Smart Craft In Fashion Designing

Abstract

This research investigates how CLO3D, a digital fashion simulation platform, can be used to digitally visualise and sustain traditional embroidery techniques in early-stage luxury garment prototyping. Responding to increasing demands for sustainable innovation in the fashion industry, the study examines how digital simulation supports emotional durability, aesthetic realism, and material efficiency, particularly within high-end design contexts. The concept of smart craft, the intersection of heritage techniques with digital tools, serves as the theoretical foundation. By narrowing the focus to embroidery, this research builds on broader investigations into digital craftsmanship and agile brand creation. The study analyses two case studies: the Sadie Clayton × The Fabricant × CLO3D project, which reimagines a copper-threaded jacket through 3D simulation, and the Maison Lesage × Lemarié collaboration, where embroidery heritage is sustained using 3D digitisation. Findings indicate that CLO3D enables both ecological efficiency and visual authenticity, allowing artisans and luxury designers to simulate complex embroidery without physical sampling. The case studies demonstrate how digital tools can carry forward the maker’s intent, preserve symbolic meaning, and retain the expressive richness of handcraft through simulation. Furthermore, the essay highlights the limitations of simulation, such as the absence of tactile experience and the challenge of fully capturing texture and weight. This research contributes to emerging discussions around fashion’s digital transition and offers a model for integrating craft theory, sustainability, and virtual design. It concludes by proposing avenues for further exploration, including practice-based experimentation and consumer perception studies in simulated luxury fashion.