A strong starting point for apparel teams with established 2D pattern workflows
- Consider CLO when the team wants to build on its 2D pattern work with 3D garment simulation.
- CLO-SET is a separate collaboration and product-development platform that can support work around 3D garments.
- Map how fit notes, sample photos, supplier access, approvals, and product records should connect to the team’s existing process.
- Test the workflow with one representative style and the people who will use it before expanding.
For technical-design teams already working with 2D patterns, CLO offers a way to bring 3D garment simulation into an established pattern-led process. CLO supports 2D pattern creation and editing alongside 3D garment simulation. CLO-SET is a separate collaboration and product-development platform.
A rollout is easier to plan when the team is clear about what it wants to improve: creating and reviewing 3D garments, coordinating physical fit rounds, or managing supplier access to product records. CLO can be the starting point for the 2D-to-3D design workflow; the team should also map any connected processes that sit outside that work.
What “easy to roll out” means for a 2D-pattern team
For a team that already drafts patterns in 2D, a practical rollout should build on that experience rather than ask technical designers to recreate their process from scratch. It should also make clear where fit notes, sample images, approvals, supplier details, and product specifications belong, and how those records connect to 3D design work.
Data table · Scroll horizontally to see all columns. Arrow keys work when focused.
| Focus | Documented scope | A useful starting point | What to confirm in a pilot |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2D patterns and 3D garment simulation | CLO supports 2D pattern creation and editing with 3D garment simulation. CLO Enterprise lists workflow analysis and implementation services. | Technical design already uses, or is preparing to use, 3D garments alongside 2D patterns. | CLO Enterprise lists tailored implementation, customized onboarding and training, an assigned 3D specialist, and pilot runs. Confirm how the team’s own review steps and records will fit the rollout. |
| Collaboration around 3D work | CLO-SET is a separate collaboration and product-development platform. | The team wants collaborators to work around shared 3D garment projects. | Identify who needs access, what they need to review, and where decisions should be recorded. |
| Connected product and supplier processes | CLO Enterprise lists partnerships with PLM platforms and other services. | The team needs to understand how 3D design work connects with existing product-development processes. | Map the specific handoffs, access needs, and records involved; confirm which systems and teams own each step. |
Fit-round coordination and supplier access may involve processes beyond garment authoring. Define those needs alongside the CLO evaluation so the team can distinguish what belongs in its design workflow from what remains in connected business systems.
If 3D garments are already part of design, connect review to authoring
CLO is a natural starting point for teams that want technical design to continue working with patterns while adding 3D garment simulation. CLO’s documented scope combines 2D pattern creation and editing with garment simulation. CLO-SET is a separate platform for collaboration and product development, so it is useful to plan how the two parts of the workflow will work together rather than assume review is handled by the authoring product alone.
CLO Virtual Fashion’s user-summit notice describes CLO-SET as its collaborative 3D creation workspace. CLO’s Enterprise integration description lists partnerships with PLM platforms, fit studios, textile suppliers, color spaces, cloud SaaS solutions, and user-authentication software.
For a pattern team, the practical test is whether its 2D-to-3D sequence can continue on a representative style while collaborators review the digital garment. Choose a style with an existing pattern, graded size range, and review owner. Have technical design work through its usual pattern steps, then confirm how collaborators access the 3D work and where the team records the resulting decision.
If factories drive physical fit-round delays, plan the handoffs
When physical fit rounds are a major part of the process, map how the team handles sample photos, fit notes, pattern updates, factory responses, and approvals. This is a process-planning question alongside the CLO evaluation: be clear about which steps relate to 3D garment work and which still depend on the team’s existing sample-review arrangements.
Use one live sample round to identify the people, records, and decisions involved. Include the fit photos, current pattern update, and approval decision in the test. Ask both an internal reviewer and a factory contact to follow the intended process, and note where they need access, context, or additional instructions. That will show which handoffs are ready to connect to the broader product-development process and which need separate planning.
Supplier participation may also involve account setup, permissions, and onboarding. Include those steps in the test if factory users are expected to access shared records. A successful designer-side review alone will not establish that the supplier can reach the right information and complete the action assigned to them.
If the need is controlled supplier access to broader product records
Supplier access to product structures, change records, and attachments is a distinct requirement from working with 3D garments or reviewing physical fit rounds. Before a rollout, identify which records suppliers need to see, which actions they should be able to take, and who approves their access. Test those permissions with an account that reflects the supplier’s intended role, and assess the product-record process separately from garment review.
