Code to Customization
Cracking the code to customization in the luxury sector means delivering high-caliber, bespoke products that are wholly differentiated in the market — and for companies such as Seriplanet, an Italy-based screen and digital printing company, that takes form in Plus, its customization project for the fashion industry that takes personalization to the next level.
Inspired by a demand for personalization in luxury fashion, Plus was launched by Seriplanet in 2020, and its services are defined by Italy’s heritage in quality and craftsmanship. The brand told WWD, “We noticed that personalization is continually requested and sought after, however, it is difficult for companies to unify everything that can be offered. Through Plus, Seriplanet is introducing a new concept of style, one that is unique and epitomizes creative self-expression.”
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Plus enables retailers to offer entirely exclusive products that are uniquely available in their stores and points of sale — and to take its concept a step further, Plus will launch “My Plus” later this month at the 100th edition of Pitti Uomo, a Configurator device available exclusively to buyers that offers a method to create, digitize and visualize their personalized project, as Plus has digitized all of its styles, designs, applications and materials, resulting in approximately 5,800 digital combinations programmed within the instrument.
Eventually, the Configurator will be available to the end consumer with the possibility to connect with Plus stylists — proving that Plus is on pace with what consumers are currently seeking in the market.
According to a report by Dassault Systèmes and CITE Research, in its survey of 3,000 consumers based in the U.S., China and France, shoppers will pay an average premium of over 25 percent for a personalized product or service. “Being unique is an immeasurable value both in business and everyday life. Customization is the product of our innovative artistry, and our products are ‘blank canvases’ through which we are able to express ourselves and our ever-evolving creativity,” Plus told WWD.
“Plus was born with the vision to be the first truly customizable, 100 percent made in Italy fashion brand. Through the implementation of a creative, diverse and dynamic approach to buyers/commercial partners, Plus offers complete expression and celebration of innovation through products that are unique, not just because of the art and creativity applied to them, nor the innovative materials and techniques, but for the way that it adapts to their buyers, and not the opposite.”
Referring to products as “Plusers,” the firm says that “every single Pluser comes to life” in its creative laboratory, where each product is “transcendently unique.” While Plus will eventually apply its customization techniques to a wide array of products, its current focus is on sneakers, which are constructed by hand through the “Strobel” technique, where the use of nails is not required during assembly — and the product is handcrafted entirely in Italy.
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What’s in a Name?
True to form, Plus offers something inherently unique to its luxury clientele, and its designs are enhanced by technologies, techniques and applications through its machinery produced exclusively in Japan. That’s why its brand name “Plus” — which means “something more,” and refers to “the additional value that the customization process can bring to any individual product” — was named to convey its unique ability to transform already assembled products into something that “reflects personality, creativity, craftsmanship and innovation.”
Plus is distinguished in the customization segment for its specialty in meeting the needs of commercial partners, inclusive of department stores or showrooms. “Plus is differentiated because it is not just a fashion brand — it’s a project that gives prevalence to commercial partners. This is transmitted through products that emanate high quality and are 100 percent handmade in Italy, and extensively customizable,” which lends itself well to the heightened expectations of the luxury consumer.
Plus prides itself on its elite approach and premium quality it offers to the market. The company said its services are centered on three key aspects: exclusivity, speed, and minimizing risks.
? Exclusivity: Through the use of its Configurator, My Plus, partners have the opportunity to study and create unique custom offers that align with their clientele.
? Speed: As short planning and turn-over times are critical in today’s market, Plus said it “promises to work closely with their partners in order to project and create unique and highly innovative offers in a maximum of three to four weeks,” offering a speedy and tight timeline for product personalization.
? Minimal risk: Plus’s partners “no longer need to burden their warehouses with many products thanks to the option of drop shipping,” the company said. “Our commercial partners will have the ability to integrate their proposal in a targeted and continuous manner whilst studying feedback received from their clientele, even allowing them to place orders after having sold.”
Sustainability Edge
And baked into the Plus brand is an inherent focus on sustainability through longevity, as consumers typically attach greater significance to specially made products. But sentiments aside, Plus takes a philosophical approach to sustainability.
“Plus upholds an absolute respect for the environment and is committed to continuous innovation in order to minimize our footprint with a sustainable, conscious approach whilst committing to give back more than what is consumed. Instead of talking about ‘sustainability,’ Plus talks about ‘regeneration.’”
Plus said its latest venture is to repurpose a universal by-product: “Regenerative Leather” of the utmost quality. “This is a 100 percent traceable, data-driven, eco-sustainable leather manufacturing process that in addition to certificating the entire production cycle and guaranteeing the minimal environmental impact, works to off-set emissions by taking part in a reforestation initiative that returns a greater quantity of oxygen than CO2 generated,” Plus explained. And Plus’s packaging is completely plastic-free, using high-quality, recycled cardboard as an alternative.
Its sustainability stance aligns well with Plus’s mission to holistically bring beauty and creativity to life. “Through our expertise and capacity, Plus offers everyone an opportunity of free expression that is usually only available to luxury fashion brands and established stylists — this gives everyone the possibility to express themselves to the fullest through creativity, personalization and innovation.”
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