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Like most industries that adopt a reactive manufacturing strategy, the clothing industry changes only when external forces dictate that the current approach or strategy will no longer satisfy the prevailing business environment. This paper presents a case study of the modular manufacturing system and discusses the underlying premises that support the success of modular manufacturing both in the formative stages and during sustained operation. A review of the known origins of modular manufacturing illustrates how this production system can be used to advantage for clothing manufacture. Modular is the apparel industry's attempt to optimise the social and technical components of a Sociotechnical System (STS). No single solution fits all products/tasks in fully optimising STS, given different technologies, environment and people, etc. Consistent with the requirements for STS, the authors have formed five conclusive statements regarding the characteristics of modular manufacturing for apparel.