When I was a little girl I used to make clothes for my Barbie dolls. Pieces of fabric that were being stitched together on my first little orange sewing machine. I even knitted and crocheted matching sweaters.
So, once working as an employee I was eager to learn to draw straight into Coreldraw, later in Canvas and then, some ten years ago, in Illustrator.
For a designer making flat and technical drawings this way was really a big step forward.
However…
It has never really changed the way making apparel as an entire industry worked.
Loads of fitting samples, bad working conditions overseas, shipping and excessive waste for realizing just one item. It made me feel bad being part of the problem we created ourselves. But I just did not know what to do about it and where to start.
""to be able to really breathe life into my designs"
Now, like most designers, I make the designs and technical drawings in Adobe Illustrator. And it has been working pretty well for me. The clear drawings are easy to understand and like other applications you can simply change the colours and make an overview of all available colour ways. But I can’t seem to be able to really breathe life into my designs the way I did when dressing up my Barbie dolls.
Until my recent encounter with Clo3d. However, recent…? It took me until a few months ago to really dig deeper into the matter.
Working with 3d design is a very different way of working than with Illustrator and so is the outcome. While Illustrator drawings still look very two-dimensional, despite the shadings, the result of working in 3d however is almost real-life. I now make flat sewing patterns that are being stitched together and simulated into real-life pieces of clothing around the avatar. Really, it feels like making clothes for my Barbie dolls again! After simulation I tweak and change and change and tweak until I reach the outcome I desire. This can take a while and mostly much longer than initially intended. But unlike the dresses for Barbie, no wasted fabrics here, yet!
""Once your design is completed in 3d, you can easily add different colour ways"
As mentioned in my previous article, this can be a game changer for the fashion industry. Although a giant leap, maybe. Making your designs virtually can decrease the amount of waste generated and contribute to a better environment. Perhaps it doesn’t seem of your concern now. But you might consider taking smaller steps first by making the various colour or graphic options the virtual way and use it for marketing purposes. Once your design is completed in 3d, you can easily add different colour ways together with the corresponding tech packs. I originally designed this jacket for Our Planet in Illustrator, but recently updated it in Clo3d. The products have the same look and feel, but differ in colour.
This can give your brand and sales a huge boost. Imagine your sales presentation and catalogs with real life designs! With 3d as a new marketing tool you can create without the costs of expensive photo shoots and excessive sales samples.