Importance of CAD Technology in Fashion IndustryThe use of CAD applications in today’s modern society has pervaded almost every industry and the ever expanding fashion design industry has definitely not been left out for fashion institutes are now incorporating CAD use in teaching curriculums and designers are also using computer aided design software to compliment sketches done by hand. Which leads us to the question of; how exactly does CAD software help in the design process.

How CAD Technology is used in Fashion

Although the traditional means of drafting or sketching by hand is still the most widely used method in the fashion industry for creating new designs and representing ideas into physical form, CAD applications can sill be used alone or simultaneously with hand sketches to complete the design process.

Develop and test design ideas– specialized computer aided drafting applications such as Maya, are well equipped with drawing tools and features which can be used to develop a design from scratch as well as modify designs with relative ease.

Test sewing patterns– although extensive knowledge of your chosen CAD software is needed to achieve this, fashion designers can also use the skeletal and surface model design features to test sewing pattern ideas. Using design software provides you with a real visual representation of how a pattern would turn out.

Extruding Hand sketches– as stated earlier, these software applications can be used simultaneously with already sketched designs with the view or aim of “fleshing” them out which is creating a 3 dimensional view of a sketch as well as placing these designs on a humanoid model for a realistic viewing of design size and style.

What can it be used for?

Color mixing– a color might work well with a certain design pattern but might not work with others, therefore CAD use provides designers with the ability to switch colors among designs to help get the color that truly brings out a pattern.

Managing fabric patterns– when designing a fabric, it allows the designer work with different fabric patterns before choosing a final one. This process reduces the expenses involved with physically trying to create patterns as well as the time taken to accomplish them.

Creating prototypes– designers no longer need to bring a design to life by sewing before noticing any errors because the use of software can render a life-like model of a design following the exact specifications set by the application user.

The Benefits of CAD use in Fashion

The benefits of using CAD technology in the fashion industry are numerous and we would attempt to outline some of these benefits below:

Saves time-Tailors and fashion designers are usually regarded as time wasters because they hardly meet deadlines set by their own hands and this phenomenon can be due to a lot of reasons such as; the difficulty in coming up with original ideas, lack of materials, the design process or just pure laziness. The use of CAD eliminates the time wasted in designing, reduces a designers work load, helps the designer with arranging ideas thereby speeding up all processes.

Durable means of saving ideas– paper, clipboards and albums are all susceptible to loss and damage but having a soft copy representation of a design eliminates such risk and makes sharing your ideas on the net as easy as clicking a button.

Designing and arranging a cloth line– CAD technology can now be used to design clothing lines virtually as well as for creating a well designed album and prototypes that can be used for presentations, meet investors and to teach students in fashion design schools.

 

Although the learning curve associated with computer aided design software is quite steep, learning its use is a huge plus and the right step to take in becoming more professional in the field of fashion design.

 

Author Bio : Creativity and Passion are Alexandra Jay’s watch words and these magical words are what she brings into her writings. she is also a Cad Services and CAD Conversion enthusiast, aspiring novelist and a “fashionista” to boot!!!

By Techwacky

Editor-in-Chef of TechWacky.com