FROM PAPER SKETCHES, PAPER PATTERNS, & HAND-SEWN SAMPLES TO TRUE-TO-LIFE 3D

(Photo credit: Optitex)

This is the third in our series covering the fashion industry’s use of 3D software. As we discussed in 3D Revolution: Part 1 and 3D Revolution: Part 2,  fashion companies are expanding their workspaces by moving away from paper sketches, paper patterns & hand-sewn samples to true-to-life 3D in the areas of design, product development, sales & marketing.

In this blog we’ll cover the industry’s most popular 3D software providers, the benefits of 3D design and the brands that have integrated 3D into their workspace. In addition, we will announce a course that explores how to evaluate whether 3D is right for your brand, 3D software costs and how to choose a 3D software package no matter the size of your company.

It is important to note that all of the brands and 3D software providers interviewed for this 3D blog series underscored the importance of possessing strong foundational ‘on-the-table’ skills before moving into digital. Each emphasized that a thorough understanding of textiles, pattern making, fit (a key part of the draping process) and garment construction, as well as ‘by hand’ and digital drawing acumen are all critical to the process. They agreed that even the best computer skills in the world are no substitute for firsthand knowledge of the key design disciplines when navigating the 3D software space.

According to Amy Sperber, a CLO 3D user and Assistant Professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology:

“Foundational knowledge of grain, fabric behavior and construction variations are essential at being a competent 3D fashion design software user. The challenge for fashion designers with little digital background is that the interfaces may be intimidating at first. Those with a working knowledge of Illustrator will find familiar tool experiences  in the 2D pattern making portions of 3D software. The next generation of fashion designers will need to be technically creative and digitally fluid.”

3D BENEFITS

DRIVES SUSTAINABILITY – CREATES EFFICIENCIES – REMOVES SOURCES OF INACCURACY & WASTE

（Photo credit: Classic Cotton)

According to McKinsey & Company, 60% of clothing ends up in incinerators or landfills within a year. Savers Thrift Store reports that Americans throw away 81 pounds of used clothes on average per year. And every second, enough textiles to fill a garbage truck is burned or landfilled according to Circular Fibres Initiate. The fashion industry is credited with being the second-most polluting industry in the world. However, brands are now actively seeking solutions for how to reduce their carbon footprint and many see 3D as the answer.

“3D is going to be the most sustainable workflow for future fashion development as it eliminates unnecessary sampling and lets you see finished garments before spending exorbitant amounts on sampling budgets, trying to get a sample right.” –  Amy Sperber

FASTER TURNAROUND TIME

（Photo credit: Atacac）

Brands using 3D technology gain a competitive edge by adopting faster turn-around times from design to delivery. On-demand manufacturing is possible when brands are able to test clothing concepts (using avatars) on their website before going into production.

According to Amy, “Currently, brands of scale like Nike use this software in design development and for product visualizations for sale on their website. High concept brands like Atacac sell from 3D models and give away the patterns in open-source platforms.”

FEWER PROTOTYPES & SALES/MARKETING BENEFITS

Hugo Boss 3D virtual retail space (Photo credit: Hugo Boss)

Hugo Boss is another brand that is able to produce photorealistic 3D images that eliminate the need for numerous physical prototypes, enabling the creation of more new designs in less time. In this way, both Nike and Hugo Boss are using digital samples to shorten design times, cut costs and increase development speeds. Brands are now able to integrate their virtual collections into innovative 3D virtual retail spaces that allow users to walk through and fully interact with garments.

KEY 3D SOFTWARE COMPANIES

EFI OPTITEX – provides end-to-end fashion design software that includes 2D CAD/CAM pattern design & 3D prototyping for fashion, apparel, automotive & upholstery. Their software combines powerful 2D design and true-to-life 3D visualization in a single platform, to create products that better fit customer’s needs.

Functions of the software include drafting pieces, editing, and finalizing digital patterns. It is also capable of adding various elements, such as pleats, darts, seam allowance, notches, buttons, and much more. It can grade with maximum accuracy and can generate measurement charts.

(Photo credit: Optitex)

Optitex’s true-to-life virtual samples help visualize and make quick alterations. It can also customize the intensity of lighting and shadows for a realistic view of your creation.

(Photo credit: Optitex)

The design team can style colorways and define print placement for fabrics, textures, stitches, buttons, and logos, with limitless virtual samples. They can also Inspect simulated cloth using a tension map to view the exact value of tension, distance, and stretch between the cloth and the avatar.

(Photo credit: Optitex)

Optitex offers an all in one avatar solution, i.e. adjust morphs, create sizes, add accessories, and visualize your garment in various poses. 3D parametric avatars enable designers to create tailored outfits for remote customers. When done right, this innovative technology can easily replace physical changing rooms and prevent fit issues early in the design process.

