Apparel Designing Software: Which is Best for You?

September 4, 2024
n41
Fashion, Technology
0 Comments

Choosing the right apparel designing software takes more than simply picking the most popular option. You’ll need to consider many things, including software integration and your company’s strengths and weaknesses. For example, if your designers are fantastic with clothing but aren’t so great with design apparel software, you’ll want to choose something easier to use, such as Digital Fashion Pro. On the other hand, if your designers have a lot of software experience, you might prefer Corel Draw or Adobe Illustrator instead.

A fashion designer sketches on paper while surrounded by color swatches and design materials. A laptop is nearby, suggesting the use of digital tools in the creative process.

Remember to also ensure that you select design software that will work well with your chosen ERP inventory management system. By combining these two needs, you’ll have the perfect solution for all your company’s needs.

The Role of Apparel Designing Software in the Fashion Design Process

The purpose of using software to design clothes is to enable designers to better articulate their vision. By creating designs that are easy to see—rather than relying upon imagination—they’ll become much more accessible to everyone who works for your business. Even better, their software-driven designs can be utilized to attract potential customers. If you’ve ever said to yourself, “I wish I could give my designs a try before committing to them,” then apparel designing software is definitely for you!

Best Software for Apparel Design

A computer monitor displays a 3D clothing design in a fashion studio. In the background, designers work with mannequins and sketches, reflecting the integration of technology and traditional fashion design.

The design apparel choices available are as diverse as the apparel itself. Again, getting to know your designers is the right way to choose software. Here are some of the best options currently available.

Digital Fashion Pro

Digital Fashion Pro is quite possibly the safest choice. That’s because it’s easy to work with and doesn’t even require your designers to know how to draw. It includes fashion designer training, an extensive line of customizable clothing templates, and an easy-to-use interface. Additionally, it empowers your users with its design tools, including textures, fabrics, and templates. Selecting Digital Fashion Pro also makes it simple to visualize concepts, experiment with designs, and bring a digital version of each design to life.

Pros – Easy to use, has the best templates on the market.

Cons – Limited advanced features.

Corel Draw

Corel Draw provides a general, all-purpose graphic design software option. What it doesn’t offer, though, are specific special features such as Digital Fashion Pro’s fashion designer training. This means your designers will require drawing experience. By using Corel Draw, they’ll be able to create logos, illustrations, and miscellaneous visual content. One of the best features is that this apparel designing software will give your designers complete control over colors, typography, and shapes. Basically, if they can envision it, Corel Draw can help them create it.

Pros – Lots of hidden abilities, can achieve complex graphics.

Cons – An overabundance of tools can make it difficult to find what you need.

Browzwear

This option is renowned for its virtual prototyping, 3D fashion design, and innovative technology. Whether your designers want to make a pattern or virtually sample their creation, Browzwear makes it possible. It promotes efficiency and collaboration by supporting multiple stages throughout the apparel production process. It requires some user knowledge, but as long as your designers have this, they’ll enjoy using Browzwear to test out their ideas.

Pros – Easy to use, provides realistic rendering and quality product designs.

Cons – Due to its high hardware requirements, it can lag and provide slow rendering.

Adobe Illustrator

When you’re looking for professional-quality visuals, Adobe Illustrator is definitely a good choice. This vector graphics editor allows users to create high-resolution, scalable graphics. It also comes with robust features, such as drawing tools. Like Corel Draw, Adobe Illustrator makes it easy to control shapes, typography, and colors. Adobe Illustrator doesn’t come with built-in templates or training, but it can be used in conjunction with Digital Fashion Pro.

Pros – Extremely versatile, offers easy file recovery and image tracing tools.

Cons – Takes up a lot of space, requires specific training, no universal hotkeys, and shortcuts.

Optitex

Optitex makes it possible to create apparel patterns, along with 2D and 3D fashion designs. It also streamlines the entire process by providing tools for grading, pattern creation, and marker making. In other words, using Optitex will enhance your garment production’s accuracy and efficiency. Plus, it offers advanced virtual prototyping, which enables designers to visualize their garments in 3D.

Pros – Rich design toolset, auto-nesting, functional grading.

Cons – Requires time and training to use.

C-Design

If your clothing designers have been on the scene for a long time, they’re probably already familiar with C-Design. This comprehensive software solution was specifically made for the fashion industry. Its streamlined design process and user-friendly interface offer 2D and 3D options, which make it much easier for designers to visualize their apparel. C-Design is renowned for being versatile, and it provides features for collaborative workflows, technical specs, and pattern grading. It has the power to enhance efficiency and communication in your company’s fashion production process.

Pros – Unlimited design options, versatile, can start work quickly.

Cons – Constant updates.

Lectra Kaledo

This software solution is utilized by the fashion and textile industry. Lectra Kaledo provides advanced capabilities to help designers create patterns, colorways, and digital designs. Additionally, it offers top-notch visualization and virtual prototyping tools, which bring designs to virtual life in 3D. This will reduce the need to produce physical samples and enhance collaboration. When it comes to innovation, Lectra Kaledo serves a critical role that helps increase efficiency and has been widely used throughout the fashion industry.

Pros – Advanced capabilities, intuitive interface, flexible pricing model.

Cons – Slight learning curve.

A person with blue hair, wearing a bright pink sweater, is focused on working on a laptop in a modern office space. Two colleagues are working in the background, creating a collaborative work environment.

Choosing the Right ERP Software Provider

Now that you’ve taken a look at seven of the best apparel designing software options, it’s time to choose an ERP provider to take care of the business side of your company. N41 has an unprecedented 99% customer retention rate, along with 16+ years of industry experience and more than 160 clients.

Additionally, we provide options for several other business services, including information technology (IT), system administration and maintenance, hardware infrastructure deployment, network, application support, financing, web and eCommerce development, web hosting, electronic data interchange (EDI), and real-time online backup.

Reach out today to request your free demo to find out how N41 can help you!