Fit That Sells: The Fit & Size Forum

Join Hohenstein Apparel Fit Solutions, together with industry brands and retailers, for our Fit That Sells: The Fit & Size Forum.

Our one-day event brings together apparel product, technical design, and fit teams to explore how fit can be approached not just as a technical challenge, but as a driver of product performance and commercial success.

Who should attend:

Product Developers, Technical Designers, Pattern Makers, and Digital Product Creation teams working across fit, sizing, and product development — particularly those navigating the shift between physical and digital workflows.

Event details

Event Details

Date:
June 18, 2026

Time:
9:00 – 17:00 CEST

Location:
Hohenstein
Schlosssteige 1
74357 Bönnigheim
Germany

Price:

Secure the early bird rate:
€179 until May 25
Regular rate:
€229 from May 26
IACDE members receive a 20% discount on both the early-bird and regular prices.

Registration

Secure the early bird rate: €179 until May 25
Regular rate: €229 from May 26
IACDE members receive a 20% discount on both the early-bird and regular prices. Please indicate your membership in the relevant field below.

What you can expect

What You Can Expect

Participants will gain practical insights into aligning fit, sizing, and product development across teams, tools, and processes.

Look forward to an inspiring day filled with keynote speeches, live demos, workshops, and networking.

A Sneak Peek at Our Event Program

Fit That Sells: Why Fit Is the Last Competitive Advantage
A keynote setting the stage for a new approach to fit — as a business driver, not just a technical function.
Live Fit in Action: Fit Models, Forms and the Reality of Grading
A live demonstration exploring how garments behave across sizes, and what real bodies reveal that forms cannot.
2D vs 3D: Can You Actually Read a Garment?
An interactive session comparing traditional patterns and 3D simulations to uncover hidden fit and construction issues.
Being in the Loop: Knitwear Fitting in Practice
A focused, hands-on session exploring how knit garments behave on the body — from shaping and material choices to practical adjustments that improve fit in real time.

Agenda

09:00
Welcome & Opening Remarks
09:15
Fit That Sells: Why Fit Is the Last Competitive Advantage
Simone Morlock – Division Head, Apparel Fit Solutions, Hohenstein
09:45
Balancing Fashion and Efficiency: An IACDE Member Perspective on the Future of Apparel Development
Simone Klump – Head of Technical Product Development & Digital Innovation, Bonprix
Solveigh Friedrichsen – Manager Technical Product Development & Digital Innovation, Bonprix
10:15
The Goldmine You're Sitting On: Clean Data in the Age of AI
Sylwia Szymczyk – Founder & CEO of fashionINSTA
10:45
Coffee Break & Networking
11:15
The Fit Sessions I (Interactive Breakouts)
Choose one per session block. All sessions repeat after lunch.
- Live Fit in Action: Fit Models, Forms and the Reality of Grading
  Patricia Maier – Deputy Team Leader Women & Lingerie, Apparel Fit Solutions, Hohenstein
  Viktoria Idt – Expert Pattern, Apparel Fit Solutions, Hohenstein
- 2D vs 3D: Can You Actually Read a Garment?
  Oliver Kausch – Team Lead 3D | Digital Fitting Lab, Hohenstein
- Being in the Loop: Knitwear Fitting in Practice
  Antje Weidner – Product Expert, Hohenstein
12:30
Networking Lunch
13:30
The Fit Sessions II (Interactive Breakouts)
Attend a second session from the block.
- Live Fit in Action: Fit Models, Forms and the Reality of Grading
  Patricia Maier – Deputy Team Leader Women & Lingerie, Apparel Fit Solutions, Hohenstein
  Viktoria Idt – Expert Pattern, Apparel Fit Solutions, Hohenstein
- 2D vs 3D: Can You Actually Read a Garment?
  Oliver Kausch – Team Lead 3D | Digital Fitting Lab, Hohenstein
- Being in the Loop: Knitwear Fitting in Practice
  Antje Weidner – Product Expert, Hohenstein
14:15
Brand Case Study: Swijin – Engineering the Hardest Garment to Fit
Claudia Glass – Founder & CEO, Swijin
Stephanie Koemm – Head of Business Development, Swijin
14:45
Coffee Break & Networking
15:15
STRAUSS
Fit for Purpose: Sizing for a Global Workforce
Inga Stihl – Apparel Product Developer, STRAUSS
Femke Hansen – Apparel Product Developer, STRAUSS
Carola von Moller – Apparel Product Developer, STRAUSS
15:45
Würth MODYF
Mini-Me: The Next Generation of Workwear
Alexander Bendl – Team Leader, Würth MODYF Germany
16:15
Special Expert Talk: The Future of Fit
Speaker to be announced soon.
16:45
Closing Remarks
Simon Fernandes – Global Business Development Director, Apparel Fit Solutions, Hohenstein

