Fashion Design Software & Apparel Manufacturing CAD Systems List 2021 + All About Clothing Design Software Programs + Reviews
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With so many uses for Fashion Design Software & Apparel Manufacturing CAD Systems today such as creating digital fashion sketches, pattern making to designing a clothing line, there a many available options for consumers. You have fashion industry staples like Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw on to fairly new solutions like Digital Fashion Pro and Optitex. We put together this list of Fashion CAD Systems that can help you decide which solution will work for you. In many cases, using more than one software solution is also a viable option. In terms of pricing, consider one-time lifetime licenses vs. subscription based models. Consider ease of use etc. This page covers everything you need to know about clothing design software programs and how they can help you achieve your fashion goals.
Lectra, a leader in integrated technology solutions for industries using soft materials such as apparel fabrics, technical textiles and composite materials has announced the success of its early-adopter program for its Modaris 3D system. For the past 18 months, Lectra has been running an early-adopter program to monitor this radical new way of.
- Create multiple concepts in minutes with unparalleled flexibility and construction history. Users can quickly create and explore multiple iterations and make changes on the fly without any rework. Our concept design tools enhance creativity by letting designers drive the design, not the software driving the designer.
- Pattern Design Software (PDS) 3D. A set of 3D tools that display virtual samples in an innovative 3D digital environment that allows you to fashion your garment and make quick alterations at the click of a button, powered by photorealistic rendering for a true-to-life visualization.
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What Exactly Is Fashion Design Software?
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Fashion Design Software is a computer-aided graphic design tool for creating digital fashion sketches, garment design, textiles, fashion illustration, artwork and other elements related to the design of apparel, footwear and accessories. The main goal of fashion design software is to help designers / users create digital fashion illustrations that communicate their vision of how a design should look once rendered or manufactured in real life. Fashion Design Software produces the digital blueprint of a design.
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Who Uses Fashion Design Software?
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- Fashion Labels
- Fashion Designers
- Clothing Line Start-Ups
- Costume Designers
- Fashion Students
- Fashion Teachers / Fashion Design Classes
- Fashion Merchandisers
- Pattern Makers
- Textile Designers
- Apparel Manufacturers
- Beginners / Aspiring Fashion Designers
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According to The US Department of Labor – Bureau of Labor Statistics States: “Fashion designers use technology to design. They must be able to use computer-aided design (CAD) programs and be familiar with graphics editing software,” as one of the things necessary to be a fashion designer today.
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What Is Fashion Design And Apparel CAD Used For?
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- Creating Digital Fashion Sketches & Fashion Illustrations
- Line Sheets
- Tech Packs
- Catalogs
- Portfolios
- Designing Fashion Collections
- Digital Samples / Digital Prototypes
- Storyboards
- Mood Boards
- Lookbooks
- Technical Drawings
- Line Forecasting
- Pattern making
- Label Design & Other Branding Related Artwork
- Team Collaboration / Electronic Sharing Among Various Departments Within An Organization
- Conceptual Development / Prototype Development
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Is Using Fashion Design Software Easy? Does It Require Specialize Training?
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Whether or not a fashion design software is easy or not depends on that software. It also depends on the level of training that comes with the program or that is required to be successful with the program. The learning curve of various fashion design software will differ from vendor to vendor. If ease of use is something that is important to you then you will want to look for ones that come with free included training and free technical support. The other item as to if a fashion design program is easy depends on the purpose of use. For instance, creating digital fashion sketches is easier than creating patterns. Pattern making is a true science and many professional pattern makers had to be formally trained first in the art so that they can then utilize their training when working with pattern making software. Either way, utilizing software programs is necessary if you want to design apparel. Also see article on the Fashion Design / Manufacturing Process.
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Do Users Have To Know How to Draw to Use Fashion Design Software?
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In most cases, you do not need to know how to draw to use fashion design software. This is even more the case with programs like Digital Fashion Pro that come with customizable vector templates. Templates offer a guide / starting point that ensures you will end up with professional digital fashion sketches with clean lines. Professional digital fashion sketches are required throughout the apparel manufacturing process and are highly preferred over hand sketches. The common traits of basically every clothing design software on this list is they all work with vectors meaning drawing skills aren’t required and they all have the ability to create professional fashion sketches and apparel designs.
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2D Fashion Flats vs. 3D Garment Design
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The push for 3D is all around us. 3D Printing of apparel is fascinating. However, in presenting designs to manufacturers – 2D fashion flats is still the standard industry format. Pattern makers do not cut in 3D. They cut fabrics and patterns laying on flat surfaces. Their work primarily derives from technical flats as they use this type of design to create patterns. 3D helps in the process by giving them an enhanced idea of how the design looks from all angles but at the same time this can also be accomplished with 2D flats as well.
