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WILL MCINTYRE The Santoni can make almost any seamless garment. Can someone move it beyond T shirts and underwear? MORE PEOPLE TO WATCH

Most of us are members of a generation that barely remembers when stockings had seams up the legs. The next generation may not remember when any clothes had seams. And it will be largely because of one piece of machinery: the largely unsung Santoni.

Based in Brescia in northern Italy, Santoni manufactures circular-knitting machines on which more than 90% of seamless garments are made. Developed from the technology used to make socks, circular-knitting machines eliminate the need to produce and then sew together pieces of cloth, thus making the seam obsolete. "With the Santoni, you're knitting the garment on the machine," says Chuck Nesbit, CEO of Sara Lee's intimates business, which produces Hanes and Playtex. "You're designing in a 3-D world instead of in the flat, which is how garments have been designed for 10,000 years."

In 1999 Santoni came out with its biggest model to date, enabling whole T shirts to spew forth from its whirling-dervish arms, as well as seamless workout gear and sportswear. Business is good; sales have been growing 25% a year. But Santoni's future looks even brighter. Plans are under way for seamless coats and jackets. And who knows what some visionary could do with a machine that upends the manufacturing process? Wanted: one fashion designer who can think in 3-D, to change the way we dress.

—By Desa Philadelphia