Session descriptions

Fit That Sells: Why Fit Is the Last Competitive Advantage

Fit is no longer just a quality issue — it’s a commercial lever. In a world of rising returns, fragmented sizing systems, and digital acceleration, how can brands align pattern, grading, 3D, and body data into one coherent system? This keynote sets the stage for a new way of thinking about fit — not as a department, but as a business driver.

Speaker:

Simone Morlock – Division Head, Apparel Fit Solutions, Hohenstein

Balancing Fashion and Efficiency: An IACDE Member Perspective on the Future of Apparel Development

As brands navigate increasing pressure to move faster while maintaining fit integrity, Bonprix shares how it is rethinking digital product creation—turning practical learnings into scalable progress. From 3D adoption to fit skill development, the session reflects how leading organizations are aligning teams, tools, and processes to operate more efficiently without compromising product quality.

Framed within the broader IACDE community, this conversation highlights how global networks are shaping the next generation of capabilities across apparel development—bridging innovation with real-world application.

Speakers:

Simone Klump – Head of Technical Product Development & Digital Innovation, Bonprix
Solveigh Friedrichsen – Manager Technical Product Development & Digital Innovation, Bonprix

The Goldmine You're Sitting On: Clean Data in the Age of AI

Product development is arguably the richest source of data a fashion company produces — every block, grading rule, fit decision, and construction choice is decades of know-how encoded in geometry. Yet almost no one collects, cleans, or structures it. The result? AI models trained on inconsistent inputs, comparing pears with apples, producing outputs nobody can trust.

In this session, Sylwia Szymczyk, founder of fashionINSTA, makes the case that clean data — not bigger models — is the real unlock for AI in fashion. She'll show how fashionINSTA has trained AI specifically to clean and normalize brand pattern data so it can actually be ingested for the kind of training that delivers real, usable results — the kind brands have been promised for years and rarely seen.

Speaker:

Sylwia Szymczyk – Founder and CEO of fashionINSTA

Live Fit in Action: Fit Models, Forms and the Reality of Grading

What can a fit form tell you — and what can only a real person reveal?

This live fitting session will demonstrate the difference between evaluating garments on fit forms versus live fit models. Participants will observe how grading behaves across sizes, from base size to plus size, and how movement, posture, and wear feedback expose issues that static forms cannot.

Drawing on a database of more than 600 fit models, this session offers practical guidance for product teams on how to run more effective fit sessions and align form-based development with real wear performance.

Speakers:

Patricia Maier – Deputy Team Leader Women & Lingerie, Apparel Fit Solutions, Hohenstein
Viktoria Idt – Expert Pattern, Apparel Fit Solutions, Hohenstein

2D vs 3D: Can You Actually Read a Garment?

How well do we really understand the tools we use?

In this interactive session, participants analyze the same garment through two lenses: a traditional paper pattern and a 3D simulation. Divided into two groups (paper vs pixel), attendees identify potential fit issues, construction errors, or grading inconsistencies before the Hohenstein team reveals the full diagnosis.

