Should You be Implementing 3D Technology for Your Apparel Brand?

I’m a total techie and into all the latest gadgets and programs. Admittedly, I don’t have 100% time to devote to discovering everything as in depth as I would like to, but it’s only because I’m busy bringing projects to life.

The one thing that I have dipped my toes in is 3D technology for garment manufacturing. I’ve worked with a handful of programs now starting from the easy to access Clo3D to the high end Browzwear. It’s an emerging field in the apparel industry that is gaining some serious momentum. The output can be amazing and the possibilities are endless.

Now we are all told that we have to keep up with the latest tech and many of the software firms that have 3D systems will agree, especially if you like their product. They aren’t wrong, but I just wanted to share my completely unsponsored and unfiltered point of view on utilizing 3D in general. Since I’m a pattern maker and am coming at this from a fitting perspective, this is going to lean heavily in that direction, just to be clear.

What I think the strongest part of 3D tech is

Imagine you work for a large label where each and every color way and pattern of a single style needs to be sampled so you can see how each possible iteration will look. That is a huge expense and a huge amount of sampling for garments that haven’t even been fit reviewed yet.

Even if you are small brand and you want to try to sample a few different ways to see which one you prefer, that still means paying the sampling costs, waiting on the samples to be ready and then reviewing when your model is available.

The beauty of 3D rendering is you can digitally create the same output as sampling in the fabric you want, in the color you want have it on an avatar (model) that aligns with your standard. The visual details are just mind boggling from selecting buttonhole colors, to adjusting hem widths, to washes on denim. It’s like a blank canvas for your vision.

You still need patterns

To use 3D you need to have your own patterns as DXF files (most commonly) to import into your software program. If you are well versed in pattern making, most of the software systems available have a drafting feature as part of the garment building process. It’s a new workflow to learn if you are a pattern maker, so expect a learning curve.

What I want to make very clear is that the software will not make patterns for you. You can be a designer with a vision and style, but if you don’t know how to build the basic shape, you maybe setting yourself up for trouble. Yes, some have slopers and templates, but from what I have found these patterns are lacking the hand of a real pattern maker. They are good starting points though if you want to play around and achieve a look.

Additionally, once you get a garment on the avatar you can modify the garment on the avatar manually which in turn adjusts the pattern shapes based on your movements. I know this seems like it should work as a direct translation, but it does not. The shapes that you create by doing this are generally not anything you would come up with if drafted, and I don’t mean that its an innovative end result. The shapes are very avatar specific and my motto is always to make a garment a good fit for all instead of a perfect fit for one.

I made a plus sized dress pattern and simulated it using 3D. I am accustomed to drafting plus size patterns that I know will work and will fit the bodies of some of the best plus size professional models out there. I made the pattern the way I normally would go about things. From here I did a simulation and it was not looking so good. I decided to tweak the pattern according to the avatar and see where we landed. The shapes were not so great, but I figured I would test it out with my client to see how it worked on their end. The fit was disastrous on their model. I had a lot of explaining to do. Which leads me to the next point….

3D is awesome….just not as a fitting tool.

The situation above played out a few other times as well. I tested it on a pattern that was uber-successful at retail ($1 million sold says something about the fit.). The fit looked terrible on the avatar I backed it up even further to create an avatar based on my own body measurements, posture and figure type. I drafted a dress which I made a physical sample of and also ran a simulation. The simulation did not look the same as the physical sample. At this point I hit the pause on 3D for fitting.

My advice would be to use to test out general proportions and get the look of the garment, but still default to a live fit model once you are ready to proceed to production. An avatar cannot tell you how something feels and a lot of fitting is symptomatic so it’s important to collect adjectives to solve the issues. Tension maps on an avatar just don’t do it for me.

Using 3D for Technical Designers

One issue that I ran into was that the measurements to define the avatars are not necessarily the same ones that you would use in a tech pack or a pattern. There was also a lot of vagueness in exactly where these points were measured. For instance, in Browzwear there is not apex point from high point of shoulder- something that is definitely a fixed point. It’s been awhile since I used this program so perhaps by the time you are reading this, things are better. Also, please note that this is just a general example of many points of measure that I found to be a discrepancy.

In 3D’s defense, most systems have the ability to customize your points of measure once you figure it out, but it’s a new task among many others to learn.

Be ready to invest a lot of time to learn the programs

I really, really, really wanted to make 3D part of my business workflow. I spent a good couple of weeks trying to learn it in my spare time for each software application. The interfaces and settings are really specific and the learning curve is huge. I personally just couldn’t justify the expense of the software and the time it would take for me to get good enough to utilize this for clients. As someone with an existing business and client needs, I would probably have to take a week or two off to really deep dive into getting this set up and using it in a productive way.

I think if you are going to implement 3D for your brand, hire someone who specifically does this or is willing to learn to do only this. It’s really its own job description. Asking a technical designer to add this to their duties or expecting a pattern maker to create these 3D models is adding a lot to their existing workload.

By now you are probably thinking I’m really downing 3D. Nope, not the case. I think it’s brilliant for product development and an useful visual tool. I wish I could just play around with it all day long. It’s just so amazing to see a garment come to life on screen. I only want to give you another point of view on the realities.

As of right now, I’m not learning any new 3D program. I’m giving it a bit of a rest, but I guarantee you I’ll be back trying it maybe in 3 or 4 years from now to see if the tech has improved for fitting. I really want it to!

Oh, and BTW- 3D companies- drop me a message. I would love to work with ya on making it better from a pattern making point of view :) So far each company I’ve reached out to regarding my concerns has no comment.