Fashion Design & The Computer

Before the invention of the Computer a few decades ago the designer and design team did everything by hand.. With the invention of the Computer came computer aided design, more commonly

Fashion Design & The Computer

By: Dan Douglas

Since the beginning of

Time……

Fashion Designers have been responsible for all the design processes (that’s a given) While they may not actually do all everything themselves, their Design Team will

Before the invention of the Computer a few decades ago the designer and design team did everything by hand

All the sketches, patterns, invoices, spec sheets, and so on and so forth had to be done by hand

Making expensive and long phone calls to the oversea factories that

manufactures the garments

Many of these steps in the production of a garment took hours, and some parts even took months

It all had to be a pain… Well… At least for the design team

(Must have felt like a sweatshop sometimes)

Hallelujah!

The invention of the Computer came about!!!

With the invention of the Computer came computer aided design, more commonly referred to as CAD

Programs like Adobe Illustrator and other CAD programs like C-Design Fashion, allow designers to create flats and sketches

quickly and perfectly.(Flats are sketches or designs of a garment, that are flat and not on a fashion figure.) With the use of a tablet and sensor pen the designer can actually sketch directly on the computer

The CAD software also allows the designer to change his designs quickly Changing color, adding or subtracting lines to change the silhouette, and combining different garments for different looks within minuets rather than re-sketching

The computer, aside from helping with the

actual designing of the garments, designers

can also use the computer to make patterns

for the garment

The computer can create patterns that are free of human error, ensuring the garments fit and the integrity of the actual design

It also saves the time that you would have

spent making the pattern, and allows you to

move through the design process quicker It

also has to ability to store large amounts of

information

Communication is also aided by the computer A designer can connect with

a manufacturing plant in china and send them a spec sheet with in seconds

Rather than long distance phone conversation or travel It also allows for easy communication

What else can the computer help with?

THE

QUESTION

IS….?

What kind of affect will Computer Aided Design, Computer Pattern Making , and other computer aided programs have on the fashion industry ?

Will computer sketching replace hand sketching?

Only time will answer these question As for now, hand sketching is still the most used form However computer pattern making is making more of a change in the larger

fashion companies which use it to save them time As for all the small companies they are still doing everything the old fashion way, by hand

As for my personal opinion I don’t think that the computer aided designer , or any other programs will ever replace hand work You just don’t get the satisfaction, or the unique human aspect to the designs.