This hands-on comparison challenges assumptions about digital versus physical development and highlights the strengths and blind spots of both approaches. A collaborative, eye-opening workshop designed to sharpen technical judgment across product teams.

Speaker:

Oliver Kausch – Team Lead 3D | Digital Fitting Lab, Hohenstein

Being in the Loop: Knitwear Fitting in Practice

Knitwear plays by different rules. Without a traditional pattern in the same sense as woven garments, achieving the right fit depends on how material, structure, and body interact.

In this focused live fitting session, Antje Weidner explores a small number of key variables that directly impact knitwear fit. Through real examples on sleeveshape and a casual pant in knit, she will demonstrate:

How targeted adjustments improve fit in relation to the body
Different approaches to shaping
How material choice influences fit outcomes

This session concentrates on practical scenarios, showing how small, informed decisions can significantly improve real wear results.

Speaker:

Antje Weidner – Product Expert, Hohenstein

Brand Case Study: Swijin – Engineering the Hardest Garment to Fit

In this session, Claudia Glass, Founder of Swijin, will share the story behind building a performance sports bra brand from scratch — combining athlete feedback, material science, product testing, and technical fit development in one of apparel’s most complex categories.

From early prototypes and factory challenges to wear testing, support engineering, and scaling production, the session will explore how fit, function, and innovation intersect in high-performance intimate apparel.

Speakers:

Claudia Glass – Founder and CEO, Swijin
Stephanie Koemm – Head of Business Development, Swijin

STRAUSS – Fit for Purpose: Sizing for a Global Workforce

As workwear brands expand globally, sizing and fit challenges become increasingly complex — from safety-critical garments and movement-driven construction to extended size ranges and evolving fit expectations across markets.

In this session, STRAUSS shares its ongoing fit transformation journey, including the modernization of legacy fits, the development of new base patterns, and the use of digital avatars to validate sizing beyond traditional fit model ranges.

Speakers:

Inga Stihl – Apparel Product Developer, STRAUSS
Femke Hansen – Apparel Product Developer, STRAUSS
Carola von Moller – Apparel Product Developer, STRAUSS

Würth MODYF – Mini-Me: The Next Generation of Workwear

In this session, Würth MODYF shares the story behind its expansion into childrenswear through its Wacken Open Air collaboration. From translating adult utility apparel into kids' sizing to navigating fit, grading, safety, and product testing, the session explores the opportunities and challenges of entering a completely new category while remaining true to the brand's identity and functionality.

Speaker:

Alexander Bendl – Team Leader, Würth MODYF Germany

Speakers

Simone Morlock

Division Head, Apparel Fit Solutions, Hohenstein

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Simone Klump

Head of Technical Product Development & Digital Innovation, Bonprix

With over 20 years of experience in the fashion industry, Simone is a leader in digital transformation, specialized in 3D product development to enhance fit accuracy and reducing returns. As the Head of an international department consisting of multiple operational product teams, Simone merges innovative technologies with deep industry knowledge to streamline processes, ensure fit consistency and elevate customer satisfaction.

Driven by a passion for exploring how digital solutions can address critical challenges in the fashion industry, Simone brings a forward-thinking approach to optimizing fit and efficiency.

Solveigh Friedrichsen

Manager Technical Product Development & Digital Innovation, Bonprix

I am a passionate atom of the textile industry with more than 15 years of experience in pattern making and 3D Modeling.

Since 2024, I am the team lead of the 3D team at bonprix and together we drive the idea of an end-to-end 3D product development for all our garments.

The focus of our work is on the continuous improvement of product quality and the finding of innovative solutions for greater customer satisfaction.

