Technology in Fashion Education: CLO3D and Digital Design

The design process now runs partly in software before anything is cut. BLS describes the traditional sequence as sketch, prototype in cheap material, fit on a model, adjust, then produce samples in the real fabric. Digital tools shorten the process: CAD lets designers test colors, shapes, and fits on virtual models, and 3D garment software simulates how a fabric drapes before a physical version exists.

CLO3D is the most widely used tool in that category. CLO’s 2025 New York summit drew more than 300 professionals from over 100 apparel brands, including Gap, L.L. Bean, New Balance and Joe Fresh, with Gap presenting its framework for scaling digital workflows and design leads from Joe Fresh, New Balance and Spirit Halloween describing their own rollouts.

Learning 3D design changes what a student can show an employer and how quickly they can work. Five practical reasons stand out:

• Iteration costs almost nothing. Changing a seam, fabric weight, or colorway takes minutes rather than requiring a new toile. BLS makes the same point about CAD in general: designers can try different colors, designs, and shapes, and adjust them more easily than when working with real fabric on real people.
• Fewer physical samples. Digital fit reviews reduce the rounds a garment goes through before it’s cut. But nothing removes the physical phase – BLS still describes designers producing samples in the actual materials used in manufacturing.
• The portfolio looks different. Rendered garments, animated presentations, and virtual showrooms are things a sketchbook can’t do. BLS notes that employers rely on portfolios to judge talent when making hiring decisions.
• It’s a shared language with factories. Pattern files, bills of materials, and colorways are shared among the designer, patternmaker, and manufacturer in a single file from anywhere. O*NET lists directing and coordinating the workers who draw and cut patterns as one of the occupation’s core tasks.
• Employers hire for it specifically. Job titles like 3D Design Manager and technical designer exist because the work exists.

In industry, the software is in the middle of product development. A digital garment moves through the same approval chain as a physical sample and touches several teams along the way:

• Design development. Silhouettes, seam lines, and fabric behavior are tested and revised before a pattern goes to a sample room.
• Product development and technical design. The pattern file includes construction details, bills of materials, and colorways – the information a factory needs that a sketch can’t provide.
• Merchandising and buying. Rendered garments allow a range to be reviewed and edited before physical production commitments are made, and the same renders can be carried over to e-commerce listings.
• Collaboration. Cloud platforms let designers, patternmakers, technical designers, and suppliers open the same file from anywhere with an internet connection, which is especially important for international teams.
• Presentation. Animated runway sequences and virtual showrooms replace some of the work a photoshoot or a sample rail used to do.

Digital skills change which roles a graduate can access more than they change the size of the industry. BLS projects 2% employment growth for fashion designers between 2024 and 2034, slower than the average across all occupations, with about 2,300 openings per year, most of which will replace people who leave the field. A tight market rewards a candidate who can do something the person beside them can’t.

What that looks like depends on the job. In design and product development, the pattern file is what you hand over, so knowing the software isn’t optional. In merchandising and buying, the tool that matters most is Excel – O*NET lists it as in-demand for fashion designers right alongside Illustrator and Photoshop. In marketing and e-commerce, rendered garments are added to listings and campaigns before anything is produced.