By combining artificial intelligence, industry-specific agents and product data, Apogy revolutionizes the way products are designed and developed
PARIS, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Lectra announces the launch of Apogy, its cloud-based solution dedicated to product development, a critical phase between garment design and production. Nearly half a century after establishing the global standard for CAD solutions dedicated to the fashion industry, Lectra is opening a new chapter in history with Apogy.
Designed in the age of agentic artificial intelligence, Apogy transforms product development by bringing data, processes and all stakeholders together in a single digital environment. By automating low-value tasks and making information and expertise easier to access, it significantly accelerates product development while enabling teams to focus on innovation, creativity and strategic decision-making.
From its earliest computer-aided design solutions to Modaris, ModarisPGS and Gerber AccuMark, which have become global industry benchmarks, Lectra has continuously supported the transformation of fashion processes. Today, the industry faces increasingly volatile demand, ever-shorter collection cycles, and mounting regulatory and environmental pressures. Against this backdrop of accelerated change, product development required major technological advances to rethink fragmented processes and dispersed data.
Apogy marks a major turning point by delivering, for the first time, a solution capable of thoroughly reinventing this critical phase.
"For fifty years, Lectra has helped transform the fashion industry, particularly by digitizing patternmaking. Today, agentic artificial intelligence gives us the opportunity to take a new step forward and reinvent product development as a whole," said Maximilien Abadie, Deputy CEO of Lectra. "With Apogy, we are launching the first and only solution designed to bring together all involved parties, data and processes that shape a product. By breaking down silos and streamlining interactions across the entire ecosystem, we enable fashion companies to develop desirable, manufacturable products that meet consumer demand more quickly. Apogy ushers in a new era of product development, where artificial intelligence turns product data into a competitive advantage for fashion players."
Agentic artificial intelligence opens a new chapter in product development
At the heart of Apogy, agentic artificial intelligence assists teams in decision-making, automates and accelerates development, and builds on decades of industrial know-how. Agentic AI proactively supports teams and acts as a true ally, capable of orchestrating tasks and leveraging the right data.
A new generation of intelligent agents supports teams throughout the development cycle, from the initial idea to an industrialization-ready prototype. Teams can quickly generate and explore new concepts from prompts, sketches or images, while collaborating in real time on product development in a shared environment that provides full traceability of changes. Compatible with all standard market formats, Apogy also streamlines digital prototyping and facilitates approvals through 3D simulations and high-quality photorealistic renderings.
Collaboration and knowledge transfer at the heart of product development
Apogy centralizes all key product development data in a single, secure, shared and continuously updated source. It enables teams, partners and suppliers across the ecosystem to collaborate simultaneously, thereby accelerating approval and production stages.
O'Neills, an Irish sportswear brand, is already reaping the benefits. "For the first time in our history, all our teams are using a single solution. This harmonization eliminates errors linked to data transfers, increases transparency and now enables us to accelerate operations, improve productivity and effectively support our growth," said David Towell, Senior Manager at O'Neills.
Apogy also helps preserve and disseminate key know-how within organizations. By leveraging existing expertise, the solution reduces dependence on a small number of experts, safeguards critical skills and accelerates team development.
"New generations expect to work with cutting-edge tools. By equipping our teams with Apogy, a solution designed natively for the AI era and featuring advanced capabilities, we are strengthening our ability to attract, develop and retain the next generation of talent in product development roles, particularly in modelling within the Oniverse group," said Riccardo Romani, Operations Director at Oniverse, an international fashion group comprising several brands, including Calzedonia, Intimissimi and Tezenis.
Designed to evolve continuously and delivered as SaaS, Apogy will continue to expand its artificial intelligence capabilities to automate more tasks, enhance workflows and unlock new performance opportunities.
The result of three years of development and in-depth dialogue with several dozen customers, Apogy is built on a proven understanding of market needs. Its adoption by early customers has already demonstrated both its operational effectiveness and its ability to support the transformation of product development in the fashion industry today.