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Here Is A List of Fashion Industry Fashion Design Software & Apparel CAD Manufacturing Systems Plus Details On Each
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1. Digital Fashion Pro
Purpose: Professional Digital Fashion Sketching & Illustration / Helps With Starting a Fashion Brand
Features: Create Technical Sketches / Aids In Apparel Production
Features: Design Menswear, Women’s Wear, Kid’s Wear, Baby Clothing, Handbags, Shoes, Accessories
Features: Includes Hundreds of Digital Fabrics & Textile Prints
Features: Includes Training Specific to Core Functions of Designing a Clothing Line
Features: Easy-To-Use, Very User Friendly, Learn System In Matter of Hours
Features: Mogul Edition Includes How To Start a Clothing Line Course + List of Clothing Manufacturers
Includes Garment Templates & Models: Yes. Includes Hundreds of Customizable Clothing Templates + Various Model Poses
What Can You Design With It? Depending On The Edition – Includes Templates For Jeans, T-shirts, Dresses, Hoodies, Outerwear, Athletic Wear, Handbags, Suits, Swimwear & Shoes
Technical Support Cost: Free
Comes With Free Training: Yes. Video and eTraining Guide
Requires Internet To Use: No
System Requirements: Windows Or Mac
Price: Starts At $199 – One-Time Lifetime License
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2. Adobe Illustrator
Purpose: General Vector Graphics Editor
Light android emulator for mac. Features: Create Digital Artwork, Textile Designs, Apparel Designs
Includes Garment Templates & Models: No
What Can You Design With It? Anything But User Has To Create Everything From Scratch
Technical Support Cost: Fee
Comes With Free Training: General How To But Not Specifically related to garment design
Requires Internet To Use: Yes
Price: $20.99 Monthly Subscription
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3. Corel Draw
Purpose: General Vector Graphics Editor
Features: Create Artwork & Textiles
Includes Garment Templates & Models: No
What Can You Design With It? Anything But User Has To Create Everything From Scratch
Technical Support Cost: Fee
Comes With Free Training: General How To But Not Specifically related to garment design
System Requirements: Windows Or Mac
Price: $499 Lifetime License
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4. Optitex
Purpose: 2D & 3D Fashion Design
Features: Integratable With Adobe Illustrator
Features: Pattern Making
Includes Garment Templates & Models: Yes
Technical Support Cost: Fee
Comes With Free Training: Fee
Price: By Quote
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Lectra Cutting System
5. Browzwear
Purpose: 3D Fashion Design
Features: Turn a Design Into a Tech Pack
Includes Garment Templates & Models: Yes. Limited.
Technical Support Cost: Fee
Comes With Free Training: Yes
Requires Internet To Use: Yes
Price: By Quote
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6. Clo 3D
Purpose: Garment Design & Pattern Making
Features: Imports 3D Body Scans
Features: Can Be Implemented Into A Website For Virtual Fittings
Includes Garment Templates & Models: No
Technical Support Cost: Free
Comes With Free Training: Yes
System Requirements: Windows Or Mac
Price: $50 /Mo Or $450 Annually
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7. C-Design
Purpose: Fashion Design & Collection Management
Features: Helps In Garment Creation Cycle
Features: Can Integrate With Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw
Includes Garment Templates & Models: Yes
What Can You Design With It? Apparel
Technical Support Cost: Unknown
Requires Internet To Use: Yes + Windows Or For Mac Users – Need Windows + Parallels
Comes With Free Training: Unknown
Price: Subscription Based
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8. TUKA3D
Purpose: 3D Fashion Design & Garment Development Software
Features: Full Motion Simulation
Features: Fabric Simulation
Includes Garment Templates & Models: Yes
Technical Support Cost: Free
Comes With Free Training: Yes
System Requirements: Windows
Price: By Quote + Financing Options Available
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9. Lectra Kaledo
Purpose: Apparel Design
Features: Sharing Within Team
Technical Support Cost: Unknown
Comes With Free Training: Unknown
Price: Not Listed On Their Site
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10. Telestia Creator
Purpose: Design Apparel – Course Based
Features: Virtual Fitting
Includes Garment Templates & Models: Limited Amount
Technical Support Cost: Fee
Comes With Free Training: Included as this is a course
Lectra Software Download
Price: Unknown
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11. PatternSmith
Purpose: Pattern Making
Features: Digitize Photos
Features: Provides Cutting Solutions
Technical Support Cost: Unknown
Comes With Free Training: Comes With User Manuals
Price: Not Listed On Site. Demo Must Be Scheduled
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12. Marvelous Designer
Purpose: Primarily used in the CG, animation, and gaming industries, create 3D clothing
Features: Makes Patterns
Features: Draping Simulations
Includes Garment Templates & Models: Includes Avatars
Technical Support Cost: Included With Subscription
Comes With Free Training: Tutorials & Manuals
System Requirements: Windows Or Mac
Price: $50 Per Month
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13. Bontex StyleOffice
Purpose: Textile And Fashion Design Software
Features: Vector and Raster Application
Features: Pattern Design & Grading
Features: Fabric simulation, colorway and 3D modeling
Includes Garment Templates & Models: Yes
Technical Support Cost: Unknown
Comes With Free Training: Yes. Online Courses
Price: Not Listed. Ask For Quote
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Article By The StartingAClothingLine.com Team – An Industry Leader In Empowering Fashion Designers & Beginners Start, Design and Manufacture Their Own Apparel Collections.