(Photo credit: Optitex)

The Optitex 3D technology is especially significant when it comes to specific items, such as bras, which have particular fitting standards or active sportswear to visualize placed logos and prints. 3D prototyping is also very suitable for the leather goods and luggage industry. The simulation of materials, such as leather, as well as the import of metal accessories such as buckles and clasps, enables the generation of incredibly photo-realistic 3D virtual prototypes.

In today’s social climate, offering outfits that fit everybody, shape, and size is essential for global brands. Using 3D avatars can ensure that customers will never shop for outfits that create disappointment and frustration and allows brands to accommodate to their needs based on accurate measurements. This is not only great for business in the practical sense of boosting sales, but also improves the brand’s image among Gen Z shoppers who look for an inclusive experience. The data collected from these avatars can also help brands prepare in advance and offer garments that fit a broader spectrum of sizes and shapes.

CLO 3D

(3D avatar – Photo credit: CLO 3D)

CLO 3D FASHION DESIGN SOFTWARE is cutting-edge 3D garment visualization technology     with a true-to-life a 3D garment simulation solution. Fashion designers find CLO extremely user-friendly, in fact, friend of UoF Amy Sperber (and FIT Assistant Professor), actually used CLO to complete her master’s degree thesis!

CLO is very student and budding entrepreneur-friendly. Subscription plans, payment plans and special pricing are available for freelancers, small and medium businesses, along with special educational pricing. Pricing for each of their plans can be found here. Note that students get a discount if they sign up with their university email. If you’d like more info about CLO and their software, you can request more information here.

Among major brands that use CLO 3D are Adidas, Arcteryx, Brioni, Emilio Pucci, DSquared2 and Hugo Boss. For all of our 3D computer geeks out there, you might be interested to know that Empa (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Material Science and Technology) is using CLO for the Virtual Thermal Modeling of Garments.

BROWZWEAR

(Photo Credit: Browzwear)

BROWZWEAR 3D brings the power of 3D to fashion design with a comprehensive suite of easy-to-use solutions to get your creative designs to the market faster than ever before. With Browzwear, designers digitally create any apparel in true-to-life 3D and take them to the next level with a true-motion fit, pattern modification and grading, to a production-ready tech pack.

Leading companies using Browzwear’s software are Nike, PVH, Adidas, VF, Walmart and more. While Browzwear does not have public individual pricing, they do collaborate with higher education institutions and indie designers. Contact them at sales@browzwear.com to learn more. At the 3D Body Tech conference, Vital Mechanics (BC Canada) announced a plugin to Browzwear for soft tissue modeling so when designing bras designers can properly model the compression of the garment on the bust.

TUKATECH

Tukatech – last but certainly not least, is UoF’s CAD pattern making partner, Tukatech. Our collaboration with Tuka over the past few years has assisted many of our ‘on-the-tablers’ to ease into the world of computer pattern making at a super discount!  Thanks Ram and the entire team at Tukatech!

Tukatech offers programs that cover: CAD room engineering, virtual 3D design & fit, garment manufacturing solutions, on-demand manufacturing and eco fashion technology. In fact, by using TUKAcad, US Apparel (a product dev company) increased their sample approval rate with H&M from 93% to 99.8%. High approval rates mean that the first sample sent to a brand is usually accepted without corrections. Eliminating the need for a second or third sample saves time in production, fuel for shipping and fabric for sample sewing – truly providing eco-friendly fashion product development.

In addition to Tuka’s computer-aided pattern making design solutions is their open systems for pattern making and 3D virtual sample-making power. Their system also offers digital fabric printing and laser cutting. The flexibility of this fashion technology allows the microfactory model to work in businesses of all sizes, from on-demand manufacturing to rapid prototyping.

ATTENTION ALL ASPIRING DESIGNERS & ENTREPRENEURS

If you are an aspiring designer looking to start your own line or an existing small fashion business, well then you may want to consider 3D software, it just might be the answer to shaving off the high costs of samplemaking and taking your product to market!

“Independent designers utilizing these types of tools have enormous potential for direct to consumer sales. A collection will be able to be sold from digital visualizations across omni channels and social media; no longer keeping designers in one physical location – design can happen anywhere your computer can go.” – Amy Sperber

ALVANON’S LEARNING PLATFORM: MOTIF

The University of Fashion has always been proud of our partnership with Alvanon (the most fabulous dress forms in the market) and we use their forms almost exclusively for our lessons. Alvanon has also been collecting 3d body scan data in over 30 global markets across the women’s, men’s and kid’s market for decades. They partnered with various Sizing Research Organizations, National Size Surveys and academics globally, such as ASTM International, Shape Great Britain, Hohenstein, Size Mexico, BodiData North America, North Carolina State and Cornell University among others, to become the world’s expert on body types & shapes and has created the most inclusive avatar library on the planet.

Whether you’re a manufacturer or an individual interested in integrating 3D fashion design software into your workspace, you will want to know about Alvanon’s partnership with a new learning platform called Motif, an apparel knowledge hub that connects professionals around the world. Their course entitled, “3D Transformation: The Why, What and How” is a great way to explore the challenges and benefits involved in moving to 3D.