About Lectra
Lectra sparks customer transformation.
The Group offers solutions that combine software, cutting equipment, data, and services, leveraging advanced technologies, particularly agentic artificial intelligence. By blending deep sector expertise with industrial intelligence, Lectra helps players in the fashion, automotive, and furniture industries rethink their operations.
Listed on Euronext, Lectra reported revenues of €507 million in 2025, including €89 million in SaaS revenues.
For more information, visit lectra.com.
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Bei den Vereinigten Bühnen Wien (VBW) steht ein markanter Wechsel an der Spitze an: Mit 1. Dezember übernimmt die deutsch-österreichische Kulturmanagerin Andrea Pier die Geschäftsführung des städtischen Theaterkonzerns von Franz Patay. Der 65-Jährige hatte die VBW seit 2016 geleitet und war insgesamt zehn Jahre in geschäftsführender Verantwortung. Unter seinem Kommando mussten die Häuser – Raimund Theater, Ronacher und das Musiktheater an der Wien – heuer Einsparungen von fünf Millionen Euro verkraften, womit das Jahresbudget auf 51 Millionen Euro sank. Der Führungswechsel erfolgt damit in einer Phase, die von Budgetdruck und Konsolidierungszwängen geprägt ist.
Mit Pier steht erstmals offiziell eine Frau dauerhaft an der Spitze der Vereinigten Bühnen Wien; ein nur kurzes Interregnum von Lia Metchev-Herbst im Jahr 2016 ausgenommen. Die 1969 in Bielefeld geborene Managerin setzte sich in einem von der externen Personalberatung Christoph la Garde organisierten Auswahlverfahren gegen 18 Mitbewerberinnen und Mitbewerber durch. Die Hearing-Kommission – unter anderem mit der VBW-Aufsichtsratsvorsitzenden Elisabeth Freismuth, der Direktorin des Jüdischen Museums Wien, Barbara Staudinger, sowie Wien-Holding-Geschäftsführerin Karin Ramser – entschied sich einstimmig für Pier und hob insbesondere ihre Doppelkompetenz im öffentlichen Kultursektor und in der Privatwirtschaft hervor.
Pier war in den vergangenen fünf Jahren als Managing Director maßgeblich für das Projekt Kulturhauptstadt Chemnitz 2025 verantwortlich und zuvor zwei Jahrzehnte in unterschiedlichen leitenden Funktionen beim Musical- und Theaterkonzern Stage Entertainment tätig. Dort leitete sie unter anderem das traditionsreiche Theater des Westens in Berlin und verantwortete das Tourgeschäft. Mit Blick auf die Sparvorgaben in Wien verweist sie auf ihre Erfahrung im privatwirtschaftlichen Umfeld: Entscheidend sei, „die richtigen Weichen zu stellen, um weiterhin die künstlerische Exzellenz hochzuhalten“. An der internen Budgetverteilung zwischen Oper und Musical sieht sie derzeit keinen Änderungsbedarf und kündigt an, vorerst auf Kontinuität zu setzen.
Trotz zusätzlicher Konkurrenz durch das im Bau befindliche private „Theater im Prater“ zeigt sich Pier gelassen. Wichtiger als strukturelle Eingriffe sei für sie ein klarer künstlerischer Kurs, den sie mit „großem Tatendrang“ ab Dezember in Wien verfolgen will. Für die Stadt markiert ihre Bestellung auch eine personelle Weichenstellung: Vizebürgermeisterin Barbara Novak und Kulturstadträtin Veronica Kaup-Hasler, die Pier im Ronacher gemeinsam mit Wien-Holding-Chefin Ramser präsentierten, betonten die Bedeutung ihrer langjährigen Musical- und Managementerfahrung für die künftige Positionierung der Vereinigten Bühnen Wien im internationalen Wettbewerb.
