Apposta

The idea

The project was born from a consideration: online, the interaction between people and companies is direct, one to one. On this basis we redefined the nature of the "shirt" product, which could thus be created for each specific person and serve its purpose better.

We therefore designed the experience of choosing, customising and entering measurements, making it informative and pleasant, and solving both the paradox of choice and the limit of not being able to touch the fabrics.

With a garment created for the individual customer, the mass production of standard garments falls away: piled up in warehouses, partly wasted, and able to satisfy people only in part.

The prototype came from collaboration with a small provincial shirt maker, who provided product and manufacturing expertise, and immediately found great interest in the market.

The model

Apposta occupied a space that nobody else occupied: Italian quality, full customisation and direct sales together, at scale.

Making customisation work required a lot of ideation, experimentation and a meticulous fine-tuning of every step: from the presentation of thousands of fabrics and style options to assisted measurement taking, up to direct integration with production.

Great care was also given to the brand identity, rigorously consistent in every aspect, and to customer care policies.

Apposta became an international reference in apparel mass customisation.

What we built

The digital core. An experience that behaves like a shop, with the possibility of creating your own shirt from scratch or modifying a proposal: 4,000 variants of fabric, collar, cuffs, fit and more. A guided measurement process, with algorithmic and human validation, reaching 98% of shirts right at the first attempt.

The production architecture. Every order triggers a digital supply chain: purchase of the single fabric cut, numerically controlled cutting, making-up at the manufacturing partner, quality control, shipping. Fabrics from the best producers, including Albini, Thomas Mason, Monti and Canclini. Everything produced to order: zero stock, zero unsold, minimal environmental impact.

The lab. Continuous research and experimentation: different levels of depth of customisation, prediction of measurement accuracy, a customer journey optimised at every step, analytical methods for retention, content and channel strategies for customer acquisition.

The platform. The customisation and the different customer journeys were based on 3Spices, Cone's technology platform, later applied also to projects in other sectors: fabrics, jewellery, tourism, outdoor.

The numbers

2 million euros in revenue. 100,000 shirts and 30,000 customers in 110 countries. 6,500 "excellent" reviews, with a rating of 4.8 out of 5.0. Less than 3% returns.

What it taught us

In a sector dominated by image and repetitive narratives, we brought function, processes and structure. The market responded.

Even a simple, traditional product can scale when digital is not a sales channel but the operating system of the business.