Fashion Design Software & Apparel Manufacturing CAD Systems List 2021 + All About Clothing Design Software Programs + Reviews
- Fashion Design Software For Beginners
- Fashion Design Software Free Online
- Fashion Design Software
- Fashion Design Software For Free
- These garment design software programs are shaping the future of the fashion design industry. If you are in the fashion design school or self-learning to become a fashion designer, there are several tools to have in your arsenal. The world is getting digital, where efficiency is an essential factor to keep in mind.
- With DrawAndWear you can create your own fashion collection, one item at a time! Create tops, bottoms, dresses and accessories, and mix an match these items to create styles and form a fashion show on the home screen. Plus, you can create your own mannequins, if you want to try one of your designs on a friend, or create a design just for them.
NewtonIdeas Live Art is a WYSIWYG software to create natural-looking design for your decal, t-shirt embroidery or other kind of sign (vinyl, for boats) with our online Flash lettering, t-shirt, boat sign design software.
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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.
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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
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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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
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.
In this digital age, we have switched most of our mundane paper pen tasks to digital screens. Chores like writing, sketching, drawing are done using digital means instead of traditional techniques. So is the case in the fashion design industry, like many other industries this firm is also benefiting from many digital tools to create, draw, and introduce new design styles in the market.
The fashion design industry emphasizes on pinpoint accuracy in designs, and these designing tools help them achieve that along with error-correcting and roll back features for added convenience.
- Best Fashion Design Software for Windows, Mac and Linux
What is Fashion Design Software?
A fashion design software in simplest terms allows users to convert their creative renderings from paper to digital form utilizing appropriate tools and technological understanding. Fashion design software has different types of features that enable users to design graphical vectors and fashion apparel templates for different kinds of consumer or organizational needs.
They provide users with a sense of transparency, which allows them to rectify their error and revise a design multiple times, a feature not available in traditional designing techniques.
Best Fashion Design Software for Windows, Mac and Linux
The solutions listed below arm a user with all the appropriate tools required to produce quality fashion products.
1. Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator is a robust fashion design suite by renowned developers Adobe that specializes in graphics design. It is the business standard vector illustrations platform. Illustrator is utilized by a considerable number of designers and artists, equipped with all the drawing tools need to change straightforward shapes and structures into versatile works of art.
It is carefully designed according to the needs of small to medium businesses. It possesses state of the art vector-graphics editing, faster image rendering, versatile brushes, shape tools, and a cloud design that helps different team members to work on a single project simultaneously. Adobe Illustrator is a smart choice for all fashion design needs.
Features
- Simplified Vector Paths
- Freeform Gradients
Pros
- Support for various devices
- Built-In Design Templates
Cons
- GPU-Intensive
Pricing
- Single app: $20.99/month
Old unit4 agendasmrs. colville's math class 1. Download: Adobe Illustrator for Windows | Mac
2. PatternSmith
As the name implies, PatternSmith is a platform that has been designed specifically for making patterns. It is considered to be an improvement over the standard CAD software. CAD software are used to make any type of design, from bicycles to handbags. PatternSmith, in contrast, is made explicitly for the textile industry to help design clothing or different kinds of patterns.
PatternSmith creates patterns that are directly translated by a fabric cutting machine. It communicates instructions straight to the cutting table. It handles designs, transforms them for best productivity, and channels them to the mechanized cutting table for quick and precise cutting.
Features
- Direct Communication with cutting table
- Optimized nesting
Pros
- More accurate than CAD
- Create ready to cut patterns
Cons
- Frequent Crashing
Pricing
- On Quote
Download: PatternSmith for Windows
3. Rhino 6
Rhino 6 is quicker and can manage bigger models and design groups. It can make, alter, break down, archive, render, invigorate, and interpret curves, surfaces, and solids, point clouds, and polygon meshes. There are no restrictions on complexity, degree, or size past those of your hardware limitations.
The Rhino 6 improvement process began with the overriding objective to remove a large number of work process bottlenecks. It comes with built-in plugins like VRay and Grasshopper, which allow even more possibilities. The software can be used as a beginner or to create even the most sophisticated models and designs.
Features
- Uninhibited free-form 3-D modeling tools
- Options Editor
Pros
- No special hardware is needed
- Short learning curve
Cons
- Sometimes the performance can be lacking
Pricing
- For Windows/Mac: $995/user
Download: Rhino 6 for Mac | Windows
4. TUKAcad
TUKAcad is a pattern designing platform that possesses advanced functionalities and process engineering to enable precise pattern development, industry-grade rules, and pinpoint nesting for every style conceived. It is explicitly made for pattern makers, by pattern makers.
Ideal for the fashion industry, it is a robust pattern making, grading, and marker making system that empowers a seamless production process and reduce operating cost. TUKAcad is an advanced apparel pattern design solution that is suitable for large scale manufacturers and small designers because of its flexible nature.
