Clothes for Me — eFitFashion: from the beginning to the Podium
In 2015 Bianca Letti, Daniel Tsuha and Juliana Pirani had a college project together. That project was mentored by two professors: Luciano Vieira de Araújo and Isabel Italiano.
The idea was born some years before, putting together fashion and technology, two different disciplines, but encouraged by the University Of Sao Paulo — School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, that mix 10 different courses from different fields to have classes together — and also, the professors, which are stimulated to do research together to explore new fields.
Clothes For Me Project
Have you ever asked yourself why tailored made clothes are expensive?
Part of the motive is related with the problem of generating clothes pattern’. For who don’t know well this process, it starts with modelers doing a process of converting our body, that is 3D in a two dimensional pattern, that has to be done in a person size, and serves to put above the fabric. Then, the fabric can be cut, and sew.
Because of that, usually the patterns are done to fill Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large sizes. But they are not made specifically for you. They try to put you in a “common” mold, but, everyone is different.
Because we believed people are different and deserve clothes made specifically for them, we produced a software named Clothes for Me.
Clothes for Me was a marketplace that connects people who wants to buy tailored made clothes with seamstresses who wants to sell tailored made clothes.
For seamstresses this was very important and an opportunity to empower them, because the majority of them aren’t modelers too. So, they need a modeler to do their clothes patterns, to transform a person’s measures into a 2D pattern, and that means, for every person who wants tailored made clothes, different patterns are done.
Clothes for Me could recalculate the patterns curves alone, solving complex math problems related with this nature. The seamstress had to input the pattern in the system just once. After that, the system could calculate alone, based in the person’s measure.
But… have you tested it?
To test this idea, we promoted a fashion competition with seamstresses, without helping them to use our software. The purpose of the competition was to reproduce our Isabel princess dress — old, complex and original, because we believed that, if our software could solve complex patterns, for the day to day clothes, it would do it.
The seamstresses that participated of the competition were able to produce the incredible dresses below.
Microsoft’s Imagine Cup Competition — Brazil
After that, our professors encouraged us to participate in a competition from Microsoft named Imagine Cup in the Innovation category, Brazilian phase.
To register for competition was very hard. The first thing was to do a 10 minutes video, without editing it, presenting our project pitch. We tried many many many times — until don’t make any mistakes.
After that, we had to wait some months until the selection process, to know if our project would be selected for the semifinal in Curitiba, Paraná — Brasil.
On March we received the information that our project was approved for the Brazilian finals, which would happen in Curitiba on April 8th. We had one month to prepare to the finals.
We had some trainings together with Microsoft, learning about presentation skills, elevator pitches, Microsoft Azure best practices.
On April 8th we were ready for the competition. There we went … right to Curitiba, Paraná — Brazil.
We presented in a full auditorium, that was also a barrier to break — we were so young, doing a complex presentation that could mean everything for us: win or not win.
About the Imagine Cup Brasil 2015 (Available only in Portuguese) is here:
About our presentation in Curitiba (Available only in Portuguese) is here:
I trained the pitch a lot, but I was nervous about going up on a stage and seeing that many people. And I braked in the middle of my pitch. But, after I stopped, I was happy to have managed to finish the pitch and still in the right time. I promised myself that I would never again let a situation like this happen in my life — and that I would train endlessly if necessary next time.- Bianca Letti
After the pitch presentation, we were in the backstage so nervous, waiting for the final results… when the announcement came!
We won the 1st place in the Innovation Category from the Brazil’s Imagine Cup Competition.
After winning in the 1st place in the innovation category here in Brazil, we had to wait for the next step: one of the 1st place winners from each category in Brazil could be chosen to represent Brazil in the World finals.
World Finals Preparation
After a while, in May, we received the news: We passed to the World Finals — in Seattle. It was time to start packing things to be able to present in the finals. Redmond there we go!
From this time, we started to see the potential our project could arrive, but never thought that before. Was time to dedicate more than 100% to do this happen. We had only one chance. We split our team, so everybody could focus and be responsible to one specific thing until the finals.
We made some upgrades, solve some bugs, had many conversations: what we can change in our elevator pitch, choose every single word.
We sew shirts using our own software with custom made patterns for the clothes we would use in the competition.
And after a long while without eating properly, sleeping properly — we were extremely anxious — the time had arrived.
