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Key people at Vestechpro.
Vestechpro operates as an apparel research and innovation center, supporting companies in product development and innovative projects. It functions as an outsourced R&D department, specializing in smart clothing, adapted apparel, anthropometry, and sustainable development. The center provides applied research, technical consulting, and laboratory access for industry partners.
Established in 2011, Vestechpro originated as a college center for technology transfer, affiliated with Cégep Marie-Victorin in Montreal, Quebec. Its creation addressed a need within Quebec's apparel sector for dedicated innovation, expert support, and specialized training, empowering businesses with R&D capabilities.
The center serves companies and organizations across the clothing industry, helping them enhance offerings and operational efficiency through technology. Vestechpro's vision is to remain a leading innovation catalyst, continually advancing apparel technology and fostering sustainable growth within the sector.
Key people at Vestechpro.
Vestechpro is a college center for technology transfer (CCTT) affiliated with Cégep Marie-Victorin in Montreal, Quebec, specializing in apparel research and innovation.[1][2][4][6] Operating for over 14 years since its founding in 2011, it supports companies and organizations in the clothing industry through applied research, technical consulting, access to advanced labs and equipment, training, and strategic information dissemination, with expertise in smart textiles, adapted clothing, anthropometry, digital fashion, and circular economy.[1][2][3][6] Its mission emphasizes innovation via five tenets—innovate, optimize, develop, inform, and train—fostering collaboration across health, transportation, security, sports, and entertainment to create market-ready prototypes like wearable fibers and smart clothing.[1][2]
Vestechpro serves apparel firms, designers, and organizations seeking to develop technical products, optimize processes, and adopt sustainable practices, addressing challenges in prototyping, production efficiency, and sustainability.[1][2][7] It impacts Quebec's apparel ecosystem by bridging academia and industry, providing tools like programmable sewing machines, 3D fitting software (e.g., Modaris), and training programs such as École d’été to nurture next-generation innovators, while promoting eco-friendly business models.[2][4][6][7]
Founded in 2011 as a CCTT within Cégep Marie-Victorin—the only Quebec public college offering fashion programs—Vestechpro emerged to transfer technology and innovation to the apparel sector amid industry needs for technical advancement.[2][4][6] Affiliated with the Synchronex CCTT Network (59 centers across Quebec) and Tech-Access Canada (60 pan-Canadian TACs), it quickly established itself by supporting product development from concept to market.[4][6] Early focus centered on applied research in smart textiles and prototypes, evolving over nearly 15 years to include digital transformation, circular economy, and sustainability, driven by collaborations like optimizing Hexoskin's smart clothing line through rigorous R&D.[1][3][7]
Key figures include Leyla Lardja, Research and Sustainable Innovation Manager, whose microbiology and lifecycle assessment expertise has advanced circular design tools for designers.[7] Pivotal moments include partnerships with clients in health and sports, equipment investments (e.g., Seamtek heat-sealing machines), and events like Premiere Vision Montreal demos of technologies such as the Euveka smart mannequin.[1][2][4]
Vestechpro rides the wave of sustainable and smart textiles, aligning with global shifts toward circular economy and digital transformation in fashion amid pressures for reduced waste and tech-integrated apparel.[1][2][6][7] Timing is ideal as Quebec's apparel industry seeks local innovation post-supply chain disruptions, with Vestechpro's CCTT model accelerating R&D for SMEs unable to invest independently.[3][4][6] Market forces like rising demand for wearable tech (health monitoring) and adaptive clothing (for specialized needs) favor its niches, while eco-regulations boost circularity tools.[1][7]
It influences the ecosystem by upskilling via Cégep integration and networks, fostering Quebec's clothing tech hub—e.g., enabling brands to compete globally through prototypes and business models—while disseminating trends like AI-driven fitting and ultrasound seaming.[2][4]
Vestechpro is poised to expand its circular economy leadership, scaling tools like lifecycle assessments and smart mannequin tech amid fashion's net-zero push.[2][7] Trends in AI-patterning, bio-based fibers, and Web3 fashion will shape its path, with deeper Tech-Access integrations amplifying pan-Canadian reach.[4][6] Its influence may evolve toward global consulting, training more startups on sustainable scaling, solidifying its role as Quebec's apparel innovation catalyst from prototype to market dominance.[1][3]