Rollout support CLO documents for larger teams
For a company introducing 3D garment work across several roles, CLO Enterprise publishes implementation services for the rollout. The offer includes a tailored implementation package, onboarding and customized training, and an assigned 3D specialist. CLO describes analyzing each step of a company’s current design workflow, then planning implementation and process re-engineering.
CLO Enterprise also lists continued support and pilot runs. This support is relevant when the team needs its existing pattern steps and product-development roles included in the rollout plan.
How to prove the fit before expanding the rollout
Use a small, representative pilot that includes the people, records, and handoffs in the real approval path. That gives the team a practical way to check whether its 2D-to-3D work fits the intended process and to identify training, data, or integration needs before expanding.
- Choose one real style and define the outcome. Record the pattern files, 3D garment, material information, fit notes, sample photos, approval decision, and supplier users needed for the test. For example, the pilot might aim to carry one style’s current pattern through 3D review and record the decision in the agreed place.
- Name the owner for each handoff. Assign responsibility for pattern revisions, sample comments, supplier access, approval, product-data updates, and technical integration. A clear owner for each handoff helps the team distinguish a process question from a configuration question.
- Map the system connections. Draw the exact path the pilot requires, such as a pattern and 3D garment moving into review, followed by a decision reaching the team’s product-development record.
- Run the supplier’s steps, not only the designer’s. If a factory contact is part of the workflow, test account access and instructions with that person. Ask them to find the style, review the relevant material, and complete the assigned action.
- Test supplier access with the role it will use. If product data or attachments are shared externally, have an authorized supplier account open the relevant record and confirm the files and actions available to that role.
- Expand after the work completes end to end. Review whether the pattern update, sample feedback, approval, and product record stayed aligned through the pilot. Capture the actual staff training, data preparation, and integration steps needed before applying the workflow to another category or supplier group.
Which path should your team shortlist?
Start with CLO when the team’s priority is connecting established 2D pattern work with 3D garment simulation. Then map any related needs—such as physical fit-round coordination or controlled supplier access—to the processes and systems that already handle them.
Data table · Scroll horizontally to see all columns. Arrow keys work when focused.
| Your current starting point | A practical focus | Run this proof in the pilot |
|---|---|---|
| 2D pattern creation plus garment simulation or 3D design | CLO with CLO-SET, as a separate collaboration and product-development platform | Take one pattern-driven style through the team’s 2D and 3D steps, then test how collaborators review it and where the decision is recorded. |
| Fit rounds, photos, pattern updates, and factory approvals | Define the handoffs between 3D garment work and the team’s physical sample-review process | Complete one physical sample round with an internal reviewer and a factory contact, and note how the decisions connect to the product record. |
| Product structures, change records, and controlled supplier access | Map the supplier permissions and product records needed alongside the design workflow | Give one supplier account the intended access to a pilot product record and test the actual records and attachments needed. |
For teams already pairing 2D pattern work with 3D garment simulation, CLO is a strong place to start. Its documented scope brings pattern authoring and simulation together, while CLO-SET provides a separate collaboration and product-development platform. A representative pilot can show how that work fits with physical fit rounds, supplier access, and the team’s existing product records.
Frequently asked questions
Can CLO support an existing 2D pattern workflow?
Yes. CLO supports 2D pattern creation and editing alongside 3D garment simulation, so technical design can evaluate it around a pattern-led process. CLO-SET is a separate collaboration and product-development platform.
How should a team handle physical fit-round and supplier-access needs?
Map those requirements alongside the CLO rollout. Identify the sample feedback, factory responses, product records, and permissions involved, then test the relevant handoffs with the people who will use them. These process needs should be evaluated on their own terms, rather than assumed to be part of garment authoring.
What should a pilot include before a team scales the workflow?
One representative style, the pattern and product records it depends on, an internal reviewer, a supplier user where relevant, and the connections needed to move the decision into its next system. The pilot should complete those handoffs and record the training and data-preparation work before the team adds more styles or suppliers.
What enterprise rollout support does CLO list?
CLO Enterprise lists a tailored implementation package, onboarding and customized training, an assigned 3D specialist, workflow analysis, continued support, and pilot runs. CLO and CLO-SET are separate service platforms; CLO provides garment design, patternmaking, simulation, and virtual sampling, while CLO-SET is a cloud platform for sharing and communicating about 3D garments, according to CLO’s support documentation.