It is believed that Computer-Aided Design is primarily an industrial application. However, Computer-Aided Design refers to a broad range of design programs that surrounds a number of creative fields including fashion designing. The link between computers and fashion designing has developed and updated over the decades with the changing time and taste of fashion and style. When we talk about Fashion and the application of computers in the fashion industry, we cannot imagine the smooth functioning of it without the use of CAD software. Nowadays, the link between fashion design and CAD is growing stronger and deeper. The knowledge of CAD software is essential for an aspiring fashion designer entering the Fashion industry and even for an established fashion designer within the Fashion Industry.
Computer-Aided Design (CAD)
Computer-Aided Design is the use of computer technology for the process of design development. CAD reduces the requirement of manual sketching which is very crucial for fashion sketches, flat drawing, pattern making, and many other fashion designing related aspects. Although the initial need to sketch out the design cannot be replaced by computer technology especially for sketches in fashion design, it has reduced the time consumed and has increased the output levels. Computer-aided design helps cut down the time factor and helps to reduce the possibility of error to the bare minimum for aspiring fashion designers.
Benefits of Computer-Aided Design in the fashion industry
- Using CAD software, a fashion designer can create new sketches, patterns, prints more quickly and precisely. With the increasing use of CAD, fashion designers can create multiple variations of a single design and style and adapt it to varying materials and patterns.
- CAD also allows the fashion designer to explore various color-ways of a print developed as opposed to the traditional design methods are quick as well as more accurate, as it reduces room for errors.
- The whole process from print development, collection development can be done on virtual version and very less part of the whole process is an actual physical raw material the cost of collection development in fashion designing can be reduced to a minimum.
Even though we speak about the use and importance of Computer-Aided Design software in the fashion industry, one should not forget and ignore the beauty and intricacy that is the essence of manual designing and handwork. It’s not that one should neglect the manual design methods and completely focus on CAD methods. State-of-the-art technology is important, but a sound understanding of the methods behind the production is also essential. Manually figuring size adjustments and cutting pattern pieces instills that knowledge. Computer technology is the prevalent method for both knitting and woven pattern construction and is coming to the forefront as the sketching method of choice. The technologies used today will be obsolete in a few years and might be replaced with a new one, but the knowledge gained and understanding developed with the help of manual designing is invaluable and hence a fine balance between the use of computer technology and manual designing is important.