Over the past few decades, the fashion industry has witnessed very few disruptive manufacturing innovations capable of fundamentally altering how apparel is produced. One notable shift occurred in the 2010s with Stoll’s CMS knitting machines, which gave life to Nike Flyknit and Adizero. These pioneering hardware systems revolutionized footwear by replacing uppers constructed from a dozen cut, sewn, and bonded components sourced globally with a handful of yarns knitted in roughly 30 minutes on a single machine. Launched globally at the London 2012 Olympic Games, this composite-style approach simultaneously elevated product design, utility, and streamlined production.

Another monumental leap forward was Shima Seiki’s SWG WHOLEGARMENT knitting machine, originally introduced in the late 1990s. Its modern iterations can construct a seamless 3D sweater in a single operational step, bypassing the need for manual linking processes. Hailed upon its debut as The Magic of the Orient, the technology successfully mitigated massive labor bottlenecks, assembly hurdles, and fabric waste. Today, it remains a cornerstone of affordable high-street knitwear, epitomized by Uniqlo collections built around the philosophy of simple, made better.

Presently, finding a mass-market apparel or footwear brand that does not leverage these knitting innovations for enhanced margins and product quality is nearly impossible. Yet, while knitwear enjoyed multiple revolutions, traditional weaving—the foundational technique behind shirts, trousers, jackets, and denim—has historically lagged behind. Now, however, the fashion sector is actively exploring advanced 3D weaving solutions in pursuit of a parallel manufacturing breakthrough. Can these novel techniques successfully replicate the streamlined efficiency, superior functionality, and tight margin control previously achieved by knitted shoe uppers and seamless sweaters?

Weffan: 3D Weaving on Traditional Looms

Graysha Audren, founder and CEO of London-based 3D weaving software enterprise Weffan, explains that 3D weaving encompasses diverse applications utilizing both orthogonal and circular looms. Orthogonal systems rely on vertical warps and horizontal wefts that interlock to form fabric, whereas circular looms guide weft yarns in a continuous loop rather than moving strictly left and right.

Weffan’s proprietary software programs standard orthogonal jacquard looms to weave multiple distinct fabric layers simultaneously, interlocking them precisely at the edges to form three-dimensional garment sections in a single step without requiring stitching. Audren notes, By splitting the warp within the desired garment design, we can create multiple layers in the fabric. Rather than maintaining a single plane of vertical yarns, numerous layers are warped in a concertina configuration. Crucially, this innovation requires no new physical weaving infrastructure; Weffan’s software simply alters how the Jacquard loom operates.

Although Weffan’s digital solution produces 3D structures instead of flat textiles that demand cutting and sewing, the approach does introduce manual workforce training challenges. According to Audren, extracting the garment from the fabric remains a slow procedure, prompting ongoing research into speedier alternatives. Consequently, total garment production times currently remain comparable to conventional 2D weaving methods supplemented by traditional cut-and-sew workflows.

Luxury house Balenciaga has emerged as an early supporter of Weffan. Earlier this year, the Kering-owned label debuted a tailored 3D-woven suit and shirt utilizing bioengineered silk protein yarns from Amsilk, significantly heightening the commercial appeal and novelty of the collaboration. Christian Tubito, Director of Kering’s Material Innovation Lab—which evaluates and vets emerging supply chain technologies for group brands—notes that practical experimentation with Weffan revealed both distinct advantages and notable obstacles. Compelling benefits include high material efficiency, minimized production waste, and a surprisingly low defect rate that proved highly encouraging.

Nevertheless, distinct design and cost implications persist. Tubito points out that the technology significantly influences garment architecture, introducing cuts, technical constraints, and seam placements that diverge from conventional construction methods, thereby requiring teams to navigate technical assembly challenges through a completely fresh lens.

Operating for seven years under a Design as a Service model, Weffan currently partners primarily with mills located across the UK and Italy. Audren explains that the software accommodates a vast array of garment silhouettes, yarn types, and fabric weights across multiple product categories. At present, expansion is intentionally controlled through this selective business model, allowing Weffan to refine its software in close partnership with confidential mills before eventually launching a broader Software as a Service product for widespread industry adoption.

unspun and Arvind Test On-Demand Manufacturing

Taking a distinctly alternative route, US-based 3D weaving startup unspun originated from 3D body scanning innovations. The company repurposed circular looms traditionally deployed for manufacturing single-diameter tubular tarps and bags, reengineering them to produce variable-diameter trousers instead. Operating out of a San Francisco micro-factory, the team spent nine years modifying existing hardware to develop their OneWeave machine—previously known as Vega—with the explicit goal of doing for trousers what Shima Seiki achieved for sweaters: delivering zero-waste, on-demand manufacturing with minimal human labor.

Approximately a year ago, textile titan Arvind Limited—an Indian conglomerate with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion spanning apparel, textiles, and advanced materials—formed an alliance with the startup. Unspun Chairman Arne Arens notes, We currently operate seven machines in our Emeryville facility, and the first two commercial units are destined for Arvind. At the time of writing, these OneWeave systems were actively en route to the textile giant’s facility in Ahmedabad. According to Arvind Vice Chairman Punit Lalbhai, the strategic objective is not only to test the commercial viability of trousers previously piloted in San Francisco, but also to pioneer a transformative chapter in industrial apparel production.

