Supporting digitalization of garment engineering through virtual prototyping

This contribution deals with the new trends related to the digitalization in garment engineering. More than ten years ago can be found complaints of clothing companies on the lack of effective CAD software to design garments directly in 3D and to provide pattern designer tools for shape modelling and simulation of cloth behavior. Today, with a mass customization, e-commerce, advances in virtual reality applications, the virtual garment development is strongly desired in order to optimize apparel industry’s design and development processes. To survive in global competitive market, garment manufacturers are forced to transform their manufacturing processes toward, having a more flexible production system to meet the rapid changes in the global market, and started the transition to a new technological level through digitalization advances and challenges of Industry 4.0. Described are the possibilities for exploiting advances in digitization in garment engineering through virtual prototyping and production of smart clothing.