The transition to virtual learning was seamless for Francesca Sammaritano, assistant professor of fashion and director of the AAS Fashion Design program, and Soojin Kang, instructor at Parsons. During the fall semester, their Design and Specialized Studio classes adopted Clo3D, software that has proved essential for both teaching and learning online.
“It’s a new and innovative technology that we’re using at Parsons,” Kang said about Clo3D. “Students can see their designs in real time and see the variations. You can do virtual pattern making, virtual sewing, and virtual rendering, so it’s been a really
exciting time for us.”
The 3D capabilities of CLO, along with the latest design algorithms and software, make it unlike any digital design software Parsons students have worked with before.
“Before, it was just Photoshop and Illustrator, more for surface design, where students could do a 2D format. Now they can learn a new software where they can really see the garments in 3D, and that’s the exciting part of it,” Kang added. “I wish I’d had
it when I was a student; that’s what we all feel. It’s seamless and opens to more creativity — you can execute your ideas so much more clearly.”
Both Kang and Sammaritano believe Clo3D is the future of fashion: Along with its usability in person or online, it also provides a more sustainable way to design.
“Clo3D saves on resources and time,” said Sammaritano. “You can do a lot more with a lot less waste." Kang agrees, adding, "I don’t need a dress form, a sewing machine, paper, or material to teach. All I need is the Internet, a computer, and the software, and all students need is their sketchbook and the concept of what they want to create."
The Clo3D programming is being used in the AAS Fashion Design program as well as Sammaritano and Kang's studio classes, and they hope to offer more ways for students to learn the software in the future.
Another opportunity for focused study is Parsons' new Clo3D Virtual Fashion Design Certificate, offered by the university's Continuing and Professional Education unit. The program gives working design professionals basic skills in creating digital patterns and navigating industry-standard workflows using the innovative software. Describing the virtual design tool's many advantages, certificate program director Julian Guthrie cites Clo3D's user-friendly features, which enable designers to experiment more than they could using physical materials and fit models.
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