St. Louis – Evolution St. Louis, the high-tech knitting facility, based in St Louis Missouri, has outlined how it is working with fashion brands to locate advanced apparel manufacturing in the United States during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The knitting facility, which uses the latest Stoll 3D and complete garment seamless knitting technology, was founded in 2019 to address the dynamic shift in consumer buying patterns, build the supply chain of the future and strengthen “Made in the USA” manufactured products for contemporary, designer and luxury brands .
“COVID-19 has revealed the fragility of our economy and the supply chain weaknesses due to our dependence on foreign manufacturing,” said John Elmuccio, co-founder of Evolution St. Louis. “The fashion industry has been hard hit, but businesses with domestic manufacturing partners have fared better. By creating more responsive supply chains and locating production in the United States, brands and retailers have a better chance of success.”
Prior to Covid-19, over 95 per cent of clothes sold in the United States were imported from overseas because of higher profit margins with foreign manufacturing. Due to the pandemic, billions of dollars of clothing orders have been canceled and many brick-and-mortar stores have closed.
“Brands are coming to Evolution St. Louis because we are nimble and collaborative in our approach,” Elmuccio said. “The industry trend is to release drops versus designing for seasons. Evolution St. Louis can be more responsive using our 3D and Knit & Wear complete garment technology, allowing customers to react to demand, while also offering innovation previously unavailable."
He continued: "Traditional labor-intensive, cut-and-sew manufacturing and the 12- to 15-month cycles in Asia are not sustainable. Giving brands the option to base production in the United States also allows them to control inventory, making product that sells rather than projecting what might sell.”
Evolution St. Louis operates from a 32,000 square foot state of the art facility in the Grand Center Arts District of St Louis. It is equipped with the latest generation Stoll CMS and ADF flat knitting machines in a range of gauges with a production capability that covers a wide portfolio ranging from fully fashioned knitwear to complex shapes, footwear and smart textiles.
It manufactures a broad range of products – including fully fashioned knits, complex shapes, footwear and smart textiles. It can also produce textiles for the home, office and automotive industries.
