What Is a Tech Pack for Lingerie and Swimwear? (And Why Your Brand Can’t Launch Without One)

We’re sure you’ve heard the phrase ‘tech pack’ bouncing around in your research of product development and fashion businesses. Here at the Studio Nu blog we want to talk more about what a fashion tech pack is, why you need one and why it is so imperative for all lingerie and swimwear brands.

Bras n Things

Think of a tech pack as a document that connects design to production.

Let’s say that again. The document that connects deign to production.

Defined in its most simplistic form.

Tech packs tend to be multi-page documents (at Studio Nu ours tend to be approx 7 - 9 pages long) they help communicate your direction, fabrication construction and design details for a garment that the factory will work on to create a sample. We cannot stress the importance of a tech pack enough, they are a channel for detailed obsessed work to be translated to the team making your samples.

Tech packs typically consist of:

• Cover page - a sketch or CAD of your style with a style number, name and season etc.

• Fabric page - CADs of front, back and side views (and inside views) highlighting all fabrications and trims used.

• Construction page - CADs of front, back and side views (and inside views) highlighting all construction.

• General info pages - further pages of the CADs calling out special details for the garment that may not be covered by the fabric or construction pages.

• Details and reference pages - photo references, or more detailed sketches to highlight particular parts of the garment and the intention of how we want it to look and feel.

• Fit reference page or garment spec sheet - calling out key measurements or referencing a purchased sample for this.

Technical drawing of sports bra

Freelance designers, brands, manufacturers and retailers all have a slightly different take on which programmes they build their tech packs in, it could be Excel or Illustrator or perhaps some of the newer AI models out there. Their order, structure and level of detail will also vary, at Studio Nu we have very visceral feelings about the fact that the more detail your tech pack has in it, the better quality your first sample will be.

When working with a new designer it is quite reasonable to request to see their swimwear or lingerie tech pack template or even some past examples. Any ornery around this hints as a red flag.

So let’s go into detail about why tech packs are so important.

Communication

Tech packs are a fundamental element in communication with your manufacturer or factory. The document is a reference point for you and you manufacturing team or partners. Many of us respond well to visual communication and having the information presented in front of us on a screen or in person so we can absorb it and reflect on it.

We’ve seen teams in factories print the tech pack out for each member and scribble notes along the sides during meetings, which is why we always ensure there is some white space on each page for note taking.

It is also important to remember that many teams in factories are working in a second language (already incredibly impressive) and these documents can help them process all the information that is being presented to them.

Problem Solving

Many designers will confirm that putting a tech pack together helps solves problems before you even get to the 1st sample stage. The process of drawing a detailed and technical CAD form all angles listing each stitch and starting to think about how the garment will actually work brings up so many questions and conversations with technical developers and product developers which can be worked through together, before the factory even starts working on the sample. Invaluable.

Source of Truth

A tech pack is a strong reference document for both sides, factory and the brand, start-up or retailer.

As the sampling moves through the critical path, the tech pack will be updated many times by the designer or the technical developer. It is important to always date these changes and make sure the most recent changes are documented - just imagine if the wrong tech pack was referenced going into production? Housekeeping is very important here.

Unsure of what was agreed on in the last VC? Refer to the tech pack.

Struggling to communicate a very detailed part of your design on a call? Share the tech pack on screen and talk it through.

Change your mind and want a different stitch before the factory starts sampling? Update the tech pack and send it over.

When both sides treat this document as the ‘source of truth’ it makes it harder for any sampling mistakes to happen.

Kick Off

A process that Studio Nu will not proceed without is a kick off meeting, or a tech pack handover with the factory or manufacturer. It can also be called a sample launch meeting. This will be an in-person meeting or over VC where the TP is shared and the designer officially hands over the document. This gives the sampling team an opportunity to ask all the questions they feel relevant, whilst also highlighting any potential issues, allowing you to adapt your design before sampling if needed. Therefore, you are much more likely to get a strong 1st sample back from the factory.

Lingerie and Swimwear Tech Packs

Tech packs become even more important in more technical products like lingerie and swimwear. For example, the construction of a wired and cupped bra or bikini top will require a certain level of detail which a sketch alone cannot simply deliver. The order and layers of fabric and foam in a padded cup also needs to be established in the tech pack in order for a factory to make the sample. Thinking about the stitching and construction, every seam needs to be dictated and it needs to be clear that the stitch and thread quality needs to be appropriate for swimwear and lingerie product and not just general apparel. There is no way you can get this level of detail across without a good standard tech pack document.

There is a lot of progress in the way tech packs are now generated, away from the manual process and towards the AI constructed documents. There are many platforms integrating AI in order to develop tech packs for fashion product, Style 3D, Fermat, Adobe Firefly, Browzwear, CLO3D, NewArc etc.

The options vary slightly, some generate 3D visuals which help reduce the need for as many rounds of samples, whilst some take a sketch to a 3D render, or a photo to CAD, and some generate tech pack documents. Whilst these are all huge advancements in the design and sampling process, it is fundamental that technical knowledge is balanced with the AI fluency.

The outcomes of these programmes can't be trusted without a leader who knows what they’re looking at, AI needs guidance on the details to create a successful sample.

If we look at the fashion industry as a whole at the moment, human made is feeling like the new luxury and this is only going to become more valuable and seen as more beautiful, so you will want human eyes on your design documents to create these considered details and features, refining the choice of stitch, touching and feeling the fabrics and draping on a mannequin before deciding the design orientated measurements.

Success with AI in tech packs lies in the balance of human experience and expertise and the improved efficiency of pulling a tech pack together. However, lets refer back to the point of how putting a tech pack together can problem solve many issues in the garment pre sampling. The new found efficiency will still need evaluation and reflection over the AI execution.

Studio Nu will only move forward to the sampling stage with a swimwear tech pack or a lingerie tech pack, we know it would cost us more financially and in time over the whole product development process. Without tech packs there is a jeopardy that you will receive the first samples to a standard that you did not envisage nor are happy with, and so if you take one thing from this article it should be that you should never sample without a good quality tech pack.

If your fashion business is interested in tech pack support you can contact Studio Nu at creative@studionudesign.com or read more about the tech pack services we offer here.