Speakers’ Corner gives you a preview of the voices you’ll hear at upcoming PI events, straight from the people shaping fashion and footwear.
In this edition, Monika Balach-Kinsella, 3D Product Development Lead at JD Sports Fashion Plc, brings a scientist's perspective to digital transformation. From why the apparel industry moves slower than academic research, to how AI is finally bridging the gap between design vision and commercial reality.
What does truly seamless collaboration between design, tech, and manufacturing look like to you?
Within JD Sports' own brand division, Product Development and Design teams work very closely together — communication is clear and information flows seamlessly. But one of our main challenges is speed. We operate in a fast-track environment, and continuous business growth pushes teams to work faster and more efficiently.
The adoption of AI and 3D technologies plays a critical role in overcoming this challenge. These tools enable quick and accurate updates without confusion. Design and fit changes are clearly visible, easy to track, and instantly communicated, significantly reducing the risk of misunderstandings.
As a result, we've gained a strong competitive advantage by minimising unnecessary or misleading communication — an issue that can impact even the most well-established organisations.
How is 3D changing the way your teams design, iterate, and make decisions?
We combine 3D and AI software within our design workflow. In recent years, 3D technology has advanced significantly, particularly with the introduction of AI-powered plug-ins. These innovations have allowed our designers to use 3D tools without requiring pattern-making knowledge or advanced 3D stitching skills — areas that previously presented a major barrier for some team members.
Removing these technical limitations has unlocked new creative opportunities: it has eliminated long-standing challenges, enabled wider adoption of 3D across the team, and opened the door to new ways of thinking, greater experimentation, and a fresh creative vision.
What new skills or mindsets do you think teams need to build today?
I believe that with the rapid growth of AI and the introduction of new technologies across the apparel industry, it is essential to develop greater awareness among young professionals about how their skills will evolve.
Many of the tools currently considered core skills — such as Excel, Adobe Illustrator, and even traditional 3D software — will soon be complemented or replaced by far more intuitive, AI-driven platforms. This shift does not reduce the importance of people; instead, it allows them to focus on what truly matters.
As AI simplifies technical execution, teams will be able to spend more time on creativity, critical thinking, and developing a deep understanding of product quality and fit. Skills such as accurate fit evaluation, garment construction knowledge, and creative product development will become even more valuable. Decisions can be made earlier and more confidently through accurate digital evaluation and better demand forecasting — leading to products that are more sustainable, better planned, and supported by stronger order predictions, benefiting both the business and the customer.
What’s the biggest friction point still slowing down digital workflows?
After almost 25 years in the apparel industry, and with a background as a scientist, I strongly believe the sector has progressed much more slowly than academic research. Universities continuously innovate, develop new methodologies, and introduce solutions that enable faster, more automated, and more efficient ways of working. However, these advancements often take years to reach industry adoption.
Many clothing companies — particularly small and medium-sized manufacturers — remain cautious about adopting new technologies. This hesitation often stems from limited in-house expertise and a lack of technical knowledge among employees. As a result, innovation is frequently seen as a risk rather than an opportunity.
I believe real change can only happen when the adoption of new technologies is driven at director or senior management level. When leadership provides clear direction, investment, and long-term commitment, organisations are far better positioned to evolve and stay competitive. Without that top-down support, innovation tends to remain fragmented and slow.
That said, we are currently witnessing a significant shift driven by AI. Many businesses are now advancing at a pace that wasn't predicted just a few years ago — and this acceleration represents a major opportunity for the apparel industry. Companies that embrace it now will gain a substantial advantage moving forward.
What’s one lesson about digital transformation you wish you’d learned earlier?
Looking back, one of the most important skills I would have prioritised earlier in my career is programming and software development. These capabilities provide a huge advantage in demonstrating how vital automation is within the 3D environment — reducing time-consuming processes and addressing the growing shortage of highly skilled 3D specialists.
I have deep respect for traditional pattern-making and the craftsmanship behind garment construction. But the increasing speed of product development demands continuous improvement. To remain competitive, we must evolve beyond purely manual methods and invest in software solutions that support and accelerate complex, time-intensive skills rather than replace them.
