Reebok x CrossFit® - Body Scanning fit initiative
Reebok and IceBreaker MERINO are two of the most respected brands in athletic and outdoor performance clothing. Independently they both decided to take a closer look at the body shapes and sizes of their consumers. Asa result they revisited their pattern blocks and grading rules and have launched new ranges that quite literally ‘fit better’. Here they share their fit experience.
Reebok
Reebok is a global brand with a proven reputation for performance to uphold. As Andi Archer, a Reebok apparel designer for the Reebok CrossFit ® co-branded product line, explained “Reebok is the leading fitness brand. We strive to be that and we are to retain that position… we want our apparel to meet those expectations and fulfil the needs of our consumers across all ranges of fitness”
Michael Morganti, senior manager, pattern for apparel went on: “There’s not a lot of information around about the body types of the CrossFit athlete.” Reebok determined to address the lack of data. It tasked apparel size and fit expert Alvanon to implement a 3D body shape survey of CrossFit athletes and apply that body scan data to the fit of the Reebok CrossFit line of apparel. Specifically Reebok wanted to know what the average CrossFit body looked like, its average size range and how the CrossFit athletes body shape and size differs from the average athlete or gym goer.
Alvanon embarked upon an infrared body scan project during which it scanned the Lycra ® – clad bodies of approximately 300 CrossFit athletes, many of whom were competing in the CrossFit games in Los Angeles. The scanner’s 16 infrared light points scanned each body generating over 80 body measurements. It also scanned the person’s horizontal and vertical measurements. From these data points the computer automatically generated a 3-D avatar of that person’s body shape.
These avatars showed the Reebok design and pattern-making teams exactly where on the body the exact measurements had been taking. Then as Andi Archer explained: “We used this information to advise us on where we need to put cut seams, where a garment needed unrestricted movement and where we should insert more specific zoning in terms of heat regulation or anti-abrasion protection.”
Reebok CrossFit could have resorted to traditional tape measure method of surveying its consumers but as Michael Morganti observed. “The advantage of using the scan technology over traditional tape measures is that you can get much more accurate information. The data can be gathered very quickly and we can immediately begin to implement the findings into the fit of our product.”
The implications of the scan data are far reaching as Andi Archer concluded: “Worldwide we can range from ages, shapes, sizes and across all different athletic abilities and at different places on a CrossFit athlete’s journey. We want to make sure that we’re providing the CrossFit community with the strongest and most functional product we can – product that does not restrict movement while performing a CrossFit workout. The more people we scan, the more measurements we get, the more data we collect the better our product will be”
