中文The Australian Fashion Council has commissioned a feasibility study to establish Australia’s first Clothing Smart Factory — a next-generation, technology-enabled manufacturing facility designed to bring onshore garment production back for Australian brands. Epson, the AFC’s strategic print and projection partner, will contribute its expertise in digital textile printing capability, while three leading universities — RMIT, Swinburne, and UTS — form the research consortium. Investment NSW and the NSW Government’s Fashion Sector Strategy provide government backing, making the study a convergence of industry, academia, and public policy aimed at reversing decades of manufacturing offshoring.
The Problem: Decades of Manufacturing Decline
Australia has extraordinary design talent, but for decades its clothing manufacturing capability has moved offshore, leaving brands dependent on supply chains that are vulnerable to disruption, slow to respond to trend changes, and environmentally costly through extended shipping routes. Sam Delgos, general manager of the AFC, articulated the challenge directly: “If we’re serious about building a globally competitive fashion industry, we need the infrastructure to support it.” The feasibility study represents the AFC’s blueprint for rebuilding that infrastructure — bringing together industry, government, and universities to explore a new model for advanced, on-demand production.
Epson’s Role: Monna Lisa Direct-to-Fabric Technology
Epson’s contribution centres on its Monna Lisa direct-to-fabric digital textile printing technology, which enables on-demand garment production by printing designs directly onto fabric without the waste, water consumption, and energy overhead of traditional screen printing. Craig Heckenberg, managing director of Epson Australia and New Zealand, highlighted that digital textile printing transforms how garments are designed and made — reducing waste and water use while enabling local, on-demand production that shortens supply chains and improves responsiveness to consumer trends.
The Monna Lisa series uses precision print technology and water-based pigment inks, enabling brands to produce locally, respond quickly to changing consumer demand, and improve production efficiency while enhancing creative flexibility. For a Clothing Smart Factory, this technology provides the digital printing node that connects design input directly to fabric output — eliminating the weeks-long lead times of offshore screen printing and enabling same-day or next-day production for small batches and custom orders.
The Smart Factory Concept
A Clothing Smart Factory is conceived as a purpose-built manufacturing incubator that allows brands to test ideas, conduct R&D, and run small production at a scale and cost currently unviable onshore. The proposed facility would integrate digital pattern making, digital textile printing, CNC cutting, automated production line machinery, and advanced finishing technologies into a Cut, Make, and Trim (CMT) operation — the essential garment manufacturing stages that have largely disappeared from Australian production capability.
The study will deliver a blueprint to establish a smart factory in NSW, assessing market demand, technical requirements, workforce and skills development, financial modelling, and opportunities for government and industry co-investment. The final report is expected in late 2026, ahead of an AFC-hosted industry launch event.
University Consortium: Research Depth and Workforce Analysis
Three universities contribute distinct capabilities to the consortium. RMIT’s School of Fashion and Textiles, led by Professor Alice Payne, brings design research expertise and a commitment to establishing a sustainable and scalable funding model. Swinburne University’s School of Design and Architecture, under Professor Blair Kuys, offers expertise in AI-integrated manufacturing and recent investments in fashion technologies — connecting the Smart Factory concept to the broader automation transformation reshaping global manufacturing.
UTS, through Professor James Bennett and the Faculty of Design and Society, contributes workforce analysis aligned with the NSW Fashion Sector Strategy — addressing the critical human dimension of manufacturing revival. Technology alone cannot restore onshore production; a skilled workforce must operate, maintain, and continuously improve advanced manufacturing systems. Understanding current workforce gaps and developing training pathways is essential for making the Smart Factory viable beyond its initial launch.
Government Alignment and Policy Context
The initiative aligns directly with the NSW government’s Fashion Sector Strategy, which signals strong appetite for investment in the sector and prioritises rebuilding manufacturing capability. NSW Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology Anoulack Chanthivong stated that the government is proud to support initiatives keeping fashion and textile manufacturing in NSW, noting that a clothing smart factory could create skilled local jobs, strengthen the advanced manufacturing base, and broaden the innovation ecosystem.
The AFC’s longer-term ambition extends beyond a single facility: a scalable, replicable model that could underpin a national network of smart factories over the coming decade. This vision positions the feasibility study not as an endpoint but as the foundation for systematic infrastructure rebuilding — connecting the Smart Factory concept to the AFC’s broader work across Australian Fashion Week, Global Gateways export development, workforce capability, and the National Manufacturing Strategy.
What This Means for Print and Textile Technology Providers
The Clothing Smart Factory study signals growing institutional support for onshore digital textile manufacturing in Australia — a market that has been dominated by offshore screen printing and mass production. If the feasibility study confirms viability and the Smart Factory proceeds, it will create demand for digital textile printing equipment, automated cutting systems, and integrated production workflow software in a market where these technologies have had limited adoption outside niche custom applications.
For Epson, the partnership offers a showcase opportunity for Monna Lisa technology in a nationally significant project, potentially establishing reference cases that support broader market adoption across Australia and New Zealand. For other digital textile printing providers, the study represents an early indicator that institutional demand for onshore production infrastructure is growing — creating market opportunities that extend beyond the initial Smart Factory to the national network the AFC envisions.
Source: Print21, “Epson-backed textile print feasibility study launched,” July 22, 2026.
