TAKE A TOUR OF ISAIC: Industrial Sewing And Innovation Center in Detroit.
ISAIC– the Industrial Sewing And Innovation Center redefining manufacturing in Detroit’s fashion industry, opened its doors for an intimate tour of its cutting-edge facility.
Knit fabric woven with ISAIC’s Circular Knitting Machine. Photo via Instagram.
With a rich history in manufacturing, Detroit is an emerging epicenter of fashion and innovation. ISAIC marries these fundamentally “Detroit” qualities in their learning and contract manufacturing factory built by Carhartt above its flagship store in midtown Detroit. Take a walk with me through ISAIC– the Industrial Sewing and Innovation Center, a Detroit-based nonprofit and national resource for those committed to responsible production of high-quality garments. ISAIC is located on the second floor of the Historic Carhartt Building.
The elevator doors open revealing an industrially stylish guest lounge with two hanging mural-sized graphics with the slogans; “Fashion The Future” and “Change Clothes. Change Lives.” There’s also a staircase lined with industrial themed art leading up to the second floor if you’d like to take the scenic route. To the right, just through the glass door, is a quaint but welcoming reception area leading into what you wouldn’t expect to be a manufacturing facility in Detroit.
ISAIC provides a cutting-edge approach to workforce development and economic stimulus with solutions centered around education, advanced manufacturing, and upward mobility for workers. Program Manager, and my tour guide for the day, Chandler Vaughn, walked me through ISAIC’s unique office-factory layout. The open floor plan supports symbiotic citizenship between production, students, and employees. Unlike “traditional” factories, the manual and corporate laborers are neighbors with decorative greenery planted throughout the neighborhood.
One winding walkway outlined in “safety” yellow, first leads you through the state-of-the-art, AI powered, open studio style “classroom.” This is where students in the Fundamentals of Industrial Sewing and Production (FISP) program— a foundational course for full-time industrial sewists— learn how to work with various textiles, and operate essential industrial sewing machines. Every seven weeks, ISAIC graduates entry level sewing operators and connects them with brands and retailers across Michigan. The yellow-lined cemented roads then lead you through what I’ve dubbed the “corporate corner”, where the President/CEO, Training Director, Executive Assistant and other ISAIC employee desks are front row eyewitnesses to the live production process.
ISAIC’s cutting-edge factory, built by Carhartt. Skylights, plants, and music are just some of the ways ISAIC is changing the face of high-quality production. Photo via Facebook.
Only steps away from each other and also illuminated by the four epic skylights that give way for natural light to reach every corner of the facility, the machines in ISAIC’s operation model combine automation, artificial intelligence and human skill. The multi-ply cutting machine helps cut large quantities of materials more efficiently and accurately. The Sintelli circular knitting machine and the automated tagger build ISAIC’s capacity to produce Carhatt’s signature beanies and other knitted products in large quantities. Tukatech, the on-demand cutting machine, uses a laser to cut a single layer of garment pieces on almost any fabric. Each product produced in ISAIC’s factory is also sent through 4.0 Technology powered AI for quality control using various programs in the small but mighty innovation room.
Essentially, ISAIC pays people to master emerging apparel manufacturing technologies by teaching the fundamentals of industrial sewing and enhancing students’ skills through paid on-the-job training and houses that process in one well-lit, organically enhanced facility. ISAIC aims to redefine the future of work in the fashion industry by putting trained workers at the forefront of sustainable soft goods production, leading to a more sustainable industry that provides the opportunity for financial stability, security, and longevity.
Guided by its key message – “People Power ISAIC”, ISAIC operates with the sustainability for ‘people and planet’ as its main priority. ISAIC is set up to demonstrate its commitment to people, top-of-the-line machinery, the spirit of unbiased exploration fostered by respectful discourse, and to the goal of mutual success ahead of competition in every aspect.
Mirroring the spirit of Detroit, ISAIC is fashioning the future.
