Digital Textiles Without the Waste: Gemell and the Future of Sampling

One of the persistent inefficiencies in textile development—whether in fashion, interiors or technical fabrics—is the sheer volume of physical sampling. It is widely accepted that a significant proportion of samples never make it beyond the development stage, with many ultimately discarded. Estimates suggest that as much as 70% of textile samples may be produced unnecessarily.

A young Irish company, and one of Huddersfield Textile Soiciety's members, is Gemell, who are seeking to address this problem directly by rethinking how textile materials are created, visualised and shared in digital form.

Founded in 2023 by Rathe Hollingum and Adam Hankin, Gemell emerged from an insight rooted outside traditional textiles. Hollingum’s background in gaming and visual effects exposed a surprisingly analogue bottleneck: even in highly advanced digital industries, realistic fabric rendering relied heavily on scanning physical materials—often involving multiple iterations, extensive post-processing, and considerable waste.

The question that followed was both simple and profound: if textile manufacturing already generates detailed technical and process data, why is that data not used directly to construct digital materials?

From Data to Fabric—Not Fabric to Data

Gemell’s approach reverses the conventional workflow. Rather than scanning finished textiles, their system builds materials entirely from data, starting at the most fundamental level:

• Fibre level – Digital representations are constructed using laboratory data and fibre specifications

• Yarn level – Fibre blends, twist, colour recipes and spinning parameters are modelled and “digitally spun”

• Fabric level – Weave or knit instructions—normally used to drive machinery—are used to generate a geometrically accurate textile structure

The result is a digital material that is not simply a visual approximation, but one that reflects the underlying construction of the fabric itself. This enables both photorealistic rendering and structural fidelity, a combination that has historically been difficult to achieve.

Practical Implications for Industry

For designers and product developers, the implications are significant. Digital yarns and fabrics can be modified in real time—adjusting colour, blend or structure—without the delays associated with re-spinning yarns or re-weaving samples. What previously took weeks can now be achieved in minutes.

Gemell’s digital assets integrate with established industry tools such as CLO and Browzwear, as well as PLM systems, allowing them to slot into existing workflows rather than requiring wholesale process change.

For manufacturers and suppliers, this opens up the possibility of digital material approval, reducing the need for multiple rounds of physical sampling and shipment. The environmental benefits are clear, but so too are the commercial ones—faster development cycles, lower costs, and improved collaboration across the supply chain.

Recent Developments

Gemell has continued to expand its capabilities over the past year, with several notable innovations:

• A collaborative 3D yarn design platform, enabling shared development across teams

• A mélange reverse colour solver, allowing colour recipes to be inferred and adjusted digitally

• Spectral colour measurement and palette analysis, improving colour accuracy and consistency

• Expanded integrations with textile CAD systems

Taken together, these tools point towards a more unified digital workflow—what Gemell describes as a “single digital material truth”—shared across brands, suppliers and manufacturers.

A Shift in Mindset

For an industry with deep craft traditions—particularly one so strongly rooted in regions such as West Yorkshire—the idea of fully digital textiles may prompt understandable scepticism. Yet, as with previous technological shifts, the question is less about replacement and more about augmentation.

Digital material creation of this kind does not eliminate the need for physical textiles. Rather, it has the potential to reduce unnecessary iteration, allowing physical production to be focused where it adds genuine value.

In that sense, Gemell’s work sits within a broader trajectory: the ongoing effort to reconcile textile innovation with sustainability, efficiency and global collaboration.

Huddersfield Textile Society Lecture

We are pleased to welcome Gemell to the Huddersfield Textile Society on 28th April,

where they will present their approach to digital textile creation and discuss its implications for designers, manufacturers and the wider supply chain. See our Events Page for booking details.

This promises to be an insightful session, particularly for those interested in the intersection of textile technology, sustainability and digital transformation.

If you would like to learn more in advance of the lecture, you can visit Gemell’s website or contact the team directly via Laura Hayes at laura@gemell.io.