Will AI become a creative partner — or a creative disruptor — for apparel designers?
In my opinion, AI should be seen as a tool that enhances creativity rather than replacing it. For design teams, AI is a powerful support — helping to open up creative vision, explore possibilities, and visualise ideas that might otherwise be difficult or time-consuming to communicate. The added realism that AI and 3D technologies provide also helps less design-focused stakeholders to better understand the design vision, the product intent, and the purpose behind each garment.
From my experience, there is often a gap in understanding between design teams and buying teams, particularly when it comes to new developments. Both work towards the success of the product, but with different priorities. Buyers are primarily driven by growth, commercial performance, and what will sell, while designers focus on creativity, innovation, and the original vision of the garment. As a result, designers are frequently required to adapt their vision to align with how buyers interpret and assess the product.
This is where AI plays a crucial role. It doesn't remove creativity — it creates a common visual and technical language between teams. By clearly visualising design intent, fit, fabric behaviour, and construction in a realistic and data-driven way, AI helps bridge the gap between creative and commercial perspectives, enabling buyers and other stakeholders to understand the garment in a more tangible and objective way — reducing misinterpretation and misalignment early in the process.
What’s currently overhyped in the digital fashion technology space?
In the apparel industry today, we already use a wide range of advanced digital technologies. The core of our digital ecosystem is the 3D environment, which enables digital design, product development, virtual fit evaluation, avatars, fabric digitalisation, and data collection through PLM systems. In parallel, AI-driven solutions are increasingly supporting decision-making, automation, and efficiency across the product lifecycle.
But I strongly believe the industry can go much further. The next step in digital transformation should focus on full automation of fabric drape, pattern-making, and virtual stitching — allowing fit to be evaluated entirely in a digital environment. This would significantly reduce dependency on physical samples while improving consistency, speed, and accuracy.
Looking further ahead, I see a major opportunity in real-scale hologram avatars combined with VR. Designers and garment technologists could interact with life-size virtual samples, seeing garments exactly as they would appear in reality — touching, adjusting, and manipulating them directly, rearranging trims, replacing fabrics, or modifying construction details in a virtual space. This is where I believe apparel technology is heading: digital design, automation, immersive environments, and human interaction coming together to redefine how garments are created, evaluated, and approved.
A product you’ve created (or seen) that makes you proud of where digital fashion is heading?
During my PhD research, I focused on two major advancements in the digital transformation of the apparel industry. The first addressed the automation of 3D garment processes, including digital stitching, size grading, and the extraction of accurate measurements directly from 2D patterns using only a .DXF file. The second concentrated on enhancing the simulation of fabric drape behaviour within virtual environments, with the aim of improving the realism and reliability of digital fit evaluation. By 2020, all research objectives had been successfully achieved with a high level of technical and methodological robustness.
As the industry increasingly shifts towards automation and digitally driven workflows, this research has proven to be both timely and relevant. I'm pleased to have committed my work to this direction at an early stage — contributing to foundations that support new possibilities for efficiency, accuracy, and innovation in digital product development.
A product you’ve created (or seen) that makes you proud of where digital fashion is heading?
Introducing automation and new solutions for retail adaptation has been a key focus of my work. I have successfully combined 3D and AI technologies into the product development and design workflow, significantly improving speed, reducing errors, and streamlining decision-making throughout the process. This integration has not only shortened development cycles but has also contributed to greater sustainability, reduced sampling, and lower overall development costs.
What sets JD Sports apart is the open-minded, forward-thinking approach of its leadership — embracing new technologies and allowing innovation to move quickly from concept to reality. Compared with much of the apparel industry, the pace here is exceptional. The company continuously challenges traditional ways of working, encouraging experimentation, automation, and smarter digital solutions. Being part of that transformation is both motivating and rewarding.
After a jam-packed focus group at FTS Europe, Monika will be joining us at FTS NYC, taking place 28-29th July, where she'll be presenting on 'JD Sports is Moving Beyond Traditional AI and 3D'.