Features
- Before and after wash shrinkage
- Manual or automatic marker making
Pros
- Integration of artwork and logos
- Dynamic blocking and measuring function
Cons
- Requires formal training
Pricing
- On Quote
Download: TUKAcad for Windows
5. CLO 3D
CLO3d is a 3d fashion design tool that helps design articles of clothing business. It has modules supporting alternatives required by the fashion industry, for example, the different sizes of garments, shapes, new brands, hues, and so on. It is exceptionally acclaimed among all famous fashion creators with clients from everywhere around the world.
CLO’s robust simulation engine allows users with countless layers and details. It is not only limited to garments design; it can create any kind of technical clothing with intricate pattern detail. Anything fabric-related can be designed using CLO, including hats, bags, wallets, to swimsuits.
Features
- Real-Time Interactivity
- Evolved Design
Pros
- Streamline Work Process
- Pattern Grading
Cons
- Difficult 3D draping
Pricing
- Individual: $50/month
Download: CLO3D for Windows|Mac
6. SmartDesigner
SmartDesigner is a creative and automated design solution for attire and textile-related enterprise. As a pioneer of the ASP-based apparel and fashion design platform, it is rated as one of the most robust CAD software for fashion brands in this fast textile industry.
SmartDesigner is a complete fashion design platform catering to serve SMBs and fashion startups. It provides support for both Windows and Mac. This cloud-based system offers Pattern, Color & Art Storage, Pattern Layout, CAD Tools, Textile Pattern Design, Fashion Illustrations all in a single interface.
Features
- Pattern Making
- Weave Design Mode
Pros
- Cloud-Based System
- Pattern, Color and Art Storage
Cons
- No offline support
Pricing
- On Quote
Download: SmartDesigner for Windows
7. Techpacker
Techpacker is a web-based solution for amateur fashion designers and small brands to handily build up their design models with production lines far and wide. Techpacker permits users to effortlessly team up with different creators and your industrial facilities, making consistent item improvement.
Track your progressions as you go, and work together through email with your colleagues and your processing plants worldwide. Users can set reminders, plan updates, and effectively allude back to any past adaptation of their tech pack.
Features
- One-click shareable libraries
- Progression Tracking
Pros
- Instant updates from your team
- No setup or training required
Cons
- The system has Bugs and Glitches
Pricing
- Create: $29/month/billed annually
Visit:Techpacker
8. C-DESIGN Fashion
C-Design is an all in one clothing design software; it is a premium solution to create a complete apparel collection. The new highlights and improvements of it make it the present most developed and versatile fashion design platform in the market.
C-DESIGN is constructed on the primary platform of the award-winning CorelDRAW® graphics engine. However, it does have a lot of extra features developed especially for the fashion industry professionals. C-DESIGN Fashion software is the choice of many famous fashion brands like ZARA, Tara Jarmon, Rouje, among others.
Features
- Create reusable templates
- Automated gradations
Pros
- Trusted by renowned fashion brands
- Collaborative work environment
Cons
- Expensive compared to competitors
Pricing
- On Quote
Visit:C-Design Fashion
9. Vetigraph
Vetigraph is a suite of CAD frameworks that empower fashion houses, clothing brands, and apparel designers to use innovation in planning and assemble fashion products more effectively and productively. Aside from the style business, Vetigraph frameworks have been applied in different fields like automobile, aviation, and home decor.
Vetigraph has all the tools and features to guarantee that each procedure is precise, advanced, and streamlined, bringing about the creation and usage of sophisticated creative models or structure techniques. Users can control and reduce operational costs at the early stages and set prices conveniently using Vetigraph.
Features
- Automatic printing or cutting
- Fashion Illustrations
Pros
- Rich design database
- Compatible with other software
Cons
- Only for enterprise use
Pricing
- On Quote
Download: Vetigraph for Windows
10. Tailornova
Tailornova is a patent-pending web-based fashion design platform that enables you to create countless designs simpler and quicker. Imagine your manifestations in 3D and get custom-fitted prototypes quickly. It allows reviewing 3D articles of garments, level outlines, and measurable sewing designs, available to download, cut, and sew.
Its built-in style templates allow users to create billions of unique styles and patterns explicitly made for any type of body shape and size. Its designs are customized in model and size. They can be accessed from any web browser or downloaded in PDF format to be printed.
Fashion Design Software For Beginners
Features
- Instant Virtual 3D Try On
- Custom-fit Patterns
Fashion Design Software Free Online
Pros
- Machine learning support
- Automated pattern measurement
Fashion Design Software
Cons
Fashion Design Software For Free
- Lacks flexibility
Pricing
- Beta Special: $29/month
Visit:Tailornova
Final Thoughts
All these platforms are equipped with the necessary tools a fashion industry firm needs to produce quality fashion design products. These solutions cater to the needs of an enterprise-level fashion house to a mediocre startup business or individual designer needs.
These software have variable functionalities, versatile features along with support for on-premise or remote access, native mobile app support, and flexible pricing plans. The decision can be made according to the customer base, the scale of a business or the type of merchandise a fashion brand specializes in production.