Clothing design software is software that helps a user create clothing using digital tools. The types of users who may be interested in this software include those who are employed in the fashion industry or who own their own clothing businesses. An entire clothing line, from the planning to the production stages, can be created using fashion design software.
Using clothing design software can greatly benefit clothing designers by helping them retain design accuracy, reduce designing costs and streamline the design process so that their finished products can appear on the market as quickly as possible. This software can be used by professionals, students and amateurs alike. Even fashion design teachers may regularly depend on this software.
The features of clothing design software may vary based on a software's manufacturer. Most clothing design software is designed to help designers in the areas of fashion design, pattern and marker making and cutting and planning for production. In addition, some software may be able to be integrated with other proprietary software so that users can easily shift between two or more software programs. This is an especially useful feature for those who work collaboratively and want to transition between graphic design tools.
The average fashion design software allows designers to view their designs in either 2D or 3D. If a designer chooses to see his or her designs on models, he or she can elect to view pieces on models of varying proportions. Some software may even allow users to input the measurements of a specific person so that the designer is able to create a clothing piece specific to the person's body. These options let the designer envision his work in a manner that is as close to reality as possible.
One major benefit of using clothing design software is that is usually requires no skills in sewing or drawing. In fact, clothing design software often includes templates that novice users can use to create their own fashion designs. Training materials are also usually included in the software so that users may learn how to a use a particular software's features.
Clothing design software often allows users easy access to their completed works or works that remain in progress. Sketches can be saved or printed out to be used in portfolios, catalogs, spec sheets, and line sheets. Many users of this software show completed projects to investors, buyers and customers.