Bridging the skills gap for the fashion industry
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M Hi Roz, tell us a bit about yourself! How did you become an expert user of 3D apparel design software, especially CLO?
R I have always loved ‘fashioning’ clothing even as a child! When I discovered computers, I knew that would be part of the future and it had already begun. I was part of a trade show demo in 1983, showing how one of the first colour graphic computers could clarify style lines of airline uniform collars, speed up approval and therefore production.
I always believed computers could do the ‘math’ of clothing and that it was being creative with software. When I discovered CLO 3D, I was determined to master using it. One of the best tools I used to learn CLO was to recreate historical fashion classics. I love a well executed pattern and there are some amazing classics in fashion such as Yves Saint Laurent’s Mondrian dress, Vionnet’s flapper dress, a 1958 Arnold Scaasi evening dress or a Goetz fur coat.
M You will be teaching a series of three superuser CLO 3D online courses on MOTIF: “Basics in CLO 3D”, “Production in CLO 3D” and “Advanced Techniques in CLO 3D”. Why did you want to create this series?
R In creating fashion from the past, I learned to create fashion effects within CLO 3D. This involved intense study of pattern tracing and recreation with fabric effects including fur, sequins and embellishments. It also involved structure changes with taping, gathering, pleats, details of piping, lace and transparency. Every piece I recreated taught me more skills.
When I started to teach one on one courses, I could only teach so much in a limited time. Students wanted to know as much as possible so that they could start to learn on their own. I found that it could be confusing if I tried to tell them everything in two hours and then have no logical progression or references. Therefore, I started to create the online courses so that my students could learn with logical progression and reference in the future.
M What are the benefits of taking these courses?
R The goal of these courses is for you to be creative with CLO! The benefits are that you learn the software so you don’t have to remember how to navigate but that you do so without thinking, you learn logically how the tools and buttons work so that you can do what you want to do – which is design and visualize. There is the “Basics in CLO 3D” and then progression into more complex manipulations in “Production”, and motion. Then “Advanced Techniques” of pattern work including grading and modules. These two last courses are coming soon in the series.
M Are your courses best suited for individuals or teams? For which type of organisations or which user profile?
R These courses work well for both individuals or small teams. I find everyone who takes this course has a project they want to make work in CLO 3D and the goal is to give that individual the learning experience and confidence to do so.
M What is special or unique about them?
R What makes these courses special is that I wanted to teach in a logical way to get people past small difficulties I had in learning the software. I did this by videoing myself going through all the steps, working through an example and including a downloadable file for the students to do the same. I would remember how I had difficulty with seeing my threads at one point! So I created a quick tip or reminder lesson within the segment, I have tried to make sure certain details are reinforced so there is no frustration.
There are lots of good free tutorials or short courses on CLO 3D on Youtube or the web, yet some people find it sometimes not that easy to piece up the puzzle or find learning resources that fully suit them. The courses that I am teaching on MOTIF complement these existing resources. My courses are in-depth and solid in terms of content, with 8 to 10 hours of instruction each. They are built with a logical progression which facilitates knowledge acquisition and include practice activities that foster knowledge retention. Lesson segments consist of concise 3 to 7 minute videos with downloadable exercises on the concept or tool. The courses also include discussion boards, knowledge check and assessments. It’s a different and more interactive self-paced elearning experience.
R It’s been a pleasure working with MOTIF in building the first course “Basics in CLO 3D”. I had an amazing support team behind me. It was valuable to have the extra attention to detail in making the course efficiently structured and to possibly add that extra lesson to clarify a detail. Also, it was great to be encouraged to make the course even more dynamic with animations and good graphics. A special thanks to the team at MOTIF.
M What inspires you, and in what ways?
R My personal passion in fashion is preservation of historical fashion using 3D apparel software such as CLO 3D. A photograph will never show you how a garment is constructed but a 3D reproduction shows you the style line, the fabric and the embellishments. 3D is a way of documenting all the amazing clothing we have hidden in our museums, that we rarely get the opportunity to see. My dream is a virtual museum of the future.
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