Microsoft’s Imagine Cup Competition — World Finals
When we were in the plane, going to Seattle, things were passing in our heads. Every effort was worth it.
In Seattle we had a magical time. More than all the trainings, preparation and all Microsoft offered for us and all other 32 teams (11 from each category [Innovation, Games and Citizenship]), we were able to connect to each other.
The first day we decided to have dinner before go to our rooms, and walking through the hallways of the dormitory, we saw each team putting their country flags on the doors.
It was incredible. Despite all the competitive atmosphere, the teams were able to look at each other’s work with admiration, knowing how much effort they had put into it, and we talked and met people from all over the world.
The teaser of our team is here:
Microsoft supported us in making our pitches for the competition with tips and a lot of trainings.
We also had the incredible experience to play with the HoloLens that was a novelty at that moment, and we played soccer in a virtual reality, together. Was incredible.
Finally, the day of the presentation came. We were ready. We presented our 10 minutes pitch for the judges and the result would be announced in the next day on the Morning coffee.
Our team presentation is here: https://channel9.msdn.com/events/Imagine-Cup/World-Finals-2015/eFitFashion-Team-Presentation?term=efitfashion&lang-en=true
For me, that was the most anxious time of my life. I really couldn’t sleep all night thinking if we would win — Bianca Letti.
And then, on next morning, the announcement was made! We were on the best morning coffee of our lives: We had won the 1st place of Innovation category of Imagine Cup World Finals 2015.
After win the 1st place of the Innovation category, it was time for another challenge. We would compete with the winners from other categories: Games and Citizenship. If you want to check their projects, you can check it here: https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Imagine-Cup/World-Finals-2015
After our coffee we went to a totally different place in the competition and stayed isolated from the other teams. Together with other 1st place winners, we had 24 hours to work in a final 3 minute pitch to present on the next day in the stage, with an audience of at least 5000 people.
This was the most difficult level of the competition. Every word we choose for our final pitch was chosen very carefully. We also had to do a demonstration live on the stage. Part of the team were working for the demo for the next day, part of the team were training the final pitch.
I had to overcome myself. I remembered when I stopped for a few seconds in the first pitch in Curitiba and I didn’t want that to happen in front of 5,000 people. I spent the 24 hours assembling and training the final pitch. I didn’t sleep and I remember staying at dawn training the pitch in the dormitory corridor, and I met with the team from France when they came back from dinner, and they sympathized with me and spent some time helping me memorize some words I needed.
The final and last day had come. We were ready (even if we did not feel like that). We had trained a lot. We were exhausted. But we did our best. It was time to had a very good coffee and just go: for the best or for the worst.
Arriving in the stage, it was really professional. We had individual microphones, the computer was on a separate table for each team’s showtime. We had just to wait our time to come in the backstage.
The judges in the final presentation were:
-Alex Kipman — Technical Fellow, Microsoft Corporation
-Jens Bergensten — Lead Developer, Minecraft
- Thomas Middleditch, star of the hit HBO show “Silicon Valley.”
And then… our time has come! And we presented our pitch! And after all the 3 teams presented their pitches, we came back to the backstage and wait for Satya Nadella announce the winner.
The World’s final presentation is below. You can find our presentation in the minute: 24:00' and also the announcement of the award done by Satya Nadella beginning in the minute: 45:00'.
And… WE WON! WE WON 2015 MICROSOFT IMAGINE CUP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!
Here are some pics of our celebration:
Our history is available on Microsoft’s page: https://imaginecup.microsoft.com/pt-br/winners#2015
A video with a compilation of our awards in the competition (available in Portuguese) is here:
The comments after the award announcement: https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Imagine-Cup/World-Finals-2015/Day-5-Post-Award-Ceremony-Wrap-Up
For us this was the most challenging thing we have ever done. We were only sure when it all started: that it would be worth it. And it was very worth it.
I learned many things during the Imagine Cup. But the main ones are that I need to connect with what I do, I really need to like what I do. And I connect with purposes that are not technology for technology. It is technology in favor of something bigger. I learned to trust myself more, and to work as a team — without teamwork we would never have gotten where we are. And … even 5 years later, I still remember the words of the pitch. I learned to make pitches on time and with good structures — and that changed my life — Bianca Letti.
If you want to, you can also find some news in the media:
English:
Portuguese:
http://www5.each.usp.br/noticias/grupo-de-pesquisa-da-each-vence-imagine-cup-brasil-2015/
