèmes, a technological incubator dedicated to fashion designers to support them in their digital transformation. What is your role within the Fashion Lab? 

In the beginning, my house was testing Dassault Systèmes' design software and tools. Now, we really use some of these products on a daily basis. Bernard Charlès (CEO of Dassault Systèmes, AN) is a visionary who wants to put the creator back at the center of the debate. He expects me to deliver my vision of the fashion ecosystem for the next 15 years and think about how to use new technologies in tomorrow fashion. 

What is your vision? 

It revolves around the following points: consuming less, re-telling ourselves through real iconic pieces that characterize us, being locavore, manufacturing close to home, reworking a French industry, restoring the crafts, giving back to the French the chance to be curious about their national heritage and reclaim it.

And from a technological point of view? 

Technology in fashion will be dematerialized, less and less visible. We must stop thinking that communication platforms that flash in all directions like Instagram, Facebook or TikTok are at the heart of technology. It's wrong, they are just like TVs, actually. There was a whole phenomenon in the 90s, 2000s, where we only saw technology. But it must disappear and become once again a support for the human being, a tool which helps the people to come back to the fore. This is the technological renaissance: humans before technology. And the future is biosynthesis, bioengineering and all the tech ramifications that it will have for humanity. 

* Read the first part of Julien Fournié's interview on Le Boudoir Numérique: "Thanks to the iPad Pro, my clients discover the accidentality of my drawing stroke".

* More information on Julien Fournié website.

* The Paris Haute Couture Week Spring - Summer 2021 took place from January 25 to 28, 2021. Its online platform can be accessed here.

* Continue reading on Le Boudoir Numérique:

- Paris Haute Couture Week SS 2021 – Mario Klingemann's artificial intelligence behind the scenes at Valentino

- Paris Haute Couture Week SS 2021 – Lauren Wasser, muse of Yuima Nakazato X Spiber biofabrication

- Paris Haute Couture Week SS21 – Kinetic crowns by Iris van Herpen