A Novel Approach to Fit Analysis of Virtual Fashion Clothing

A number of 3D design systems are available on the market for use in the fashion industry. They support simulation of 2D pattern pieces on an adjustable virtual mannequin to visualise the 3D appearance of fashion clothing. This offers an opportunity to check fit and pattern flaws in the virtual state so that the initial 2D pattern pieces might be refined. This enables faster detection of any error and earlier correction of design elements, material selection and assembly technique to reduce the dependency on physical prototyping and to shorten the development lead-time and the associated costs. At the same time, virtual prototypes can be used as a marketing aid for online product presentation and Internet-based retailing. However, published literature reveals that only visual presentation and analysis of drape simulation is solely not enough to ensure the meaningful use of such tools in the fashion-product-development process, especially in the situation of decision- making on accepting or rejecting a virtual prototype, or altering pattern pieces to achieve the desired fit. This paper discusses an objective approach to virtual fit analysis by identifying and analysing three technical parameters of virtual drape, namely tension (gf/cm), stretch (%) and pressure (dyne/cm2 or gm/cm2), that work on virtual clothing. Digital pattern pieces of ladies’ blouse with varying eases were drafted using a clothing CAD system; a female avatar was appropriately adjusted using the extracted average measurements from a set of body-scan data before simulating virtual blouse on to it. For use in virtual simulation, the physical and mechanical properties of a selected woven fabric were tested by the FAST (Fabric Assurance by Simple Testing) system. Findings indicate that the change in drape parameters (tension, stretch, and pressure) follows a definite pattern when the ease is varied within the pattern pieces keeping the fabric properties unchanged. This correlation between ease and virtual drape parameters leads to the development of a novel technique of virtual fit analysis by combining the objective technique (numerical analysis) with the prevailing subjective technique (visual analysis). It is expected that this approach to fit analysis of virtual clothing will make the available virtual simulation tools more meaningful and useful to the designers, fit technicians and pattern cutters in the industry.