Speakers Corner is a new interview series where we sit down with speakers from upcoming PI events to explore how they think, work, and lead.
In this first edition, we speak with Cora Gehrmann, Head of Sustainable Product & Quality Management at Bonprix.
Cora shares how digital product creation is maturing from experimentation into scalable systems, why shared libraries and data coherence matter more than speed, and how sustainability, AI, and Digital Product Passports are reshaping decision-making across the product lifecycle.
1) What’s the most meaningful shift you’ve seen in digital product creation this past year?
We’ve moved from experimentation to building robust digital foundations, especially shared libraries for materials, trims and sustainability attributes. This shift creates consistency, accelerates decision‑making, and allows successful concepts to be scaled and repeated rather than reinvented.
2) How is 3D changing the way your teams design, iterate, and make decisions?
3D has become part of an integrated ecosystem instead of a standalone tool. When it’s linked to validated digital material libraries and shared development standards, it enables faster iterations, clearer cross‑functional alignment, and more reliable decisions. We don’t just create faster — we create with more strategic consistency.
3) What’s the biggest friction point still slowing down digital workflows?
Data coherence. Without unified attribute definitions and shared data structures, libraries can’t reach their full potential and teams lose time reconciling different sources of truth. Once this is solved, automation becomes easier and effective concepts can be reproduced across categories, channels and suppliers.
4) Which emerging technology will define the next phase of DPC?
Digital Product Passports combined with AI‑driven insights. DPP ensures structured, trustworthy product data, and AI helps uncover patterns in performance, sustainability impact and customer behaviour. Together they turn digital product creation into a continuous‑learning system, where libraries update and improve based on real outcomes.
5) What new skills or mindsets do teams need to build today?
Treating digital assets as strategic capital. This means maintaining libraries diligently, understanding data dependencies, and working with a mindset of continuous improvement. Teams need to see digital product creation not as a linear process, but as an ecosystem that evolves with every project.
6) If you could instantly fix one bottleneck in the digital product pipeline, what would it be?
A fully harmonized, end‑to‑end attribute model. With clean, consistent data, we can automate sustainability checks, improve briefing quality, and ensure that successful product concepts can be replicated reliably - regardless of team, timeline or supplier.
7) How has sustainability influenced the way you use digital tools in product development?
It has driven more structured, system‑based decision‑making. Preferred material libraries, circular‑design guidelines and impact‑related guardrails help teams make better choices earlier. It also ensures that sustainable best practices don’t stay isolated - they become part of a scalable, repeatable model.
8) What does truly seamless collaboration between design, tech, and manufacturing look like to you?
Shared libraries, shared data, shared dashboards. When everyone works from the same digital backbone - with aligned terminology, standards and sustainability criteria - collaboration becomes fluid. Insights from production feed back into our systems and help refine future development, creating a continuous improvement loop.
9) Hot Take - Will AI become a creative partner or a creative disruptor for apparel designers?
A creative partner — especially when it builds on brand‑specific libraries and historical successes. AI can propose variations, explore directions aligned with sustainability goals, and surface insights that improve both creativity and consistency. It expands possibilities without diluting brand identity.
10) Finish this sentence: In 2026, digital product creation will…
…be an environment where data makes good ideas repeatable. Libraries will update automatically through real‑world feedback, sustainability criteria will be embedded seamlessly in early decisions, and teams will innovate from a foundation that keeps getting smarter.
Cora will be leading the roundtable, Making circular design work on tight timelines at The Fashion Tech Show in London, taking place on the 30-31 March. Click below to find out more.