Sylwia Szymczyk

Founder and CEO of fashionINSTA

Sylwia Szymczyk is the founder and CEO of fashionINSTA, an AI-powered fashion platform that turns sketches into production-ready patterns. With 15+ years in the industry, she has worked across the full arc of garment creation — from seamstress and pattern cutter to innovation roles at Timberland, Max Mara, and Armani — before setting out to rebuild patternmaking from the ground up. fashionINSTA combines automatic pattern generation, AI-assisted CAD, and integrations with tools like Browzwear VStitcher to help fashion brands preserve their fit DNA while moving faster. Sylwia is an active voice in fashion tech on LinkedIn, where she writes regularly for a community of 22,000+ followers.

Patricia Maier

Deputy Team Leader Women & Lingerie, Apparel Fit Solutions, Hohenstein

Viktoria Idt

Expert Pattern, Apparel Fit Solutions, Hohenstein

Oliver Kausch

Team Lead 3D | Digital Fitting Lab, Hohenstein

Antje Weidner

Product Expert, Hohenstein

Claudia Glass

Founder and CEO, Swijin

Claudia Glass is the founder and CEO of Swijin (pronounced Sui-djin), a Zurich-based high-performance sportswear brand built at the intersection of innovation and science, designed specifically for women.

A former teacher turned entrepreneur; Claudia identified a gap the sportswear industry had long ignored: genuine upper-body biomechanical support for the female athlete. To solve it, she partnered with Empa, Switzerland’s leading materials research institute, and engineered a proprietary integrated breast stability system, now validated by elite triathletes, footballers and rowers.

Her work has earned serious recognition: backed by Innosuisse and awarded 1^st place at the Entrepreneurship World Championship, Claudia has positioned Swijin at the frontier of women’s sports science.

Stephanie Koemm

Head of Business Development, Swijin

Stephanie Kömm is Head of Business Development at Swijin, holding one of the most operationally expansive roles in the company. Her remit spans human resources, logistics, legal administration, financial operations and systems infrastructure, making her the critical anchor that keeps Swijin running with precision behind the scenes.

Before joining Swijin, Stephanie built a career as a teacher at international schools across four continents, from Maryland and Berlin to Moscow, Singapore and Weimar. That experience forged a rare ability to navigate complexity, adapt fast, and bring structure to unfamiliar ground, skills that translate seamlessly into building a Startup from scratch. As the sister of founder and CEO Claudia Glass, she joined the Swijin adventure with both personal conviction and professional rigour and remains an indispensable part of its journey from Startup to scale.

Inga Stihl

Apparel Product Developer, STRAUSS

Femke Hansen

Apparel Product Developer, STRAUSS

Carola von Moller

Apparel Product Developer, STRAUSS

Alexander Bendl

Team Leader, Würth MODYF Germany

Simon Fernandes

Global Business Development Director, Apparel Fit Solutions, Hohenstein

Get Together

Get-Together in Heilbronn | June 17, 2026

Join us the evening before the conference for a Get-Together at Wein Sitt in Heilbronn (€40 per person) and enjoy networking in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere.

Hotel booking & Bus shuttle

Hotel Booking

If you would like to attend our Get-Together, we recommend booking one of the hotels from our hotel list in Heilbronn, as they are all just a few minutes’ walk from the meeting point. If you are only attending the conference, you can also find hotels from our hotel list near the conference venue in Bönnigheim.

Download hotel list

Bus Shuttle

For participants staying in Heilbronn, we are providing a shuttle bus from the meeting point in Heilbronn to the conference venue in Bönnigheim. You will need to arrange your own return journey. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Departure from Heilbronn to Bönnigheim:
Thursday, 18 June 2026
08:00 am
Meeting / Departure point:
Coach station, Karlstraße 34, D-74072 Heilbronn

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Directions & Parking

If you are travelling by car, you are welcome to use our car park free of charge. Below you will find a map of our premises, including the event building (Forum, Room: Conventum) and the car park.

Download Directions & Parking

Contact Seminars & Courses

Marc Rabah

+49 7143 271-512 Telefon academy@hohenstein.comE-Mail