A new Australian founded start-up, Inkse is promising to revolutionise fashion design and production with an end-to-end web platform that manages the entire process, allowing creatives of any skill level to break into the industry.
Budding fashion designers can choose styles from Inkse’s library of exclusive silhouettes – currently including active and menswear – add a customised artwork, choose a responsibly sourced fabric and order quantity (minimum 30 units).
Inkse then handles production using traceable recycled fabrics from REPREVE, among other materials such as linen or BCI cotton, and delivers the products within eight weeks.
Matthew Zylstra created Inkse to democratise fashion design and development globally, enabling more individuals to become fashion entrepreneurs and help reduce fast fashion landfill.
“We all know those great Australian fashion startup stories – household names who cut their teeth in the city markets. We’re an industry built on go-getting entrepreneurs,” Zylstra said.
“But for too long opportunity has been thwarted by industry norms that stifle innovation – minimum orders, complicated supply chains, and production lead times that see stock land after trends have already passed.
“It’s our belief that fashion can be done better. The market simply can’t keep up with what consumers want anymore – and creatives are put off when they consider the complex production journey, or the possibility of overstock.
“Inkse is built to give power back to creatives from boutique owners wanting to develop their own brand and influencers wanting to expand their offering to a restaurant wanting to break into merchandise. Essentially, anyone wanting to flex their fashion muscle with less risk.”
Inkse is investing in world-first AI programming that aims to tackle some of the challenges designers face when creating patterns.
“In some ways fashion is genuinely transformative, for example, we’ve seen the massive growth of 3D printing, new approaches to managing fabric lifecycles and integration of AI into production. But there’s always room for improvement, and Inkse’s mission is to use technology to lead a revolution in the sector, while breaking down any exclusivity barriers,” Zylstra said.
Creating an Inkse account is free with users only paying for what they purchase and delivery costs. Samples can be ordered for $50 and depending on the style, artwork and fabric selected, collections can start from $1,100 with shipping and taxes included.