Lalbhai emphasizes that supply chain management remains one of the industry's most persistent headaches. Because Arvind operates a substantial retail network, inventory management and lost sales opportunities represent major daily hurdles for retailers and brands. This production model directly tackles those systemic issues. Lalbhai adds that this represents the first credible, scalable solution for woven apparel, which commands a massive share of today's total market.

Arvind’s decision to adopt unspun’s commercial hardware naturally aligns with their participation in the Future Forward Factories initiative, launched last year alongside Fashion for Good. The program seeks to transition traditional textile mills into economically viable and environmentally responsible operations.

The newly arrived OneWeave machines will be housed within a dedicated facility staffed by Arvind’s elite craftspeople to troubleshoot production hurdles, including post-weaving processes like piece-dyeing, last-mile garment dyeing, and printing, according to Lalbhai. Arvind targets active commercial delivery by early next year. The company plans to dedicate several months to monitoring consumer response before securing formal order commitments from multiple brands, ensuring solid sell-through metrics are established prior to scaling full production.

Major apparel brands have already backed unspun, including early investor Decathlon alongside retail collaborators such as Walmart, Gap, and REI. Arens states that brands gravitate toward unspun due to clear lead time, innovation, financial, and environmental advantages. The startup asserts that its automated 3D weaving technology slashes trouser production lead times from months down to mere days. Furthermore, the phased partnership framework with Arvind features a strategic roadmap to deploy a minimum of 30 additional OneWeave units across India and North America throughout 2027 and 2028, contingent on global brand demand.

Ajay Chadha, Director of Advanced Materials at REI, expresses strong optimism regarding OneWeave, noting its capacity to minimize material waste, streamline assembly, and optimize resource utilization represents a vital step toward sustainable manufacturing. However, Chadha views the advantages as extending well beyond environmental sustainability, highlighting that unspun's real power lies in merging product innovation, enhanced comfort, and operational efficiency to benefit both consumers and the broader supply chain.

Similarly, Sally Gilligan, Chief Supply Chain and Transformation Officer at Gap—an Arvind client—praises 3D weaving for its potential to alter the financial economics and responsiveness of product creation, shifting the industry away from forecast-driven, multi-step production toward a leaner, faster, and demand-responsive model.

The Commercial Test for 3D Woven Clothing

For unspun’s inaugural commercial partner, Arvind, initial economic realities involve higher operating costs compared to conventional cut-and-sew methods. Lalbhai explains that small-batch manufacturing requires a substantial capital investment, elevating the per-piece cost and necessitating high machine utilization rates. Securing firm brand commitments for a fractional share of their overall inventory buy is essential.

Beyond achieving on-demand output with a reduced environmental footprint and distinctive seamless aesthetics, the technology addresses broader strategic anxieties for Arvind. Lalbhai notes that large manufacturers face persistent vulnerabilities regarding geopolitical shifts and global supply chain fragmentation. Relying on massive production behemoths clustered in a few isolated countries is no longer practical. Instead, partnering with unspun allows them to decentralize operations into smaller footprints, generating partially constructed components locally.

More broadly, Arvind’s Vice Chairman critiques the sluggish pace of innovation across the fashion and textile sectors, arguing that the industry remains trapped by historical inertia and rigid operational structures dependent on outdated performance metrics. Believing that the textile sector is overdue for creative disruption, Lalbhai points out that technology often outpaces implementation by a wide margin, causing many innovations to falter. He remains confident that unspun will successfully bridge that divide.

As the partnership enters its formative stage, what defines success for unspun? Arens clarifies that the immediate goal is to fulfill the initial trouser order strictly to specification, enabling Arvind to hit unit economics that prove financial viability. Success depends heavily on OneWeave achieving a 75 percent Overall Equipment Effectiveness rating—a standard industry metric for measuring machine output. In industrial manufacturing, sustained performance above 85 percent is deemed world-class, and Arens confirms that reaching the 75 percent OEE benchmark will automatically greenlight subsequent production batches at Arvind.

Looking beyond initial manufacturing runs, Arens has ambitions to branch into new product categories. By experimenting with alternative fibers and material blends, unspun aims to broaden its product assortment, specifically targeting twill to unlock the denim market and dramatically expand its total addressable market.

Will 3D Weaving Reduce Overproduction?

Whether Weffan’s software-enhanced traditional looms or unspun’s modified circular weaving systems will spark a genuine industry revolution remains to be seen. Nonetheless, the historical parallels with knitting's evolution are impossible to ignore. While the innovations introduced by Stoll and Shima streamlined production, elevated design standards, and cut material waste and labor overhead, they ultimately also accelerated the capacity to produce ever-larger volumes of goods at unprecedented speeds. Today, as Lalbhai rightly highlights, excess inventory remains a massive financial liability plaguing the global retail landscape.